News | Churches
downsmail.co.uk Oh, come all ye faithful!
ANAnglican vicar, whose congregations can often be counted on the fingers of two hands, has writ- ten a soul-searching article in his parish newsletter about dwindling numbers.We cast the net to other churches and faiths to gauge the strength of religious following…
“I WONDER who will be the last, the very last, to seek this place for what itwas…” So wrote the irreligious poet
Philip Larkin more than 60 years ago in his work, Church Going, as he pondered the role of religious buildings which he had an ironic fascination for. One wonders, too, if ever Rev
Steve Hughes questions if this fate will befall his clutch of rural churches near Maidstone. After all, attendances have be-
come lamentable and perhaps a lit- tle terrifying, as he notes two recent Sunday services by way of illustra- tion.
But rather than thrash out, Rev Hughes has chosen to examine the Church of England’s appeal - or lack of it - while other churches in the area report quite different situations in their pews. As area Dean for Otham, Langley,
Leeds (St Nicholas Church is the main picture), Broomfield and Kingswood, Rev Hughes (right) wrote in his parish newsletter this month: “The combined total atten- dance of both services was merely
Young enjoy a
‘relaxed time’ NEIL Pattison, senior church leader at the Jubilee Church in Upper Stone Street, Maidstone, says the relaxed and community feel of the evangelical services helps to attract more than 200 people eachweek. He said: “The church has a ca-
pacity of 300 but we get about 200 to 220. So, from that point of view, we are rela- tiv ely strong in compari- son, butwe are really keen for other churches to flourish.
“There
are many Anglican churches which have very, very strong attendances. “The Jubilee Church offers a modern, lively type of service with band, rather than an organist, with songs generally instead of hymns. “It’s a very relaxed Sunday morning andwe have a really good time, and that’s what appeals to the younger people. “We do a lot of community work
aswell.” 18
25, including two organists, four choir members and myself counted twice.
“This, sadly, is a familiar picture
over many parts of the Church of England and if itwere any commer- cial business, the Church of England would long ago have been shut down in a significant number of places. In part, it is because going to church has largely gone out of fash- ion. In part, it is that there are so many counter-attractions available to folk – although why people
would choose a trip to Morrisons or Sainsbury’s as opposed to going to worship God in church is totally be- yond me. “Another problem … is the language we use. If somebody with
no
church expe- rience came in off the street thenwe
Imam reporting good turnouts
IMAM at the Maidstone Mosque, Dr Muhammed Usmani, said a recent influx of Muslims to the Maidstone area had benefited attendances at the five daily prayer meetings. Each gets an average attendance of 30 worshippers, but some prayers can attract up to 50. He said: “There are more people coming into Kent who follow Islam. but there are relatively few places to worship, so that is why we havemaintained a strong attendance.” The Imam is pictured with Anglican, Rev Andrew Sewell.
Vicar builds on ‘modest’ congregation
FATHER Bryson of the St Michael and All Angels Anglo-Catholic church in Tonbridge Road has been building on his “modest” congre- gation since joining in January. Weekly mass at the Church of England chapel sees an average at- tendance of around 35 worshipers, monthly benediction of 15 and a midweek mass of a dozen partici- pants. The 67-year-old former teacher
said: “I’m not particularly despon- dent. Our numbers are modest, but we have instituted a programme of outreach to those who are lapsed or
Maidstone Weald October 2017
don’t have contact with a church at all.
“In that
time, we have bap- tised four adults and had a countless stream of infants for Christening, to the point where the next available slot is in December. It doesn’t mean, of
course, that they will attend church. But it’s a place to start from. I wouldn’t blame the system, we go with what we have got.” Fr Bryson said the Church of England has a legal obligation to maintain presence in each parish, whereas a Methodist or a Baptist church might have only one or two places of worship in an area. He added: “If there were only a
couple of Anglian churches to go to in Maidstone, then the numbers at- tending would be very, very im- pressive but, as it stands, we do not.”
have just the services to confuse him totally. “We call most of our services Eu-
charist or communion, which is fine for those of us in the know but which would mean absolutely noth- ing to the non church-goer.” He said denying communion to “unconfirmed” newcomers creates an atmosphere of exclusivity, which adds to the issue of low attendance. Rev Hughes says that language of “redemption”, “salvation” and “ab- solution” are words “barely com- prehensible” to those outside the confines of the church. In the article, he asks: “So what is
the answer? Well, we could close half of our churches and save an awful lot of time and money, which is currently spent on keeping build- ings open, but given that the proud boast – and rightly so – of the Church of England is that it has a presence in very community, then closing churches can hardly be the best option. “We have to find away of attract-
ing people to worship – less liturgi- cal and potentially more spontaneous.”
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