From Mr Andrew Collie
Sir, - The Revd Neil Patterson ("What
happens when volunteers can't do it all?", Comment, 31 August)
rightly identifies two trends affecting the availability of
volunteers: increased retirement ages, and a reduced pool of
non-working spouses, with a consequent increased demand on
grandparents for childcare.
I suggest another: a reduced
willingness to sacrifice, which means that it takes longer for
people to "sign up", and, when they do, they sign up for less.
What is the Church to do about it? Mr
Patterson suggests imaginative use of paid staff, and a refocusing
on the purpose of the institutional Church. Let me suggest that we
also need "institutional Church lite".
Do we need all the roles for which we
seek volunteers? If we, for example, were prepared to do with fewer
church buildings (that does not mean necessarily fewer
congregations, although in some cases that may be right, too), or
fewer PCCs and other committees, we would release volunteer time
for where it really matters - engaging with people, including those
outside the Church.
ANDREW COLLIE
Colwood, Canterbury Road, Folkestone, Kent CT18 8HU