A New Way for Anglicans to be Received into the Roman Catholic Church? ...and What Cost Liberalism? from Ruth Gledhill of The Times

Fascinating...

All the evidence from the US, and indeed England, is that churches that embrace wholeheartedly the liberal agenda fall into inexorable decline. Sometimes even pretty rapid decline.

That isn't meant to be a judgemental statement on liberalism. From a secular perspective, and just for the record, I myself endorse gay rights, women's rights and the rest.

But the facts speak for themselves. Liberalism in the Anglican Communion is proving to be a recipe for decline. If that's what the liberals want, then fine.

Tree Husbandry: Decline in the Anglican Church of Canada

At the last Canadian House of Bishops meeting a consultant reported that the Anglican Church of Canada is declining in numbers at the rate of about 2% each year. At that rate, he said, the last one to turn the lights out in an Anglican church in Canada will do so in the year 2061.

"Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire," says John the Baptizer in Luke 3.9, my Gospel reading this morning. I wonder if the Anglican Church of Canada tree is being cut down at the rate of 2% per year.

If so, what can we do about it?

2 comments:

KJB said...

From what I've seen, there is a serious lack of younger people in most Anglican congregations and it seems as if most young people I know either don't attend church or if they do, go to churches where the culture and atmosphere caters to their lifestyle as contemporary music lovers, parents,etc.........the younger generation of church-goers as a whole just doesn't seem interested in what most Anglican churches have to offer............so it's no wonder the trees are being cut down.......nevermind 2061, it'll be interesting to see what happens in the next 10 or 20+ years when the current older generation is mostly gone...........will there be any younger people left to close the doors?

Thu Jan 05, 05:28:00 AM MST 

kiwijudy said...

If it is the Anglican Church of Canada, it is not surprising, given the strange and ungodly direction it seems to be taking. Perhaps the Lord wants this part of the forest to disappear, so that there can be new growth. I don't blame the younger generation for not going to Anglican churches - in so many ways it seems like a secret society where we do stuff that is 100s of years old and expect that everyone will buy into the ancient traditions.
What can we do about it? As Mother Yeresa said - "Look after your own backyard first". We must remain faithful ourselves to our Lord Jesus and his call on our lives - and not be tempted to
remain stuck in the past or try to be all things to all people so that we can be the 'chosen' ones - ie, people attend our worship services rather than someone else's.

Thu Jan 05, 12:43:00 PM MST