However, it was his comments about youth work that caught the imagination of the British press.
“As I look at the church today the most urgent and worrying gap is in young peoples work. So many churches have no ministry to young people and that means they have no interest in the future. As I have repeated many times in the past ”˜we are one generation away from extinction’. We have to give cogent reasons to young people why the Christian faith is relevant to them,” the archbishop said.
Ignoring Lord Carey’s principle points The Times, Daily Mirror, Independent, Daily Telegraph, Daily Express, and Daily Mail focused on his assertion that “[t]he Church of England could be one generation away from extinction.” Just about all of the press reports and commentary misconstrued what Lord Carey was trying to say. Renewal, growth, evangelism — even optimism — was at the heart of the archbishop’s Shropshire speech, not doom and gloom.
“Twas ever thus, and it is surely no surprise that especially in writing headlines, the media go for the biggest noise they can make.
They are in business solely to make money. The dissemination, correct or misleading or non-existent, of information may or may not assist that; if it does not, they do not burden themselves with so doing.
True, Luke.
But I think there’s factor in play here. Projection, projection, projection. The press wants the CoE to die, and hopes it will, and so it projects onto the former ABoC its own wishes.
BTW, Luke, as a follow up to an earlier discussion on another thread, I’ve found out that the next archbishop for the ACNA will indeed be chosen by the College of Bishops at their June meeting, right before the Provincial Assembly. So you should get to hear the news shortly after the decision is made (whether it turns out to be +Guernsey, +Atwood, or someone else).
David Handy+
Yes, re: the ACNA choice…we look forward to hearing it at Latrobe.
Thank you.
Ouch. I think that George may have made this mistake before. Repeat after me: Principal is the adjective, indicating things of greatest importance; Principles are the ethical guidelines by which one strives to live.