The Church has forgotten how to tell the Christian story to the 93 per cent of people who have little or no contact with it, a new report from the Central Council of Readers suggests.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe desperately need skilled teachers who will live the story, tell the story, and accompany people as they explore the full implications of becoming part of the story,\u201d says Resourcing Sunday to Saturday Faith, <\/em>a booklet sent to every Anglican Bishop and every Reader in England and Wales this month. \u201cOur argument in this booklet is that Readers are ideally placed to meet this urgent need.\u201d<\/p>\n Setting out the Council\u2019s \u201crenewed vision\u201d for lay ministry<\/a>, it begins with a diagnosis of the current landscape for evangelism<\/a>: \u201ca time of great ferment in the Church\u201d, given internal disputes over sexuality, safeguarding failures, and a society where \u201cmany are bewildered by the sheer scale of change\u201d. A \u201cfresh perspective\u201d is needed, it suggests.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem is that we have forgotten how to tell our story \u2014 or, to put it another way, we have only been telling part of the story,\u201d it argues.<\/p>\n \u201cIn part, this is because we simply don\u2019t know the story. The Church has been described as \u2018a mile wide and an inch deep\u2019. Many people in our churches simply haven\u2019t reflected on how the story impacts that many different parts of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n I found this interesting – a new booklet that has been sent to all Readers and Bishops. It says the Church historically devoted \u201cgreat time and care\u201d to catechesis. Thanks so much to Readers @jembloomfield<\/a> & @hamchick<\/a> for comment: https:\/\/t.co\/yV49KE73NX<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) May 31, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n