These works of local hospitality – flowers, music, refreshments, keeping the church warm – may seem simple, but they are fundamental to the church’s mission: to draw people together in fellowship to hear the word of Christ. And whilst the works are simple, organising them isn’t. A service like our Harvest Festival needs many to help: everyone from clergy to musicians and flower-arrangers. However, ever fewer are willing to volunteer.
In recent decades, the Church of England has undergone a relentless programme of centralisation. Money and powers have been drawn upwards from parishes to dioceses and new bodies like the Archbishops’ Council.
These central bodies are fixated on grand visions and political fashions rather than the practical work of local parishes. They are reluctant to spend money on paying for ordinary clergy and churches. Instead, funds are soaked up by growing bureaucracies.
✍️ 'The next Archbishop must care for the Church, not political fashions' | Writes Bijan Onrami
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) October 2, 2025
Read the column ⬇️https://t.co/w0mDBc3HsW pic.twitter.com/p2kGynnk50