Protesters camped outside St Paul’s have proposed a “Winter Carnival” in which they would walk to cathedrals across the country including Belfast – just across the street from their camp.
Members of the Occupy London movement have written to Church of England bishops about the “touring occupation” that would visit the main churches in their dioceses.
A memo written by Rachel Mariner, posted online and discussed at meetings over the past week, suggests that cathedrals and the Church of England should be “pressed into service in this time of injustice and moral crisis”.
It shows that some in the movement, which is calling for reform of capitalism, now see the Church as a potentially important ally rather than an enemy.
The encampment on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral has been in place for six weeks now, and an abandoned attempt by the authorities to force them out led to the resignations of two senior clergymen. In recent weeks the Church has expressed more sympathy with the activists’ aims if not their methods.
Protesters have also set up tents outside Exeter Cathedral, although the bishop there has suggested they are mere copycats who do not appear to be targeting financial institutions.