After reading about the findings of the ONS report ‘Religion, England and Wales’, the Rev Simon Douglas Lane wrote a letter to the editor:
SIR – I fear that the decline in the number of people in England and Wales espousing Christian belief, now less than 50 per cent (report, November 30), is largely self-inflicted.
Decades of “modernising” church services to the point of ineffable blandness haven’t helped, while clergy numbers have fallen to a level where retired clergy are working hard to cover the gaps in stipendiary ministry. On top of that, the Church of England has gone down the road of micromanagement, so that the real reason for its existence has been lost in a sea of secular directives.
The situation can be salvaged but, as with the NHS, a radical change of direction is required. The closure of churches during the first lockdown was a major error – a missed opportunity to help people in real distress . Now, amid a cost-of-living crisis, there is a similar opportunity.
However, although the faith is strong, the organisation to proclaim it isn’t. We need vigorous leadership, with better resources for parishes. If more parish churches had a regular priest providing inspiring worship, with a real feeling for the community, the tide could turn.
o
The Emerging Church 