ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the Margerys relationship to her parish church. The lack of scholarly attention to the Lynn parish of St Margaret, dedicated to St Margaret and St Mary Magdalene and to all holy virgins, surprising given in the parish, and because St Margarets church figures so prominently in Margerys Book, framing many of her experiences. Margery continually struggles with what the relationship between parish and parishioner. Initially, Margery uses the parish as a social place, where she can display her status and meet with friends she comes to redefine this relationship, rejecting political and social interactions within the parish for ones that she construes as spiritual and devotional. Margery distinguishes herself from the stereotypes of parish women and forges a new identity for herself as a lay spiritual leader and mentor of her parish. Margerys shifting forms of parish involvement manifest the tension between understanding the parish as a place of politics and as a place to encounter God.
