tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.comments2023-12-24T20:48:11.634+00:00Opinionated VicarDavid Keenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11872644403415655350noreply@blogger.comBlogger2890125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-73261417547082728712023-12-24T20:48:11.634+00:002023-12-24T20:48:11.634+00:00The Mrs Brown change seems a massive improvement. ...The Mrs Brown change seems a massive improvement. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-2266866421561593442023-04-28T12:37:58.296+01:002023-04-28T12:37:58.296+01:00Why is it that things things which shouldn't s...Why is it that things things which shouldn't surprise us always do? We've had the same thing here in Bedfordshire running in a couple of places, seems to have had a very positive impact.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-72442465755437963352023-01-30T11:09:42.075+00:002023-01-30T11:09:42.075+00:00Very interested in his views. He seems to have a v...Very interested in his views. He seems to have a very limited view on what belief in God and eg. Christianity & religion is about. Said so well by Richard Coles (UK vicar & comedian) religion is about comfort AND challenge.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-33097996023880246772022-08-19T07:15:10.615+01:002022-08-19T07:15:10.615+01:00What we have not heard is whether AB Justin and Sa...What we have not heard is whether AB Justin and Sandy actually met for tea and talks? It would have been nice to hear that it had taken place in a convivial atmosphere and even a press release to highlight the things discussed and whether good disagreement was part of it.UKViewerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18114944341930758335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-33258432739659024212021-12-21T20:46:07.044+00:002021-12-21T20:46:07.044+00:00I might resemble this post, given I probably utter...I might resemble this post, given I probably uttered them all at our Carol Service last Sunday.UKViewerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18114944341930758335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-73721707359890355332021-08-30T17:24:38.414+01:002021-08-30T17:24:38.414+01:00True perhaps. But might it not make it easier to r...True perhaps. But might it not make it easier to reconnect when they have children of their own or in middle age?MarcAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18347727959672751531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-85850232382044909182021-04-05T20:49:02.458+01:002021-04-05T20:49:02.458+01:00Indeed, the Passion of Jesus continues in examples...Indeed, the Passion of Jesus continues in examples like you cited above. According to some, there are more Christians persecuted today than all others from non-Christian faiths combined. Yet, the media ignores this, and even organizations like Amnesty International seem to downplay the seriousness of this tragic trend. The worst-case persecution scenarios of Christians seem to be Muslim majority Eclecticityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01515852321697380521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-17763958406613448952021-03-25T14:56:36.111+00:002021-03-25T14:56:36.111+00:00The leaf had fulfilled its purpose and even in dea...The leaf had fulfilled its purpose and even in death had a message for you and for who knows how many others. Thankyou. That's encouraged me to quietly get on with doing my thing, even if no one else notices.Nancy Wallacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08414597433860002332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-9058125724340628742021-02-07T17:01:28.032+00:002021-02-07T17:01:28.032+00:00Thank you for such a detailed response. Fascinatin...Thank you for such a detailed response. Fascinating. I suppose times are changing and adjustments are inevitable. The only way to survive for churches or pubs is to get a little creative and be open to ideas and to listen to the community that I served. Crowd funding is saving Jane Austen’s house. I think that is a good option for extensive and expensive repairs. sarahdipityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10438142023437635867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-21478200034273969802021-02-07T16:56:21.482+00:002021-02-07T16:56:21.482+00:00Not a silly question at all. I think pretty much a...Not a silly question at all. I think pretty much all Anglican churches are on land owned by the church. When church buildings close down, they tend to be repurposed for something else - housing, work space, etc. I think other countries have other models, e.g. on the continent some of the upkeep of churches is paid for by the community out of taxation. There are more churches looking at going David Keenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11872644403415655350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-77894794341724577152021-01-25T22:19:05.626+00:002021-01-25T22:19:05.626+00:00Silly question - are all the churches and the land...Silly question - are all the churches and the land they are on owned by the Anglican Church or are some on private land and paid for by the community or by a private person. Could a Church be owned by a town and used for other purposes as well perhaps and the upkeep paid for by the community that they serve. Sorry if this question has been addressed a million times, I am new to your blog. sarahdipityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10438142023437635867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-86636124527226951732020-11-08T20:55:01.340+00:002020-11-08T20:55:01.340+00:00In my new blog https://wordpress.com/post/davidefl...In my new blog https://wordpress.com/post/davideflavell.wordpress.com/916 I quote your article and make some comparisons with the MethodistsAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00898513134124019823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-14583214484518952802020-11-04T12:40:38.910+00:002020-11-04T12:40:38.910+00:00Yes I'm not so sure about that, I wonder if so...Yes I'm not so sure about that, I wonder if some of that is a reaction to the stick that CofE leaders got the first time round when they closed all the churches down. I think you can take a full part in a communion service from home, with your own bread and wine provided, as part of a 'virtual' act of worship, but I know that's not the CofE sees it - not officially anyway! David Keenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11872644403415655350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-27820071932461440252020-11-04T12:34:35.821+00:002020-11-04T12:34:35.821+00:00Re the follow up letter from "faith leaders&q...Re the follow up letter from "faith leaders" bemoaning churches closing... dangerous to promote communal worship in my view. Glad no Methodists signed it.