Rainbow bench in churchyard must be repainted

[Tentative2]

The bench was apparently painted in rainbow colours to show support for the NHS. Now a church court has ordered that it's repainted in its original brown colour to protect the “thoughts, feelings and emotions of all users of the churchyard”.
This has made me think of those colourful police cars and ambulances which people going through terrible experiences are being faced with.
www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/music/church-rainbow-nhs-bench-must-be-repainted-to-protect-feelings-court-rules/ar-AA11G2Gp?ocid

@rcat74 is right. My late dad was a churchwarden and there are very strict rules about what's allowed in a churchyard. The rules are not the same as for a cemetery.

There are rules governing churchyard furniture, the types of memorial stones/sculptures permitted, even the wording on the stones. It caused much friction with people who either could not or would not understand this. It was the source of much distress to my dad, as he was regularly abused horrendously by a particular family who refused to accept the guidelines - he was enormously sympathetic to them, but was simply unable to deviate from the diocesan/church stipulations. www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings/new-burials-and-memorials

The issue around this bench is very unlikely to be one of the individual vicar (or churchwardens) being an intransigent or stubborn arse - more that it contravenes the churchyard regulations and the rules require its alteration.

I liked the street art supporting the NHS and key workers and it's right that some of it should remain, still in support and as a reminder of what we went through and how much we owe - and continue to owe each and every day - to them, but I do understand and appreciate why this bench in particular needs to be changed.

I didn't even know that I had an opinion on grave yards until I saw that photo, but I agree that they should be calm, even sombre, areas and that bench is too bright. It's beautifully painted just in the wrong place. The church yard where my Dad is buried has benches but they are tucked along the outer wall of the church and painted a dark colour (I couldn't even tell you what colour) so they are not a distraction.

That bench is very pretty. But not in that location. Here is a hint for you both. People sitting in churchyards are often there because they are visiting the burial site of a loved one. That bench is the visual equivalent of shouting, "cheer up, it might never happen" at someone placing flowers at a graveside.

Compulsory cheeriness is simply not appropriate, and painting a bench to celebrate the NHS is particularly maladroit.

It equates to a message of "grieving the death of someone close to you? Good news: the NHS saves the lives of lots of other people!"

Incredibly insensitive.

Very well said @PurgatoryOfPotholes

Agree - and thank you for teaching me a new word 😂

Thank you, Johnnysgirl and Twawmyarse!

Honestly, it astounds me that some people seem to be willing to tribally defend any situation if it has a passing acquaintance with a rainbow logo. You should not arrive at a position in discussion out of sheer contrariness, because it is no substitute for emotional intelligence, situational awareness, or knowledge of cultural and legal norms (the arguments over churchyard regulations regularly end up in my local paper!)

Were they always lacking in emotional awareness, situational awareness and knowledge of cultural norms around churchyard etiquette, or do they selectively lose their skills for the sake of arguing on particular topics? Why descend to petty point scoring about the significance of the rainbow in Christian theology when we're discussing respecting grief?

Seriously, a churchyard is for all grieving family members, not only people who want to combine celebrating the NHS with their visit.

Beyond that, this is incredibly bad PR. As a regular poster in this section, I know who here is a transactivist. So will other posters and lurkers. Why on earth would you go out to associate your activism and cause with emotionally insensitive people who trample over grieving people's feelings just to annoy feminists on mumsnet?