Re Re-motivating Church

Following on from my post yesterday, and answering some of the points made regarding it, I thought I'd continue with it for a bit longer.

It has been pointed out that the church was active in this land when money was forthcoming from the endowments and the (not always popular) system of tithes, and this is true. Not only that, but the parishes were generally stable entities which meant that the people within were known.

This is a fair observation, but it was also a time when the church was acting out of a legacy of pastoral care too and this was more often than not funded by the 'ordinary' people even if the initial idea, funding and motivation came from the nobs or the clergy. When there was nothing else, the Church was generally all there was and reading on this area I find that some embrace their legacy cheerfully and looked for ways to be involved and engaged, some however discharged their duties legalistically and grudging. Obviously it is the former group I would like to see being revived. Wonderfully, I can see places where this is true.

The next consideration was that the clergy were part of the Oxbridge, ruling class which rubbed shoulders with the aristocracy and the gentry.

Not only that but it was a time when, "The church acted paternalistically, assuming that everyone should be grateful for their (sometimes grudging) favours, and when it acted triumphalistically, assuming an easy right to be involved in everything."

As Revsimmy words so rightly point out, the old days of 'first son inherits title, second son joins the army, third son goes into the church' have long gone. He also points out that the old system was such that many of those ordained in the recent past would never have been under the old 'ruling class' system. Which reminds me of an encounter when I was Potty training.

Our POT group was visiting and establishment when the Chief Executive brought an old chap in to meet us. It transpired that the old gentleman was a retired bishop. After a few niceties and introduction he said something along the lines of, "Well done for getting ordained. So and so has just taken over my old diocese, the son of N you know. People think that we're letting anyone in you know, but the CofE is still one of the greatest gentlemen's clubs in the world!"

Appalled? We were!!!

I am glad we have opened the doors to those who seek ministry and am glad we have lost the 'Conservative party at prayer' label, but do fear that we are perhaps heading towards being the "Trendy, New Labour Party at prayer," instead. Still, back to the topic in hand.

RevSimmy continues, "I'm afraid I don't share the rose-tinted view of the past that some seem to have. The church squandered its opportunities because it spent too much effort cosying up to those in power at the time and has still not properly adjusted to our late/post-modern times. I for one am thankful for the welfare state .. and do we want to return to the attitudes of Father/Parson knows best?"

I also meet many who long for the good old days when we were all and everything, when the Vicar was also a member of the ruling or gentrified classes and the people knew their place. But I am not one of those, thankfully, but one who sees that the heritage we have walked away from (for it was just taken, the church volunteered it) perhaps all but gone. Yet the 'Big Society' and the chaos caused by the greed of those looking to make a quick and easy profit, the naivety of the bankers (who thought it could just keep on going upwards) and the ineptitude of the government (Labour as incumbents and Tories because they helped set the condition for the banking crisis) give us one last chance to regain some of the ground.

Where I am, I see Christians responding to need through a variety of works and we come alongside those with addictions , pregnancy issues and soon to come, a foodbank too! The Church needs to be doing the same, and the time has never been better - we just need to get people out of the church buildings and into the community!

Like UKViewer, I don't see the church can become what it once was in some places like the East End in the last century, but this is more about demographics and the people groups who now populace those parts rather than the effectiveness or opportunities. We have the opportunity, and are taking it,to be the voice of concern and care in our inner-city areas. The 'Big Society' will only increase the potential.

The welfare state, although coming from altruistic motives, has in many ways begun to mirror what happened when the Church was the welfare state and this is perhaps another benefit of the current cash crisis in that it will see itself de-institutionalised and the opportunities for Multi Agency Groups (MAGs) with Church leadership (or involvement) will be the turning point of a sound and financially effective response to this nation's needs.

When UKV says, "In these days of less stipendiary ministers and falling incomes, I don't see the church doing that much more than it is managing now. I would love to see it differently, but I sense that I would have to a wild optimist to believe that this situation will improve in the short or medium term."

Where I am, I am seeing those who have retired taking the lead and the ministers, whilst active (well, some of them!) the lead is the members. This is what gives me such hope for the future.

So, what are the needs where we are? What is being lost due to cuts and how can the Church (that means churches) respond and meet those needs?

PAx