From Canon Andrew Bowden
Sir, - Your report and article on the Review of the Church in
Wales (
News and
Comment, 27 July) suggest that ministry in rural areas needs to
be delivered in a radically different way. Amazing! So said Tiller
in 1983; so said the Archbishops' Commission on Rural Areas (ACORA)
in 1990; and, over the past 20 years, the Local Ministry Movement
has actually shown in practice what radical change could look
like.
The reviewers appear to believe that
the root of the problem is our cultural devotion to the parish; but
much more important is our cultural devotion to clericalism. A
recently published survey of the movement, Ordained Local
Ministry in the Church of England, charts how difficult it is
to shift us from this cultural prejudice, even when the need for
radical change stares us in the face.
As the church report All are
Called put it in 1985, "We are all called, no matter what our
occupations may be. There is no special status in the Kingdom for
those with 'important responsibilities'; nor does our calling - our
vocation - depend on any kind of ordination. . . What is more, this
calling comes to us all, for all our days and for all of our
activities."
Until we learn to "walk that talk",
there is little long-term hope for the Church in rural - or urban -
areas.
ANDREW BOWDEN
Washbrook Cottage, Caudle Green
Cheltenham GL53 9PW