School of Life

It’s Sunday, it is 11am and I am at church. Or at least I thought I was.

I’m sitting in a hall in Bloomsbury, built in 1929 by the Ethical Society as a landmark of London’s intellectual, political and cultural life, and to encourage freedom in moral and spiritual thought.

The hall is packed; there are several hundred of us here to listen to this Sunday Sermon. But this is no ordinary service. For starters the devil is amongst us. A jovial and benevolent stick thin chap attired in a body-hugging red suit and standing at seven feet tall, who welcomes us and leads the opening hymn…Jealous Guy by John Lennon.

I’m about to listen to a sermon on affluenza, ‘the curse of the evils of excessive materialism’, organised by the unusual, innovative and inspiring School of Life which aims to give those of us who attend the opportunity ‘to think about the big questions,’ which include: what constitutes a meaningful job, how to live an ethical life, how to cope with and enjoy family, love relationships, politics and play. ‘Sometimes we feel we had a lot of education but we weren’t taught anything about important life concerns.’ These services are designed to explore the many questions of living wisely, and living well.

Today’s sermon has been put together by Oliver James, a psychologist who now works as a writer, journalist, broadcaster, television documentary producer and presenter – who now takes to the pulpit to deliver a sermon on excessive materialism and the misery of relative inequality it inevitably leads to. Despite the impressive turn out, I am worried that this will be unbearably preachy and a bit flaky – a ‘sermon’ on materialism? The economic climate has made damn sure we all know the error of our ways.

But it isn’t what I expect at all – and it really gives me something to think about. James is a charismatic speaker who urges us to mend our ways – not for altruistic reasons alone, but because the excess of envy and consumerism he calls ‘affluenza’ is making us demonstrably more miserable and distressed. It’s a simple, but profound message delivered easily, with real panache; and while there is humour, there is also a lot to think about.

We conclude by singing another hymn and then we head out for coffee and cake – but this is also no ordinary cake: chocolate sponge, iced in green, one side darker than the other and with a white picket fence running down the middle. The lady serving it asks me quite innocently, which side would I like…?

The School of Life runs a series of courses, weekends and sermons throughout London.

The School of Life
70 Marchmont Street
Bloomsbury
WC1N 1AB

Tel: 020 7833 1010