“What would you be, you wide East Anglian sky / Without church towers to recognise you by?” Even when Sir John Betjeman spoke these lines during his 1974 BBC documentary A Passion for Churches, they struck an elegiac note. Traditional religious practice in the Church of England was already in significant decline. Half a century on, Anglicans find themselves at a historic crossroads – obliged by dire financial circumstance and sparse congregations to rethink what the church is for, and where it should be.There are growing fears that at next month’s General Synod, measures will be taken to make it easier to close hundreds of parish churches, drastically reduce numbers of “vicars on the beat” and sell off assets to raise funds. Moving away from the traditional vision of providing for “the cure of souls” in every parish – with a Sunday service at the local church its focal point – the Anglican hierarchy envisions a future mixed ecology in which a variety of venues host groups of believers, some of which will be lay-led.According to plans drawn up in Manchester diocese, for example, a gradually reduced number of stipendiary clergy would provide support and oversight over new “mission communities”, which would absorb existing parishes.This prospect is being fought tooth and nail by furious congregations and clergy, in a struggle which is becoming as bitter as previous battles over the ordination of women and same-sex marriage. During the summer, a Save the Parish movement was founded to oppose the mooted changes. The archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who is seen as one of the chief architects of the new strategy, has admitted to sleepless nights as the backlash has gained momentum. The Anglican hierarchy stands accused of overseeing a soulless managerial approach to a budgetary crisis which the pandemic has made far worse.The pain felt at a local level is real and understandable. But in the context of a 40% decline in church attendance over the past 30 years, radical action seems unavoidable. Before the pandemic struck, around 5,000 parishes needed financial help from their diocese to meet the costs of ministry. Lincoln diocese has an annual £3m operating deficit and has said that after 2025 it will no longer be able to rely on historic assets to get by. On the current model, the old ideal of a priest for every parish no longer seems affordable. And given the huge decline in traditional forms of religious observance, it seems reasonable that the Church of England should look to experiment with new forms of mission in the community, in new settings. An enhanced leadership role for lay people may turn out to be a means of renewal and reinvigoration as well as a financial imperative.For atheists, agnostics and those of other denominations and faiths, the Church of England’s deeply uncertain future might seem very much someone else’s problem. But there is a wider pathos to the current crisis and the bitter divisions it is causing. As studies have shown, the widespread rejection of traditional churchgoing in Britain does not mean that we have become a nation of atheists. A more individualised and diffuse sense of the spiritual is still commonplace. Most people don’t go to church. But many people like the idea that these sites of hospitality and reflection are still around, especially in moments of crisis or for crucial rites of passage.That backdrop is not one which can permit the Church of England to carry on indefinitely as it has been doing. But as well as being a reason for it to exercise great caution in navigating a fraught future, it can also be a source of what is, after all, a theological virtue – hope.
