The Great Church in Wales Giveaway

Original source: X (formerly Twitter)

The Church in Wales has announced that it is to invest almost £10m in four projects designed to promote growth in church attendance in Wales. 

The Church explained that "The grants are being made from the Church Growth Fund, in which the Church is investing £100m to support projects in a once-in-a generation opportunity to resource confident and consistent evangelism throughout Wales."

The diocese of Monmouth is dedicating £1 million to 'help grow new worshipping communities' by targeting local schools.

This news has not been universaly welcomed.

The South Wales Argus described it as a 'Cynical move' to use schools to ease 'plummeting' church membership. 

Their community content editor writes: 

"Campaigners have urged local authorities to ensure schools 'will not be used as mission fields', after the Church in Wales announced plans to 'build stronger links' with schools in South Wales.

"The diocese plans to install a 'Schools Engagement Pioneer' in areas including North Monmouthshire, Islwyn and Abergavenny to focus on 'relationship-building with primary and secondary school-age pupils in a manner which goes beyond school assemblies'."

A spokesperson for he Diocese of Monmouth explained that it has secured funding of more than £1m to help grow new worshipping communities by building stronger relationships with schools.

What is a Church in Wales 'worshipping community' today and what sort of relationships?

Recently a pride service was held at Newport Cathedral. Their same sex partnered bishop preached. The Celebrant was transgender.

For building 'inclusive' relationships in the Church in Wales see this entry published six years ago. The then preacher now occupies an influential post at Newport Cathedral while the concelebrant has been appointed bishop of Bardsey.

For the love of Christ?

Caption Corner 20 September 2024

 

Source: X (formerly Twitter)

As usual publishable captions will appear as comments.

Conned

The Labour winter 2024 - 2025.               Source: X (Twitter)

Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Government secured a majority of 120 in the winter fuel allowance vote to cut the payment for all but the country’s poorest pensioners. A few Labour MPs rebelled with a Labour Government, yes, a Labour government, to paraphrase Neil Kinnock's 1985 conference speech, winning by 348 to 228. 

As Leader of the  Opposition Starmer criticised the Tory Government for even considering moves to cut back the winter fuel allowance. Now in government his excuse for changing his mind was blamed on an 'inherited black hole', much of which results from paying off the Unions which allows engine drivers to manage on £70,000 a year - until they demand their next cost of living increase.

Ah! says Starmer, but pensioners will receive £460 a year extra next April when the triple lock increase is due to be paid, ignoring the fact that April 2025 is after Winter 2024 when pensioners need the money to heat their homes and conveniently forgetting that the pension increase in April is to help pensioners keep up with the cost of living.

Agreed, there are State pensioners with private pensions but many will need to have saved their well earned pension to ease their pain because of long NHS waiting lists. That could mean £20,000 for hip surgery (£13,500) - double for some - and £6,000 for cataracts followed by the prospect of having to pay for one's end of life care.

These are often pensioners who have 'done their bit', serving their country in the armed force on National Service before working hard all their lives to make better lives for their children and grandchildren, only to see their inheritance being squandered. 

They will deservedly feel conned as well as feeling the cold as they shiver this winter.

Source: X (Twitter)

Governing Body Highlight

 

There was one highlight at this month's meeting of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales. That was the presentation at agendum 16 Open Doors – supporting the persecuted Church.

My readers will have been here before. There have been various entries highlighting Christian persecution around the world, for example,  What it means for others to be a Christian.

How Christians suffer for their faith can be seen in an earlier 2022 video from Open Doors.

Many Christians are prepared to die for their faith while others call on the love of Jesus to justify Diversity, Inclusion and Equity (DIE) which dilutes their faith. The contrast could not be more stark.

Postscripts [07.09.2024]

1. From The Christian Post - Five companies that are scaling back DEI, LGBT advocacy

2. From Anglican Futures - Will the Church in Wales be extinct in 15 years? "...it appears the Bishops of the Church in Wales seem determined to drive the church over the precipice."

Church in Wales attendance statistics

 

The Archbishop of Wales addressing Governing Body, September 2023                     Source: Church Times/Church in Wales

One of the highlights of the Governing Body of the Church in Wales (CinW) used to be the Membership and Finance Report but no more.

The Annual report and Accounts 2023 presented by the Representative Body prepared for September 2024 meeting of the Governing Body summarises the position as follows (page 9):

"3. Accelerated decline in church attendance

The continuation of declining attendance

and an increasing age profile would result

in declining financial income for dioceses:

this would lead to an inability to present

established patterns of ministry to the

whole of Wales. The Representative Body

endeavours to maintain the highest financial

support to dioceses possible. Also, a

renewed focus on mission and evangelism,

including additional financial resources being

made available, aims to stimulate church

growth. A membership app is being rolled out

to assist with monitoring church attendance

statistics."

'Declining attendance' puts it mildly. British Religion in Numbers (BRIN) showed that the average Sunday attendance (over 18) in 2004 was 41,771. By 2009 attendance had dropped to 36,836.

Ten years on, CinW adult Sunday attendance (over 18) was given in their Membership and Finance Report as 30,424 in 2014. A year later it was 29,019. [See Sept 2016 entry.]

I have been unable to find any reference to current attendance figures for some time which suggests that the Church in Wales has something to hide.

Access to the 'membership app' referred to in the RB Report is by invitation, thus obscuring the data from inquisitive eyes.  I wonder why?

Lay Presidency

From The Living Church: Lay Presidency Comes to the Church of England "The Church of England’s blessings for same-sex couples, which stop short of marriage rites, have prompted a comparable protest from low-church evangelicals."

Not that it will bother the Church in Wales which has long since ceased to keep the faith. Nor will it affect those of us who have effectively been denied the sacraments following archbishop Barry Morgan's shameless withdrawal of sacramental and pastoral provision for Anglicans who do. 

As Anglicanism becomes more secularised the number of attendees tumbles. Collapse is inevitable.

The Church Growth Modelling forecasts, optimistically, the extinction of the Church in Wales by 2060 with just 3,000 in attendance.

That it should come to this!

Caption corner 17 August 2024

 

Source: X (formerly Twitter)

As usual publishable captions will appear as comments.