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A Pastoral letter to all United Reformed churches from
General Secretary David Cornick
Questions have been bubbling up all over the church. Do we spend too much time in meetings? Are we using ministers in the right way? Do we have too many levels of decision-making? Have we got the balance right between national and regional structures? Can we continue to provide stipendiary ministry for each local United Reformed Church? And if we can, should we? Do we have a mission in each of our local churches?
All western European churches have lived through difficult times of decline over almost a century. Western culture has changed profoundly, and the number of the faithful has declined steadily. For our part as a denomination, we have determinedly kept as many churches as possible open since in 1972, believing that each local church is a centre for Christ’s mission. I believe we need to honour and celebrate the courage and gritty steadfastness of those who have kept the faith alive and made that possible. However, we cannot ignore the reality that this has had three results. A smaller membership is more thinly spread. An increasing financial burden has fallen on fewer shoulders. Ministers have been asked to cope with multiple pastorates that sometimes have no relationship to each other but economic necessity. We now have half the members we had in 1972, and our age profile suggests that we will halve in size again over the next thirty years. Many factors may change that – mission, outreach, union, cultural shifts – but the underlying demography is clear.
Mission Council responded to the challenge of Scripture, the questions being raised and the underlying social realities by committing itself ‘urgently and radically to re-think the church’s priorities, programmes and processes’ and urging wide consultation both within the church, ecumenically, and where appropriate with secular agencies. It did so because it perceives the church to be at a cross-roads. God’s future beckons. God has not finished with us yet. The people of God are still called to be salt, light and yeast. Responding to that call creatively and imaginatively means facing difficult realities. Deficit budgeting is not a secure and satisfactory basis for mission. We must define what we want to do, and what we do not want to do, raise the money to do it, and then rejoice that God has invited us to share in his ministry of peace and reconciliation in Christ.
I would be pleased to receive any thoughts, comments or papers as contributions to this debate.
The Revd Dr David Cornick October 2002
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