By the year 2019 if the Anglican Church hasn’t changed from its present course, it may be dead. With that in mind, I would like to see some of the following:
* parishioners and clergy working together – no clergy hopefully in the future will be saying “I’m the rector and I have the final say.” Arrogance has no place in any Christian church – no matter the denomination.
*parishioners and clergy worshipping God together with each taking their own specific role – no clergy should be taking on the role of the “people” because it makes him energized or comfortable or whatever. We need to recognize a distinct role for each.
*openness and cooperating with each other. Dioceses need to get rid of “the old boys’ club” mentality. Most of all, clergy must be willing to help each other when illness strikes.
*the Anglican theological schools coming into the 21st century. Conflict resolution needs to be taught. Many forms of management needs to be taught. The nineteenth century idea of the priest being “Father xxx” needs to be addressed. What is a woman priest called then – “Mother xxx?” Please, let’s use our Christian names in our churches.
*Clergy going out into the “highways and byways” and talking to the fringes, the disconnected, the ill, to everyone. Christ never sat in the synanogue waiting for people to come to him. Nor should the clergy sit in their churches and bemoan that people are not attending.
*remembering that we may all grow old, that we may all lose our drivers’ licenses, that we may all be stuck in a nursing home, but being assured that our church will not forget us, that our church will be a living, visible presence to us no matter our age or circumstances until death.
**We all need to live our beliefs. The best way to teach about our beliefs is to live them fully – to become “man fully alive.”