In 2009 the UK Environment Agency asked 25 secular environmental leaders what might ‘save the planet’. Second on the list of 50 items, behind only greater energy efficiency, was for world faiths to become engaged on the issue of environmental protection. As nations prepare to gather for COP26, the most important climate summit since the signing of the Paris Agreement and the biggest diplomatic event to take place on British soil since World War 2, I’m pleased to see the global church taking a more active role in creation care. In 2015 there was Pope Francis’ papal encyclical Laudato Si and the Lambeth Declaration on climate change, not to mention only last month we saw for the first time the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion jointly warning of the urgency of environmental sustainability and its impact on the poor. That impact was something I witnessed myself three years ago when travelling in a part of Northern Kenya where it hadn’t rained for 18 months. Seeing children waving empty plastic bottles at us, begging for water was one of the saddest things I have experienced. Every day the equivalent of 12 jumbo jets worth of people die because they do not have access to fresh water. This horror is only going to worsen without tackling the injustice of the climate crisis.For me the challenge of the environmental emergency is captured in the Lord’s Prayer. We pray “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven.” If you look in the Book of Common Prayer you’ll notice it says “in earth, as it is in heaven.” Somewhere in the last hundred years or so “in earth as it is in heaven” has somehow changed to, “on earth as it is in heaven”. It was not an organized change by some church commission, it just happened. We used to believe, and to know, that we lived in earth, that we were part of it, interdependent with it. And if we had a relationship with the earth it was to be its good stewards, living in it, and with it, and serving it. Then somewhere in the last couple of hundred years we moved to a position from living in the earth to living on the earth. And now I’m separate from the earth. The earth is mine, and I can do with it what I will. And from that, disaster upon disaster has flowed. We've been blind to the consequences of our actions, and we now live in a time where we must take action.The prayer also suggests a solution to our broken relationship with creation. It continues, “Give us today our daily bread.” Give me enough for today, save me from wanting more than my share. So no, I don't want strawberries on Christmas Day flown in from the other side of the world. I need to live differently, I need to inhabit the planet in a different, more sustainable way.It’s right that we advocate and campaign for better legislation for the environment, that we look for progress at meetings like COP26. We have political power to use our voice for these things. But we also need a change of heart, where we recognise that we live in the earth, where we start to learn to know what enough looks like.I welcome the interventions from church leaders and the words of the Lambeth Declaration. But we must also remember that the church manifesting a more sustainable relationship with creation is happening in individual churches and homes across the country. There is Arocha’s Eco Church scheme which has seen thousands of churches being awarded gold, silver and bronze awards for taking steps to ensure their church acts as better stewards of creation. The Church of England has made the commitment to be net carbon zero by 2030 – in just nine years time. I am proud of this bold decision, which is aligned with the most ambitious and forward-thinking institutions and ahead of the vast majority of others. If we want to speak prophetically into this debate it’s important that we act prophetically too. It’s going to be a big challenge but there is a huge amount happening. Churches are switching to renewable electricity providers, we’re reducing our energy waste, fitting solar panels and ground source heaters. It may be a cliché but yes, there’s a role for changing to LED light bulbs too. Some of our buildings already have a very small carbon footprint, others are bigger. It’s a huge, ambitious and pretty terrifying programme. And I don't know whether we'll get there by 2030. But if we get a long way towards it, it will be a significant achievement. The first step for anyone wanting to help join us is to do a simple audit of your church’s energy using a CofE app: churchofengland.org/energy-footprinting-toolOver the next few weeks we will be watching and praying in hope for a positive outcome at COP26 which will see the world take a major step forward in bringing climate justice to those in need of it. But whatever the outcome in Glasgow, there will be a need for a movement of people with changed hearts that live in the earth and not just on it, that cherishes the gift of ‘enough’ and that tries to model a way of living which works in harmony with God’s creation, not against it.
Archbishop Justin Welby has conferred honorary doctorates on two people who played a central role in the Church of England’s landmark Living in Love and Faith project.The Rt Revd Dr Christopher Cocksworth, Bishop of Coventry, and Dr Eeva John (see photo) were each granted the Lambeth Doctorate of Divinity, in recognition of the “outstanding theological quality and intellectual rigour” of their work.The doctorates were conferred during a service in the Chapel at Lambeth Palace on Friday 15 October, in front of Bishop Christopher’s and Dr John’s family and friends.The Living in Love and Faith project was launched in 2017 to help the Church engage in learning together about questions of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.It resulted in a set of resources designed to help Church of England churches participate in a process of learning, listening and prayer together as part of discerning a way forward in relation to matters of identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.Bishop Christopher was invited by the House of Bishops to lead the project from its launch, working alongside a coordinating group and more than 40 scholars in biblical studies, the sciences, history, theology and ethics.In his doctoral citation, Bishop Christopher was recognised for his theological leadership of the project, and for steering the work of the team and building relationships across different perspectives.“The way in which Bishop Christopher has led this process reflects the breadth of disciplines necessary to provide a genuine and deep understanding of the pluriform influences that affect life and that direct the experience of faith and relationship with God and indeed of the understanding of the triune creator God,” said the citation.Dr Eeva John was appointed in 2017 to the role of Enabling Officer for Living in Love and Faith and the Pastoral Advisory Group, Archbishop’s Council.Using her “keen and creative understanding of practical theology, attention to method, theological depth and extraordinary people skills”, her citation said, Dr John played a central role in coordinating the wide-ranging participation needed to ensure the project reflected a variety of voices and experiences.It is only the second time in his ministry that the Archbishop has chosen to exercise his legal right to award such degrees.The Archbishop said conferring the doctorates on Bishop Christopher and Dr John enabled him to give “a tangible and lasting expression” of his gratitude for their work and for the contribution of the dedicated team alongside them.
