5 responses to “Diocesan Synod”
-
I fight this every stinkin’ time I’m in church. The average age of our Vestry is 47, the eldest is 69 and the youngest is 28 (*waves*).
However, all I hear about is how we are a ‘grey’ church in fear of dying.
I think it’s too much trust in statistics and not enough in the power of the Holy Spirit. And I will beat that through their heads if it KILLS ME.
-
Conversations about mission that assume the Church is dying are bad enough, but at least the subject is being talked about. It’s worse when the mere idea of having a conversation about mission causes consternation and retreat behind the brocaded curtains.
If such a conversation is to get going at all, however, we need to be prepared to rethink radically our ecclesiology. It may not be strictly inevitable that decline will continue, but we need to be realistic about the prospects (such as they are) for future provision of ordained ministers and stipends to sustain them. All churches are facing a decline in these areas.
-
P.S. – I’m not leaving the Holy Spirit out of the reckoning, simply saying that sober and realistic thinking is one of the less trumpeted gifts of the Spirit.
-
I was feeling much the same Kelvin, I was starting to believe all the doom and gloom merchants and wasn’t looking forward to another 3 days of it. I didn’t really think it was the case but when the dripping tap just keeps on going eventually you start to wonder. LYCIG gave me the kick up the backside I was needing to stop listening to the negative and concentrate on the positive and there is lots of that about. If we keep talking about decline we will talk ourselves into it, we need to stop it now!
-
Mary Sue,
Perhaps some parts of our church are glad to be grey.
But seriously, while I applaud the resistance to ‘sociological determinism’ (i.e. decline is inevitable), I think we can also think creatively about our demographics before we chuck out the baby, or the bathwater. It’s time to recycle the grey water.
Some recent thoughts I had are here:
http://www.dunc.info/?p=94(I don’t know how to do that clever trackback thing…)
Previous Posts
-
Last night’s concert
Anyone wanting to get a flavour of the Concert for Christchurch that we held last night in St Mary’s can do so by listening to Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme from earlier today. You can find it online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00yrn6g and the segment you are looking for starts 1 hour, 49 minutes and 45…
-
Jane Russell RIP
So, the world must say goodbye to Jane Russell. I choose to remember her more for this clip than for her politics: Ain't There Anyone Here For Love by avinot
-
Sermon preached on 27 February 2011
Here's what I said earlier today in the pulpit. Consider the Lilies of the Field Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today. For the last few weeks we have been reading the Sermon on the Mount and this is the last of the…
-
Christchurch Concert – Monday evening – more details
Here’s what the press release says: Voices unite for benefit concert for victims of New Zealand earthquake Scottish singers are coming together for a major benefit concert on Monday evening at 8 pm for the people of Christchurch, New Zealand. The concert will take place in St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Glasgow which is an almost…
Leave a Reply