"Why does no-one ever report the good news about the Church of England, and other churches?" is a question I hear asked whenever a group of Christians gather – especially following the coverage of recent weeks.
It's easy to understand why the question gets raised. The media's headlines have been full of stories about the CofE's safeguarding failings. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has had to stand down, and then had to apologise for his tone-deaf farewell speech in the House of Lords. There are calls for other bishops to resign about alleged safeguarding failures.
The scandals around John Smyth, Mike Pilavachi and Paula Vennells – the CofE priest who was chief executive of the Post Office when sub-postmasters were being wrongly prosecuted for computer failings – have launched numerous media articles and social media posts this year.
Quite rightly – and sadly – too. When the Church of England or another religious group fails to live up to the ideals and teaching of Jesus Christ, then our leaders will be held to account. One of the key roles of the media in a free society is to challenge those with power and ensure that the voices of victims get heard – and receive the justice they deserve.
Trust in vicars and priests has fallen sharply in recent years, and much of the blame for this could be placed at the feet of those who have led churches and Christian organisations during this period. We should continue to pray earnestly for them – and ensure that strong selection, accountability and governance practices are in place.
"Who is holding this person to account?" is a key question to ask of any leader. And "how can they be sanctioned or dismissed?" a good supplementary.
Yet, against this gloomy background, thousands of Church of England churches, and many thousands more of other denominations are working hard at the grassroots.
In this Christmas season, the vast majority of churches are busy organising extra services and events to proclaim the message of 'God with Us' to the people in their areas. They are working to ensure that the message that God loved the world so much that he sent his Son to live among us – and then to die for us – is declared in these Advent weeks.
But this is likely to make few headlines.
Why not? Well, because it's not news. It's what churches do, and what people expect them to be doing in the run-up to Christmas.
It's just one of those things that churches do that most people – and local councils and governments – take for granted.
So many churches are active in their local communities, running lunches and clubs for older people, organising toddler groups for small children and their carers, holding youth groups for teenagers, as well as running food banks and projects to fight addiction and provide debt counselling...and much, much more. Churches are also involved in providing education to many thousands of children.
Add to this the vital role that Cathedrals and many other churches perform in protecting the country's heritage, or in providing venues for community music, drama and art groups, and some of the 'social capital' that churches supply begins to mount up.
All this, in addition to providing church services of all kinds, including baptisms, weddings and funerals.
Earlier this year, journalist and communicator Neil Pugmire published the latest edition of his '100 ways to get your Church noticed' manual aimed at encouraging local churches to promote and highlight the range of services and activities that they run.
Neil writes, "We live in an age of browsers. People flip across TV channels, click through image-based web pages and flip through glossy magazines. How can we make sure our church activities, events and people catch the attention of this busy, visual world? How do we help our members to be walking advertisements for a healthy, vibrant church?
The guide "gives tips and advice on 'publicity' in the normal sense – websites, posters, parish magazines and media liaison. It also covers strategic planning, the look and feel of our church buildings, and ways of interacting with the local community."
Burnley vicar Alex Frost movingly describes grassroots Christian ministry in his challenging parish, in his widely-acclaimed book, 'Our Daily Bread.'
The Church of England, and other churches, will always attract negative coverage when we fail to live up to our high calling. It's right that we do, and we need to get better. Safeguarding has to be a key concern at all levels of the Church, with victims at its core.
But, to those who ask about the lack of positive coverage, I'd suggest we all work to get out the good news – especially about what's happening at the grassroots.
Archbishops, bishops and other church leaders may make the headlines. But it's local churches and Christian communities across the country – and across the world – that are quietly working hard to proclaim the gospel and make a positive difference in their own local area.
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, and a former communications director with the CofE.
