This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/15/michael-curry-lesson-church-england
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Taking a lesson from Michael Curry could just save the Church of England | Taking a lesson from Michael Curry could just save the Church of England |
| (6 months later) | |
| Reports that the Church of England is to open up its pulpits to joyful Pentecostalist preachers in the style of the Royal wedding sermoniser, Bishop Michael Curry, may be just a tiny bit exaggerated. The truth is a minor tweak in church regulations is making it easier for local parishes to cooperate with their neighbouring black churches. And this is only part of a much wider effort, shepherded by archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, called Renewal and Reform, which is meant to shake the church free of its possibly fatal complacency. | Reports that the Church of England is to open up its pulpits to joyful Pentecostalist preachers in the style of the Royal wedding sermoniser, Bishop Michael Curry, may be just a tiny bit exaggerated. The truth is a minor tweak in church regulations is making it easier for local parishes to cooperate with their neighbouring black churches. And this is only part of a much wider effort, shepherded by archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, called Renewal and Reform, which is meant to shake the church free of its possibly fatal complacency. |
| It is certainly true, however, that the service at Meghan and Harry’s wedding dramatised the heroic efforts the Church of England is making to unstuffify itself. Mixing American, black preaching style with the jewel-encrusted tradition of St George’s chapel is only one example of the work it needs to do. The great difficulty for the Church of England is that it seems pointless to most people outside it, while the traditional language of evangelical Christianity, which is meant to reach out to new members, looks bigoted as well. | It is certainly true, however, that the service at Meghan and Harry’s wedding dramatised the heroic efforts the Church of England is making to unstuffify itself. Mixing American, black preaching style with the jewel-encrusted tradition of St George’s chapel is only one example of the work it needs to do. The great difficulty for the Church of England is that it seems pointless to most people outside it, while the traditional language of evangelical Christianity, which is meant to reach out to new members, looks bigoted as well. |
| Establishment means that its regulations are part of the law of the land, so that an argument about putting in lavatories can end up in a special court | Establishment means that its regulations are part of the law of the land, so that an argument about putting in lavatories can end up in a special court |
| This isn’t entirely the Church’s fault. It has lost its legal monopoly on impressive weddings now that civil weddings can be held almost anywhere and not just in registry offices, which are not romantic places. It is undercut in the funeral market. Although it controls thousands of primary schools, these do an astonishingly bad job of transmitting or even teaching Christianity. So elderly churchgoers just die and are not replaced. In 2016, nearly four times as many people stopped going to church because they had died as stopped because they no longer believed. Few of them are being replaced. The children of Anglican parents have only about a 30% chance of remaining Christians as adults, whereas the children of the religious indifferent are 90% likely to maintain that stance when they grow up. | This isn’t entirely the Church’s fault. It has lost its legal monopoly on impressive weddings now that civil weddings can be held almost anywhere and not just in registry offices, which are not romantic places. It is undercut in the funeral market. Although it controls thousands of primary schools, these do an astonishingly bad job of transmitting or even teaching Christianity. So elderly churchgoers just die and are not replaced. In 2016, nearly four times as many people stopped going to church because they had died as stopped because they no longer believed. Few of them are being replaced. The children of Anglican parents have only about a 30% chance of remaining Christians as adults, whereas the children of the religious indifferent are 90% likely to maintain that stance when they grow up. |
| The Church of England’s woes are not exceptional. The methodists, the baptists and the congregationalists who were all once a huge force in English life have disappeared in their traditional forms. The chapels of Wales are empty. The Roman Catholic church keeps its statistics up only as a result of immigration. | The Church of England’s woes are not exceptional. The methodists, the baptists and the congregationalists who were all once a huge force in English life have disappeared in their traditional forms. The chapels of Wales are empty. The Roman Catholic church keeps its statistics up only as a result of immigration. |
| Yet the Church of England is uniquely handicapped by legislation and by self-importance. Establishment means that its regulations are part of the law of the land, so that an argument about removing the pews from the church, or putting in lavatories, can end up in a special court. It was for many years technically illegal to preach in a sweater and open-necked shirt, or to use many of the forms of service that were most popular. | Yet the Church of England is uniquely handicapped by legislation and by self-importance. Establishment means that its regulations are part of the law of the land, so that an argument about removing the pews from the church, or putting in lavatories, can end up in a special court. It was for many years technically illegal to preach in a sweater and open-necked shirt, or to use many of the forms of service that were most popular. |
| Michael Curry’s royal wedding sermon will go down in history | Diana Evans | |
| This makes a huge contrast with the flexibility and vigour of more decentralised churches, among them the kind of Pentecostals who share a preaching style with bishop Curry. Partly because their preachers are paid directly by the congregations they are much more responsive to what their audience wants, and their services generally slicker and less boring. | This makes a huge contrast with the flexibility and vigour of more decentralised churches, among them the kind of Pentecostals who share a preaching style with bishop Curry. Partly because their preachers are paid directly by the congregations they are much more responsive to what their audience wants, and their services generally slicker and less boring. |
| Some of them have been enormously successful, especially those with an African background. The Kingsway International Christian Centre in London has a congregation of 6,000; the two biggest Anglican churches, Holy Trinity Brompton, and All Souls Langham Place have congregations of 4,500 and 2,300 respectively, while 4,000 mainly rural Anglican churches have congregations of 15 or less. Although most of the churches that are growing are evangelical and sexually conservative in their theology, by no means all are. Curry has been bitterly criticised by conservatives both for his sermon and for his support of gay people. The cathedrals of England still draw considerable congregations to their midweek services as well as to their Sunday ones, although they tend to be citadels of old-fashioned liberalism. | Some of them have been enormously successful, especially those with an African background. The Kingsway International Christian Centre in London has a congregation of 6,000; the two biggest Anglican churches, Holy Trinity Brompton, and All Souls Langham Place have congregations of 4,500 and 2,300 respectively, while 4,000 mainly rural Anglican churches have congregations of 15 or less. Although most of the churches that are growing are evangelical and sexually conservative in their theology, by no means all are. Curry has been bitterly criticised by conservatives both for his sermon and for his support of gay people. The cathedrals of England still draw considerable congregations to their midweek services as well as to their Sunday ones, although they tend to be citadels of old-fashioned liberalism. |
| In all this the single principle appears to be that churches that care about attracting congregations can do so. They just need to supply sufficiently dramatic worship, whether the music comes from a robed choir or a rock band. It helps, too, to have sermons that mean as much to their audience as to the performer. It might be hard to decide what exactly Curry was saying, but he left the world in no doubt that it mattered. The Church of England needs more of that, and knows it. | In all this the single principle appears to be that churches that care about attracting congregations can do so. They just need to supply sufficiently dramatic worship, whether the music comes from a robed choir or a rock band. It helps, too, to have sermons that mean as much to their audience as to the performer. It might be hard to decide what exactly Curry was saying, but he left the world in no doubt that it mattered. The Church of England needs more of that, and knows it. |
| • Andrew Brown is a Guardian leader writer | • Andrew Brown is a Guardian leader writer |
| Anglicanism | Anglicanism |
| Opinion | Opinion |
| Religion | Religion |
| Royal wedding 2018 | Royal wedding 2018 |
| Christianity | Christianity |
| comment | comment |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |