THE Crown Nominations Commission (CNC), the body that will propose Archbishop Welby’s successor, has an unenviable task. Last time round, the Commission’s members seem to have had only one thing on their mind, which was how to reverse decline. That was why they appointed one who emphasised the desired priorities, even though he had barely a year’s episcopal experience. Sadly, and in spite of much effort and money, one third of churchgoers left during Archbishop Welby’s time. The safeguarding scandal should spur the CNC to think more deeply than it did last time about what the Established Church now stands for in a society that has become largely indifferent to Christianity.

I am one of those who values the Church’s established status. I believe that bishops in the House of Lords enrich debate and help to challenge prejudice. Parish churches offer resources for whole communities, not just for churchgoers. Gordon Brown’s removal of prime-ministerial involvement in senior appointments has done harm to the Church, making it more introverted and divided. Recent episcopal appointments have been held up by bitter disagreements. I suspect that we had a richer and more effective variety of bishops when the State played a key part in appointments.

Establishment is sometimes presented as a hindrance to mission. But the reality is that it acts, or should act, as a spur to responsibility. The Church of England is not sufficient unto itself, nor was it ever meant to be. This is why I have no problem with the involvement of non-churchgoers in appointments and patronage.

Last Friday, I attended the funeral of Haroon Ahmed, who, as an eminent scientist and Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, presented me as Vicar of St Bene’t’s, Cambridge. Haroon was not religious, but he understood the duties of patronage, and was always supportive. He dutifully attended evensong in the college chapel every Sunday in term. Good connections with the world outside the worshipping community help to keep us honest. I am not sure what independent safeguarding means; but, if it means collaboration with the best authorities outside the Church, it must be better than the current arrangements.

We live at a fallow time for religious commitment. Growth strategies have failed. Yet smaller numbers could be a chance to reinvigorate our purpose and rediscover what it means to serve the wider community rather than merely concentrate on replicating ourselves. It is a credit to those bishops who serve in the Lords that they understand this and do their best to alert our legislature to impending moral evils, such as gambling and internet pornography. The nation would be poorer without an Established Church; and a disestablished Church, which many are demanding, would quickly collapse into competing sects. Pray for a CNC this time that has the right questions rather than the right answers.