LETTERS
From Mrs Pamela Matthews, Sir Richard Hayward, Simon Raven, Leonard Cottrell. Dr I. W. L. Robinson, David Rumford, Major M. G. P. Stourton, 0. Dickinson, H. 1. Elsley, Alan Karabus, David Burg, Derek Stanford. Geo. E. Assinder, T. C. Skeffington-Lodge.
Church, change and decay
Sir: The Church of England today seems to be dying before our eyes. The official for- mula for regeneration is the rationalisation of buildings and manpower combined with a non-policy of being all things to all mem- bers of the permissive society. But without a re-emergence of moral leadership the closing of churches could well serve to accelerate the liquidation of post-reform Anglicanism.
At the present time, there is intense activity at grass roots level to prepare congregations for the secularisation of churches, in whole or in part, for further parish mergers and for group ministries, possibly on an inter- denominational basis. Such developments would, of course, cut down running costs and overheads, but perhaps only as a prelude to further necessary economics in a vicious downward spiral. Can they get to the root of the problem? For instance, there is no sign that they are paralleled by any correspond- ing drive to guide the sheep (is anyone ashamed of this metaphor?) through the moral wilderness of the twentieth century.
There was a case, within the past two years, of a parish magazine carrying a syndi- cated inset, which, in a particular number, advocated extensive sodomy between con- senting males in mitigation of the much feared population explosion. The article, writ- ten by a priest of the Church of England, was referred by a startled reader to the bishop of the diocese in which the parish magazine had appeared. The bishop explained that he had no powers over the editorial board of the in- set publication. Yet it was clear that the can- vassing at parish magazine level of extreme avant-garde views had served to shake the confidence of a number of sincere Anglicans. Can it be said that the commendation of sodomy was ever part of the body of Chris- tian teaching or that it has yet become so?
Then there was an occasion when the curate, a priest in his thirties, was talking round the table to some six or more people and chose to advocate the legalisation of pot. Unmoved by the suggestion that soft drugs might often lead to hard, he stuck firmly to his line. It has apparently been left to Malcolm Muggeridge and to a nun. Sister Patricia, csmv, to point out the realities.
Nudity is another topical subject. Perhaps it was just chance or bad luck or non-criminal negligence which led to a first showing in a London church hall this summer of an all nude ballet with words. Unfortunately, inepti- tude was not mitigated by any statement dissociating the Church from this type of entertainment, although there is evidence that one was, at one time. contemnlated. Later, a leading London preacher is reported to have warned his congregation in Westminster Abbey not to be shocked by nudity on the stage. So it has been left to Equity, the actors' union, to seek a code governing nude performances and auditions which can pro- tect the acting profession from exploitatior Although said with reluctance. the case moral leadership by the Church of England appears to many to be going by default. People seek a witness which can relate the puzzle of daily living to the timeless gospel. Such a demonstration of relevance could even now refill the churches so rendering unnecessary the widespread closure of build- ings which our fathers consecrated to the worship of God; or their conversion for ping-pong before the altar.
Pamela Matthews 1 Edwardes Place, London, w8
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