Christians working in the media have been speaking about integrity and truth, and the challenges they face in their jobs, with several leading journalists taking part in a special online service organised by the network Christians in Media.Lucy Denyer (see photo), associate editor of The Telegraph magazine, explained: "For me integrity means doing my job to the best of my ability, even when it's uncomfortable, because I trust God that he's called me to be there."She admitted: "It can be a tough working environment. Journalists are trained to ask hard questions, often they're cynical. But they are also taught to hold everything up to the light and question it for rigour or for truth – which is not so different to being a Christian after all."Warren Nettleford, ITV News and Channel 5 presenter, spoke about covering stories where teenagers had been killed.He said: "I've had to interview parents who have suffered a terrible loss, and you are there, knowing that your editor wants a story that will engage with viewers. At the same time you are there to ensure that the parents can say what they want to say. You don't want to verge on being sensationalist."So it's really important that you make sure that the parents can be heard – but you're not going over the edge to make it into entertainment."Tim Levell, programme director for Times Radio told the service: "Truth and integrity have always been important to me, but not just in the on-air output, but in my off-air dealings with people too."He also spoke about the importance of keeping confidences when colleagues have shared private information with him.Sandra Godley, BBC CWR radio presenter and gospel singer, recalled having to 'whistle-blow' on a work colleague."It was difficult, but it was the right thing to do," she explained.Tim Pemberton, Head of Religion and Ethics for the BBC's audio output, was the keynote speaker at the service that had been viewed around 500 times within hours of its launch.He spoke on Peter's denial of Jesus from Luke 22, and pointed out, "Speaking the truth can be threatening and costly. Jesus ended up on a cross for it."We have to face the fact that serious truth telling can lead to loss - of money, employment, relationships, status and, as we see in the gospel story, even your life."He said, looking across society, "Truth is now a cudgel, a weapon with which to beat and shame your opponents into submission. We are no longer open, honest enquirers. We are all warriors keen to prove our point. We no longer see people who simply disagree with us on an issue. We have to impugn their integrity and question their motives."He contrasted this with St Paul, writing to the Ephesians, and encouraging them to seek unity by "speaking the truth in love."Pemberton encouraged people "to seek one-ness by caring how my telling of the truth impacts my family, my friends, my opponents and my enemies. We all have a choice in this – to follow the status quo and add to the cycle of abuse and anger or to fulfil the promise of our good intentions, listen to others and make sure our contribution is insightful, courteous and positive. This is a radical, counter-cultural idea."He added: "Hopefully, none of us will face death for speaking the truth, like Martin Luther King, but we may need to confront the threat of ridicule, of loss of job, of loss generally. All we can do is prepare ourselves."Other participants in the online service, led by comedian Paul Kerensa, included young people currently taking part in a mentoring scheme run by Christians in Media.The service was held ahead of the annual Day of Prayer for Media, when churches and individual Christians have been encouraged to take part on Sunday October 31st.Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, a former communications director with the CofE, and the author of 'Responding to Post-truth' (Grove Books).
