Vicars are employed by God, not the Church, says court,” ran the headline in The Independent. The question of who employs Church of England clergy arose from a claim by the Revd Mark Sharpe for unfair dismissal from his “role in the Church of England parish of Teme Valley South, in the Diocese of Worcestershire, when locals began a hate campaign against him. He said his dog was poisoned.” Dear, oh dear, it doesn’t get much more hateful than that.The case has rumbled on. Mr Sharpe took sick leave in 2005 and left his post in 2009. It was the Court of Appeal that ruled last week. But what did it rule? His case was “thrown out by judges”, reported the Express, “on the grounds that God employs him.” “His employer is effectively God,”