Can Anglo-Catholic churches grow?
Richard Peers writes: Non so many years ago it was mostly accepted that the Church of England was a finely balanced 3-legged stool of Anglo-Catholics, evangelicals and the liberal establishment. The debate about the ordination of women has macerated Anglo-Catholicism both in numbers and in the diversion of energy – particularly of our best leaders and organisers. The liberal establishment has been reduced by the rise of what at least 1 bishop describes every bit the neo-orthodoxy of our times. It is difficult to imagine either David Jenkins or John Robinson in the episcopate now.
It is equally accepted that in our time the Church is dominated past evangelicals. As a committed Anglo-Catholic, I am pretty relaxed by that. Movements wax and wane; in the 1930s Anglo-Catholics held sway, post-war it was the liberals and at present the evangelicals. I am, however, concerned that despite evangelical successes in church planting and in the growth of big congregations this has not halted or even slowed overall decline. Church growth needs to happen on a much wider and more than diverse scale than information technology is at present if we are to sustain even our current position.
The Centre for Theology and Customs has this week published a new written report on church growth as seen in seven Anglo-Cosmic parishes in London (both due north and s of the river, in London and Southwark dioceses). This is an of import and significant written report, the first, as far equally I know of its kind. Information technology is important, not in the to the lowest degree for including parishes from both the traditionalist stream of anglo-catholicism and those who embrace the ordination of women. The Centre is exactly what is says it is. Information technology is a theologically-based organisation working "to equip churches to transform their communities." All their publications are worth reading and provide important data on what is happening in the church and in communities.
A Time To Sow is an important contribution to those of us who hope to renew the Anglo-Cosmic contribution to the life of the church. However, a very meaning and disappointing lack is the presence of a adult female priest leading a growing parish. Concerned about this I contacted the author, Tim Thorlby, who explained that this was because of the difficulty of finding growing Anglo-Catholic parishes of any kind. This in itself should exist nutrient for thought.
At this September's Anglican Catholic Future briefing Bishop Philip Northward spoke about evangelism:
"The mere fact there is a discipline called 'Cosmic Evangelism' which merits written report on its own for me rather illustrates the trouble. Do we take talks and papers on 'Evangelical evangelism?' No, because they're too busy doing it. In our defence, we are living through a time of immense evangelical influence in Church building of England and as a result the techniques and ideas that surroundings evangelism are largely fatigued from ane tradition. Inevitably that means that we can feel at odds with much of the language of evangelism that is around today."
He goes on to offering four features of Cosmic Evangelism as it is practised: Incarnational, Sacramental, Communal and Lifelong. Each of these elements is conspicuously present in the seven parishes studied, although by the nature of the written report, which seeks to wait at growth over a five year menstruation, the final element of lifelong evangelism is harder to judge.
Each of the parishes is showing incarnational evangelism in that they are centred on particular localities, parishes with all that each context brings them. The parish clergy are conspicuously deeply rooted in their communities, very often in schools only likewise in other organisations and in the use of church premises by other groups.
All of the parishes described are practising deeply sacramental evangelism. In each of them not only the use of the daily Office simply often of daily or near daily Eucharist are fundamental to the piece of work that is being done. The communities in which these churches are situated volition know that they are praying communities.
The 7 parishes are engaged in profoundly communal evangelism. In none of them is evangelism almost what happens simply to an individual but in that person becoming function of a wider customs of church that makes a contribution to the wider community.
Every one of these communities is showing significant and sustained growth. That is deeply encouraging. These are not becoming mega-churches; the growth is significant rather than dramatic. However in a context in which many congregations are shrinking the growth in these churches non only halts only reverses that and is therefore highly significant. If every Anglican parish, or even half of Anglican parishes were able to exercise what these parishes are doing the national data would look very different indeed.
As the author notes, this study is of only 1 metropolis, and because of the incarnational nature of these parishes it reflects that context. Having left London for the north-w just 15 months agone I know that there are many differences betwixt the capital and the residue of the country, both parish and educational contexts. Almost all of the parishes in the report have been able to utilise their buildings either to brand money or not to lose money. This is the consequence of splendid management, very often by the clergy involved. In the Catholic context, where good management is often sneered at, it is adept to see priests every bit splendid managers. The reality is, however, that this is much harder to do in communities where property has relatively depression value and attracts very low rents and where a number of publically available facilities – halls and community centres etc – may be competing for very few groups needing such accommodation and those that in that location are having very little funding.
Besides, the presence of significant numbers of Black, African and Afro-Caribbean families, can accept a very different effect on a congregation to the monochrome white working classes of many northern estates and towns. Loyalty to the church, and perhaps more than so to grandparents in black families, can mean meaning numbers of children and young people in church on a Sunday.
Many of the studies mention pastoral assistant schemes having an outcome on church growth. In that location are fantabulous examples of this in London. For immature people leaving university and because a vocation to ordained life they can provide a cheap way of living in London and existence involved in church life every bit a grooming for selection panels. London is a buzzy and exciting place to live. It is harder to attract either funding or young people to live in less attractive locations.
Thorlby draws attending to the fact that Anglo-Catholics accept not produced an equivalent to HTB—a 'megachurch' to resource other churches. There are several churches in London which accept substantial resources (All Saints, Margaret Street; Bourne Street; Holy Trinity, Sloane Street; St Matthew's, Westminster all leap to mind), and while these are thriving in their own way, they accept not seen substantial growth and are non making the major contribution that HTB does to the national life of the church building. The written report raises this question merely does non effort to answer it.
This report is a heartening read. I know many of the, mainly young, clergy who have achieved the growth identified and they deserve the praise this study implies. I know some of the parishes, particularly St John's, Catford, and the report accurately depicts the vibrant life at that place. The report shows a model that can exist followed elsewhere and does not require huge resource. Because, quite rightly, it focusses on the communities involved and non on the private clergy it misses the fact that these individuals bring bully positivity, energy, managerial skills and prayerfulness to their tasks. Notwithstanding, I wonder if the nature of the parishes, the difficulty of finding other Catholic parishes that are growing and the complete absence of large Anglo-Cosmic congregations resourcing the wider motion and church building suggests a more than fundamental problem? The four marks of mission that Bishop Philip identifies would be accepted by almost Catholic Anglicans—but perhaps they tie us besides deeply to the parish system? An evangelical friend recently asked me if I idea in that location was a structural upshot that was leading to Anglo-Catholic turn down. It could exist that we are tied as well firmly to the parish model and that what Anglo-Catholics would criticise every bit evangelical congregationalism actually frees evangelicals to create growth.
It occurs to me in reading this report that in its heyday Anglo-Catholicism was actually a church-planting movement. Many of the great Cosmic shrines, such as St Agatha's in Landport, Portsmouth where I ministered for a time at St Faith's, were planted in the newly congenital slums where there was no established parish. Anglo-Catholicism was counter-cultural, subversive of the existing establishment just as Evangelicals are today. Could information technology be that Anglo-Catholics have become too institution? Too attached to the parish organisation? Have we lost our missionary edge because we can't see beyond the institutions which imprison us? Is the Anglican three-legged stool unbalanced, not and then much by the pass up of Anglo-Catholicism only because as well much of it has been swallowed up by the Establishment?
Bishop Philip is himself a member of the Company of Mission Priests, who challenged the established blueprint of one priest, one parish; the mission today demands new structures and new systems if nosotros are to re-invent ourselves. A Time to Sow is an of import, interesting and useful document just it is closer to a first than a last word.
Additional Annotation: Tim Thorlby's summary of his report includes a similar balance between encouragement and challenge:
Maybe most striking of all is that the 'habits of growth' displayed by these true-blue Anglican Catholic churches are near indistinguishable from the habits in evidence amidst neighbouring evangelical churches which are likewise growing. The liturgies, linguistic communication and church building culture may be different, simply a number of key habits are shared. In particular, the practice of community organising is existence harnessed past a growing number of churches to develop the congregation and deed with its neighbours for the common proficient…
The stories of growth which we have told are not typical of Anglican Catholic parishes – they illustrate what is possible but are non the norm. The report sets out the reasons why nosotros believe that Anglican Catholic parishes are less likely to be growing than their neighbouring evangelical counterparts. Anglican Catholic parishes brand up something like 1 in five Anglican parishes in London and with every passing year this proportion is probably declining.
The reason for this lack of growth in the Anglican Catholic tradition is not because their parishes are more than 'difficult' – our reports testify that growth is entirely possible in such neighbourhoods, and the Pentecostals and Roman Catholics don't seem to have a problem with this. The reason also cannot exist because the Tradition doesn't accept the 'tools', as nosotros have shown that some of its parishes conspicuously do – and where they needed to learn new habits, they didn't take to wait far to detect help.
It rather looks as though too many parishes are not growing because they either don't think it'south important or just don't believe they can. As Catechism Angus Ritchie concludes in the Afterword – "there is a demand for a alter in the civilisation of Anglican Catholicism."
Nosotros hope and pray that the stories in our report will encourage more Anglican Catholic parishes to have up the claiming of growth, in ways which are true-blue to the tradition and misreckoning to the critics.
Father Richard Peers is Director of Education in the Diocese of Liverpool, and tweets (often!) at @educationpriest and blogs at Quodcumque
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