<br /><br /> If the eucharist/mass is so important then get the priest to bless the bread and leave it in small bags at the church door. Click and collect. <br /><br /> Listen to/watch a recording of the Eucharistic prayer/Mass. <br />Petehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18396521243378742767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-12671623326559484512020-11-02T15:10:53.674+00:002020-11-02T15:10:53.674+00:00Sorry above comment was from Robin GambleSorry above comment was from Robin GambleAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759559390858449350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-12966467473644152192020-11-02T15:09:56.000+00:002020-11-02T15:09:56.000+00:00Thank you for your blog. For the careful analysis ...Thank you for your blog. For the careful analysis of the statistics; for its fascinating analogy based on Tesco's and especially for the important and prophetic wake up call. This call needs to be desperately heard especially by bishops, archbishops, archdeacons, diocesan secretaries, missioners and youth advisors.<br />They, or I should as a missioner say, 'we' are the ones with the Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04759559390858449350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-12684772276681589272020-10-23T00:32:54.590+01:002020-10-23T00:32:54.590+01:00'24% of those confirmed were aged under 12'...'24% of those confirmed were aged under 12' (the report p.19)<br /><br />Nuts. This means that vast numbers of children are still being machined into being done with no real engagement with what it's about. I bet that the vast majority of those won't be in church 6 years later. Ender's Shadownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-15442870160580416382020-10-22T21:25:44.642+01:002020-10-22T21:25:44.642+01:00I think the general quality of research and analys...I think the general quality of research and analysis into the way people are engaging with church is deeply inadequate. 'Attendance' is one metric, of course - an important one. But it is the bluntest of instruments. It's shocking, for example, that there isn't research into to what type of people are leaving and why - what sort of spiritual / religious character are they? What John Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02918304139106245060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-46025033936337662702020-10-22T14:01:45.950+01:002020-10-22T14:01:45.950+01:00My apologies, that was clumsily expressed. Though ...My apologies, that was clumsily expressed. Though we did have a service of Evening Prayer which once was exactly like this, and when we talked to everyone who came it was almost 100% because they felt they ought to be there. <br /><br />Our experience in lockdown, especially before going back into church buildings, was that a 'virtual' Sunday service could be done without any of those David Keenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11872644403415655350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-24740217352076156802020-10-22T13:15:41.448+01:002020-10-22T13:15:41.448+01:00I live in an urban area with absurd numbers of Cof...I live in an urban area with absurd numbers of CofE buildings of minimal merit architecturally. Yet they continue to summon ever smaller numbers of people to their service.<br /><br />After over 50 years in the CofE, my local parish's collapse into the inclusivist agenda and other things forced me to abandon it for the local 'New Frontiers' instance. We are a growing church - yes, of Ender's Shadownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-54101587060476586342020-10-22T13:06:22.173+01:002020-10-22T13:06:22.173+01:00The first reform of the parish share should be to ...The first reform of the parish share should be to present it as a 'request for subsidy' in parishes which don't pay the full cost (about 50k per full time priest) of their clergy. If parishioners heard that they were getting subsidised by others, rather than whinging at the parish share, they would be far more grateful! Note that this is merely a matter of presentation, requiring onlyEnder's Shadownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-54200931198436576722020-10-22T11:37:13.376+01:002020-10-22T11:37:13.376+01:00Thank you for this, David. I agree, and am not sur...Thank you for this, David. I agree, and am not surprised that the responses are mixed. The problem lies in the institutional inertia of an established church that couldn't fix the parish system even if it wanted to without Act of Parliament, and probably disestablishment. It probably means that the emerging church will take root in the wreckage of the old, and alongside it. It's happeningAdrian Chatfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218184238894525790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-12819238761802112332020-10-22T11:05:56.083+01:002020-10-22T11:05:56.083+01:00Thank you so much for this. I like the Tesco analo...Thank you so much for this. I like the Tesco analogy, I know some won't like the corporate business model metaphor, however local Tesco Express outlets have flexibility to stock what's needed/wanted locally and can creatively support local community endeavours as the manager sees fit, whilst having the structural support of the national brand and other local outlets.Tim Yauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09034448752670216730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-29014408550734452352020-10-22T10:04:02.700+01:002020-10-22T10:04:02.700+01:00What's the alternative to parish share, Anna? ...What's the alternative to parish share, Anna? I can think of a few, but most of them are not great - eg. churches pay for their own clergy, if they can afford to.Charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08102799923678550905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35594660.post-71094046220348485362020-10-22T10:02:11.660+01:002020-10-22T10:02:11.660+01:00Hi David. So many questions! EG: If the problem is...Hi David. So many questions! EG: If the problem is that "we pour so many resources into worship, and the building and professional caste that make it happen", aren't those exactly the things you need to do in order to maintain a membership-focussed church? In which case, is worrying about membership maybe the wrong thing to do anyway?<br /><br />Also - the Tesco model works really Charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08102799923678550905noreply@blogger.com