Synod Concern At Church Numbers

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30270, 24 October 1963, Page 17

Synod Concern At Church Numbers

Excuses offered for non-attendance at churches included going to Rugby matches and watching daughters at marching team competitions, said Mr J. W. N. Salisbury at the Christchurch diocesan synod yesterday.

The synod was discussing a m’ticn moved by the Rev. J. D Proud (Addington) ch.l;ng on it to view with grave concern the findings a coat poor church attendance revealed in a report prepared by the Rev. Dr. J. Mol, formerly a lecturer in sociology at Canterbury University. The report which revealed that only 6 per cent of Anglicans in Christchurch attended church should be of grave concern to all of us. and synod should find out the causes, said Mr Froud. During the last 10 years the numbers of people going to church in the parishes in which he had worked had doubled, the Rev. M D S C cks (Opa-wa-St. Martins' told synod. He said that although the situation was depressing, it was not as depressing as 10 years ago. The Rev. R. H. Tripp (Methven) said that the work of the church should begin with the training of key men who could go out and estab-

lish contact with others He was very impressed with the need to spend time with individuals The need to show concern for individuals was emphasised late r in the debate by Dr. D H. Cummack (Lin-wood-Ar anuil who said people everywhere were crying out for help and

Christians had to show concern and why they were concerned. The two difficulties of dealing with problems within the church’s own corporate life, and the antagonistic influences outside it were discussed by Mr J. W. Branthwaiten (Kensington-Otipua) who said the question called for the study of the “whole secular ethos in which we

live.” * The problem was not one of antagonism, but indifference, said Mr J. D. Haslett (Sumner), adding that the church Often appeared to outsiders as a respectable mid-die-class organisation. The church was irrelevant to the world and was ignored by the man in the street because it continued to talk to itself about “churchy things," sai<j the Rev. T. J. Raphael (St. Michael’s). People would not now accept things on authority, they did not care what the church taught or the Bible, and thus the church would have to change gear, as it were, to reach people. The training of laity to go out to people, and the institutions of a central parish service in mid-morning were suggested by Mr R. P. G. Parr (Shirley). The parish must encourage the participation of the laity, he said.

“I should ask the clergy to liberate their minds from the tryanny of numbers and percentages.” said Mr N. H. Buchanan (synodsman for the Chatham Islands).

There were many people hungering for religion, said the Bishop of Christchurch (the Rt. Rev. A. K. Warren) commending the work of religious television shows which, he said, reached 100.000 souls.

Synod adopted the motion with an addition moved by the Rev. M. M. Warren (Geraldine) that it reaffirms its conviction that public worship on the first day of each week is an essential part of duty to God.