BooknotesBooknotesRichard Thomas Counting People In, SPCK, London, 2003 - £12.99The Revd. Richard Thomas is Director of Communications for the Oxford Diocese.
This book is subtitled "Changing the way we think about membership and Church" and takes as its starting point the apparent contradiction between declining church attendance and the increasing number of people who profess to being Christian or who are seeking a greater spiritual dimension to their lives.
Church membership/attendance in 1900 was 33% of the UK population, but by 2000 this had dropped to 12%. However the number of people who regard themselves as members of the Church of England has actually risen from just under 33% in 1995 to around 52% by the start of 2002: and the proportion of the population claiming to be Christian is consistently around 70% according to recent surveys.
Thomas puts forward two hypotheses, firstly that belief is belonging (possibly the strongest form of belonging) and secondly that there are two forms of membership: participant and associate. This is not confined to the Church, but can be seen across all sorts of membership organisations political parties face declining formal membership and yet voters are no less clear in their identity as Tory, Labour, Liberal or whatever. In commercial terms one talks of cutting out the middleman (distintermediation is the posh word) the telephone and internet let us buy insurance or holidays direct. But, such associate members are not 'fringe' members, they very much believe they belong, they have, however, largely cut out the middleman!
The Church has traditionally concentrated on its participant membership it is not only where the money comes from but also it is where the money is spent and usually how success is measured. The problem, however, is how do we communicate, nurture and develop this wider associate membership? Thomas puts it this way:
"The spiritual relationship that God intends is not between the individual and the Church; it is between the individual and God himself. in an age of choice, individuals today are going to treat the Church in much the same way that they treat other agencies: as a potential resource to meet their own spiritual needs, as one choice among others, but not as an end in itself. The Church is useful only in so far as it is perceived to help with this quest." (p,25-6)Parish churches can fail to acknowledge the role they play as the sacred place for many associate members. Think of those who want to be buried back in their family or 'home' town even though they may have moved away many years before, or those who similarly ask to have their children baptised do we welcome and celebrate this or do we make it difficult? In an increasingly mobile environment do some of our institutional rules create the experience of rejection rather than affirmation? For associate members their sense of belonging to this particular church is not created by regular attendance, or even by the person who takes the service, but by their past experience, by the place itself.
So, sadly, rather than trying to reach out to their associate membership, churches can often put barriers in their way: obvious ones such as locked churches, noticeboards that do not have up-to-date service times on them (after all the 'regulars' know when the services are); but also, in some cases, a 'closed set' mentality where you have to believe in the 'right' way to gain acceptance (sectarianism and fundamentalism are, of course, extreme examples). Thomas contrasts this 'closed set' (or closed mind?) Christianity with what he calls a 'centred set' perspective.
" a set is defined by a 'centre', which is free, and cannot ever be enclosed a set of people who have a connection to Christ show they are part of the set, not by choosing to subscribe to certain beliefs and behaviours within certain boundaries, but by choosing to overcome any boundary of belief or behaviour that might prevent them from moving towards the free, beautiful, compassionate spirit of Christ, which they have made the centre of their lives" (p.54)Cathedrals, suggest Thomas, cater well for those who belong by association they are much less demanding in terms of participative membership, they have a ancient rootedness, inspirational music and art; they are open, accessible and exude a spirituality and gentleness of dialogue that comes from centuries of prayer and worship.
Thomas asks whether we have simply inherited patterns of worship and structure that no longer excite and energise us, doing things because they have always been done that way. He calls us to re-examine how we communicate, how we live for others, how we witness and celebrate the faith not only of our participant members but most importantly that of our associate membership who are the vast majority!
A challenging book and you won't necessarily agree with all of it, but well worth reading.
RJB
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