Every so often the media feature news stories about the alleged decline of Christian faith in this country. Various minority ethnic groups take their religion more seriously than many white Europeans do, and we’re sometimes told that within a few years there will be more practising Muslims in the UK, than practising members of the Church of England. These stories are sometimes accompanied by reminders that the whole of British history and culture have been shaped by the Christian religion. Without a working knowledge of Christianity, it’s hard to see how anyone can make sense of our history, traditions, laws and customs, language, literature, music, art and architecture. This has so disturbed some universities that they have begun to offer crash courses in the Bible and Christian religion to new students in certain subjects, who simply won’t understand the texts they are studying otherwise.
I’m never very sure what effect these stories are aiming to produce, other than the undesirable ones of paranoia and racist nationalism. After all, it wouldn’t be difficult for anyone who valued our Christian tradition, to play a significant part in preserving and promoting it. All they would have to do would be to actually live as Christians - to conduct their lives the way Jesus taught, that is - to study their Bibles and become active members of the Church. But I haven’t noticed this as a major recommendation of such reporting, and I haven’t noticed the journalists responsible being first in the queue at the church door.
There are, no doubt, many reasons why people don’t attend church, or even why people who used to do so have stopped coming. Maybe they moved to a new place and never got used to a different building or vicar or form of service. Maybe they became so absorbed in a new job or hobby or relationship that their church membership somehow lapsed. Maybe they had an unfortunate experience when a vicar or some other member of the church let them down in some way - it happens, because Christians, like everyone else, are far from perfect. Maybe they have been so affected by the recent work of high-profile atheists that they think the claims of religion are completely exploded. (An idea that is strongly contested by many extremely able and intelligent Christian apologists.) Maybe they used to think worship was just boring. (Though nowadays it’s much more interesting than what most people imagine or ‘remember’.)
Whatever the reason they stopped coming, it’s a habit that it’s always harder to get back into, than it is to get out of, and it gets harder the longer you go on without it. This is why the church in the Oxford diocese has joined some other dioceses in holding an annual ‘Back to Church Sunday’. It’s what you could think of as a ‘general amnesty’ for church. It’s an occasion when we would like to invite everyone who used to attend church but for some reason stopped coming, and also everyone who has never attended church, (but would like to find out what they’re missing) to come and join us for Sunday worship. Whoever you are , we want to welcome you!
Back to Church Sunday this year is on September 28th, and it’s also our Harvest Festival. We’re going to have a fun and informal act of worship for all ages at 10 a.m., and a more traditional service of Holy Communion at 6. In between those times, it will be church open day, with a vestry café, a demonstration of bell-ringing, an opportunity to learn about the history of the church building. There will be displays of flowers by different local organisations to enjoy, or you can just sit and soak up the peaceful atmosphere of the oldest building in Marston.
I hope that many of you will receive a personalised invitation from someone in the church. But just in case you don’t, please consider this your invitation. And do come and join us for our Harvest Festival on September 28th: Back to Church Sunday.
Published in the Marston Times, September 2008