1. In obedience to the commission that Jesus gave to his disciples the Church’s vocation is to proclaim the good news afresh in each generation. As disciples of our Risen Lord we are called to be loyal to the inheritance of faith which we have received and open to God’s Spirit so that we can be constantly renewed and reformed for the task entrusted to us.
2. The spiritual challenge of reform and renewal is both personal and institutional. A year ago we encouraged the creation of a number of task groups to discern what has been happening in parishes and dioceses, to ponder the implications of the From Anecdote to Evidence findings and to reflect on the experience dioceses have had in developing their mission and ministry. The groups were asked to explore specific aspects of the institutional life of the Church of England, where on the face of it, there appeared to be scope for significant change.
3. The work of these four groups – on the discernment and nurture of those called to posts of wide responsibility, on resourcing ministerial education, on the future deployment of our resources more generally and on simplification – is now being published. It will be the main focus for the February meeting of the General Synod.
Chickens are coming home to roost:
[blockquote] “8. The urgency of the challenge facing us is not in doubt. Attendance at Church of England services has declined at an average of 1% per annum over recent decades and, in addition, the age profile of our membership has become significantly older than that of the population. Finances have been relatively stable, thanks to increased individual giving. This situation cannot, however, be expected to continue unless the decline in membership is reversed.
9. The age profile of our clergy has also been increasing. Around 40% of parish clergy are due to retire over the next decade or so. And while ordination rates have held up well over recent years they continue to be well below what would be needed to maintain current clergy numbers and meet diocesan ambitions.” [/blockquote]
It should also be added that many ordinands come from the conservative or orthodox evangelical churches, who are so despised by the liberal CofE hierarchy. Orthodox evangelical churches tend to be well-staffed with male clergy (and females in non-headship roles), because their parishes are committed to the model of independent, self-supporting congregations.
This is the only model that works for sustainable church government, but the CofE has been doing its best to turn away its members who best practice it, i.e. those who believe that only males are called to lead congregations.
[blockquote] “13. The Resourcing Ministerial Education report explains why we must also be more prayerful and proactive in our approach to promoting vocations to full time ministry – lay and ordained. That includes seeking a significant and sustained increase in the numbers of those coming forward for full time ordained ministry.” [/blockquote]
The answer is simple, dear Archbishop, and staring you in the face, but you and your bishops dare not acknowledge it:
The candidates for ministry from orthodox evangelical churches comprise a large share of those who feel a “vocation to full time ministry”. They gain that vocation from teaching within their congregations, they are identified and prepared for ministry by those congregations, and they return to those congregations (or others of the same ilk) to minister after they are ordained.
This is hardly surprising, not only from a doctrinal perspective, but also because those congregations are structured on a basis which employs such ministers and creates an expectation that the congregation will support them.
If ABC wants to see vocations to full time ministry grow in the Church of England, then he will have to increase the fields from which they are nurtured, i.e. the number of orthodox evangelical parishes. The CofE hierarchy cannot stomach such an idea so they will keep seeking other ways to achieve their end, ways which will continue to fail.