One Tin Soldier

Last week, I found myself humming the 70's protest song "One Tin Soldier". I had written the lyrics down last year as I pondered many of the actions taken by the diocese and the local church in the last few years:


"Listen children to a story that was written long ago. "Bout a kingdom on a mountain and the valley folk below. On the mountain was a treasure buried deep within the stone and the valley people swore they'd have it for their very own.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend. Do it in the name of heaven, You can justify it in the end. There won't be any trumpets blowing, come the judgement day. On the bloody morning after, One Tin Soldier rides away.

So the people of the valley, sent a message up the hill, asking for the buried treasure, tons of gold for which they'd kill. Came an answer from the kingdom, "With our brothers we will share, all the secrets of our mountain, N'all the riches buried there."

Now the valley cried with anger, "Mount your horses, draw your swords!!!
And they killed the mountain people. So they won their just reward.
Now they stood beside the treasure, on the mountain dark and red.
Turned the stone and looked beneath it, "Peace On Earth" was all it said."

Do you see any similarities between this song and what has happened to the small parishes?
They were willing to share their riches weren't they?