The recent Church of England General Synod was warned by the Bishop of Hereford of an ‘existential threat’ to the Church. According to the bishop, the source of the threat is the falling number of stipendiary clergy posts and consequent amalgamation of parishes, leading to increased clergy stress, reduced morale and a collapse in vocations.
There can be no doubt that the attempt to fulfil the traditional vicar’s role in multiple churches and communities can create what the bishop called an ‘undoable job’, a sense of failure and falling morale. But is this inevitable? Might there be another way of looking at the situation?
What if the fall in vocations is God’s way of encouraging the Church of England to imagine a different future? What if the future God has in mind for the Church involves fewer stipendiary clergy fulfilling a role different from that of the traditional vicar? Why might this be the case?
The reason would be that in an increasingly pluralist society the relationship between the Church and the wider community has changed. For almost everyone younger than 60, the Church’s traditional role as the provider of public worship, moral guidance and pastoral care is no longer relevant. Instead, the Church is a mission community, increasingly recognising its task as proclaiming the gospel afresh to the younger generations.
Mission is the task of the whole church rather than simply the professional clergy. Firstly, it requires an emphasis on individual discipleship, through which God’s people grow deeper in their relationship with him and learn to live out their faith in everyday life. And secondly, it requires congregations ready to take ownership and responsibility for the life and mission of their church, discerning together the ways the Holy Spirit may be calling them to engage with the life of their local community.
In many places, this is what is happening. It happens when clergy and congregation accept a different relationship: no longer one of dependence but of interdependence, no longer as clients of the clergy but as colleagues in mission. The role of the stipendiary clergy then shifts to one of oversight: enabling, equipping, guiding and connecting churches led by their lay people and with a clear, mission-focussed purpose.
An enabling style of ministry is what the Church’s Vision and Strategy requires of its ordained ministers. Its first major element is ‘a church of missionary disciples’. This calls on both clergy and lay leaders to enable and equip the whole people of God to live out their faith in all the spheres of life: the workplace, the family, voluntary activities and leisure pursuits. Its second is a church comfortable with a ‘mixed ecology’ in which complementary approaches to mission come together: the traditional church with chaplaincy and more innovative approaches such as Messy Church, Forest Church and other ‘fresh expressions’. We know that many new worshipping communities are the initiative of and led by lay people. It is only a small step from this to idea of traditional churches led by lay people, resourced and overseen by the clergy.
The transition to the Church of the future is bound to take time since it involves a profound change in culture. Some churches are experiencing this transition now and many are flourishing. Others will need much longer and will need to be encouraged by the experience of others. But God has granted us a breathing space, in the form of the large number of active retired clergy, many of whom are ready and willing to maintain the traditional forms of ministry and meet the expectations of traditionally-minded church members, while others are keen to play their part in facilitating the transition to the future.
For the next few years, the Church will continue to have more active clergy than it will need in the future. What they will need is the confidence to lead their churches in a journey of transition. One resource designed to enable this journey is provided by ReSource and called ‘Reimagining Ministry.’ It consists of eight Steps designed to equip churches to transition to lay leadership with clergy oversight. Churches are encouraged to move through the process at the pace that is right for them, giving time for the change of culture involved.
Reimagining Ministry can be found at https://www.resourcingrenewal.org/reimaginingministry.