Church of England moots five year plan

The report, Into the New Quinquennium, admits to the challenges facing the Church of England in relation to declining attendance and increasing secularisation.

It notes that the size and ageing profile of many congregations requires “new imagination” in the way the Church of England seeks to demonstrate its faithfulness to the Great Commission to this generation.

It highlights some priorities, including the need for more and younger vocations, and to mobilise the whole body of Christ “releasing every Christian across the Church of England into active discipleship and witness in the world”.

The report comes just weeks after new figures from the Church of England showed yet another slight drop in attendance figures, with average attendance at a Sunday service falling by two per cent between 2008 and 2009, from 960,000 to 944,000.

Andrea Minichiello Williams, a barrister and head of Christian Concern, said she hoped the report would help the Church of England to “find its voice” in society.

She said: “The Church must set the standards of the word, not reflect the standards of the world.”

The Rev Dr Patrick Richmond of Norwich questioned whether the proposals were radical and realistic enough to address a century of measurable decline.

“We’re really talking about a reversal of trends,” he said. “New atheists are not only challenging our behaviour but also our realism.”

The Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Rev Timothy Stevens, warned that austerity cuts and job losses in some para-church organisations would make it more difficult for the Church to fulfil its calling to serve the common good, a concern shared by the Venerable George Howe of Carlisle who said cuts had already put considerable pressure on the budget.

The Rev Rod Thomas, of evangelical group Reform, said that the Church needed to make sure that its service in the community articulated the Gospel.

“We can confuse activity with effectiveness and we want to be effective rather than active,” he said.

The Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Rev David Urquhart, who headed up the drafting of the report, said it was meant to incorporate “action and accountability”.

He said he hoped to “see double the number of Christians” and the Gospel proclaimed in word and deed nationally.