RECESSION COULD PUSH SOME DIOCESES OVER THE EDGE

There is a disturbing report by Jonathan Petre on the Mail Online that one of the knock-on effects of the recession wiping £1.3 billion off the Church Commissioners' assets is the fact that around a dozen ordinands have been unable to find curacies. According to his report, this is impacting particularly on ordinands at the Evangelical theological colleges, Wycliffe Hall, Oak Hill and Trinity, Bristol. In the light of these developments, which are an urgent matter for prayer, this article by your curate published on Anglican Mainstream in November last year (before Cranmer's Curate was launched) may interest the youth group:

The recession could turn out to be good for our souls, as commentators both Christian and secular have been suggesting. A dose of austerity could well be what the doctor ordered for our morally obese souls weighed down with the flab of materialism.

However, the only real solution to Mammon-worship, namely the proclamation of Christ's Gospel to sinful men and women, could be seriously set back if this recession turns into slump. Indeed, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that some Church of England dioceses, particularly in the north of England, which are subsidising Gospel ministry in net-receiving parishes, could go bust.

Dioceses which even before the recession hit were trying to obliterate budget deficits by asking for parish share increases could be pushed over the edge as faithful Christians who are regular and generous givers to their local churches lose their jobs and are forced to reduce or even stop their giving. Many churches are already struggling to pay the parish share they are asked for - this situation is likely to get worse.

It is not being fantastically apocalyptic to imagine the following scenario: front-line parochial clergy could find themselves living in their vicarages but without receiving a salary because their diocese is unable to pay it.

The bishops, being paid directly by the Church Commissioners, are unlikely to face such inconvenience. But some parochial clergy could be forced to take up secular jobs in a very competitive market. That may be good for some of us, but it will disrupt Christ’s mission in parishes.

Furthermore, consider the appalling consequences of economic recession on our fragile social fabric. The permissive society and the breakdown of family life have done immense damage already to our social stability. This recession if it turns into slump is likely to lead to massive problems in the breakdown of law and order and that is very bad for the Gospel.

Normatively, effective Gospel proclamation requires social stability – the Pax Romana in the first century AD allowed for the rapid spread of the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire and the Apostles knew that. That is why the Apostle Paul in his first epistle to St Timothy (chapter 2v2-4) urges that Christians pray for ‘kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectable in every way. This is good and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth’ (RSV).

So, I for one am praying that this recession will not turn into a slump or even a depression by God’s mercy and that, even though we do not deserve it, the United Kingdom remains a stable country in which Christian churches can grow and the good news of our Lord and Saviour can continue to be proclaimed. That is the only way for the British nation to rechristianise and for people to be saved from Mammon-worship.