Future of the Chaplaincy

(Mission, growth, Finance)

These are just reflections on the above topic

Everyone has their own agenda / cultural background.

If we had been born in India we would probably have become Hindu.

If we had been born in Israel we would probably have become Jewish

If we had been born in Saudi Arabia we would probably have become Muslim

If we had been born in Ireland we might have become Roman Catholic

If we had been born in Japan we would probably have become Shinto etc: etc:

(Or not)

The chances are we would not have become Anglican.

Somewhere along the way we came into contact with the Anglican Church.....Perhaps family members were involved in it. Perhaps the institution we worked for was involved in it.( Educational entities, the armed forces, and so on.) Perhaps our friends were involved in it. Perhaps it was the core social centre of our town or village. Perhaps we experienced a mental or emotional crisis and the church came to our rescue.

Why do we find it appealing? Why do we attend church?

Perhaps it provides succour in times of distress and illness (emotional or otherwise)

Perhaps we find the ritual of church services comforting and reassuring.

Perhaps we find the singing of Hymns uplifting and church music in general capable of giving us mystical or at the very least agreeable experiences.

Perhaps it gives us the space and opportunity, once a week, to sit down and think about how our behaviour fits in with the moral guidelines of Jesus.

Perhaps it enables us to think about other people; friends , family or even others unknown personally to us and empathise with their condition, again at least once a week.

Perhaps the combination of listening to readings from the Bible and attending church services gives us the possibility of reflecting on the human predicament and consolidating a true faith.

Perhaps it enables us to form a community with like minded people who, like us, try to be kind and considerate in their relations with others.

Why do a lot of people not feel attracted to attending Church?

The fact is that many, at least initially, find the ritual rather off-putting; it makes them feel uncomfortable. They feel “outsiders”. The church although it has the best of intentions comes across as being “exclusive.”

In the same way that people who are invited to join “the masons” find their rituals to be difficult to take on board even though they are aware of the good and charitable acts that they support and get involved in. (No one has ever invited me to become a member so I know little about it!)

To some non-churchgoers, those that attend appear, rightly or wrongly, to be members of a self serving community.

Usually, non attenders are prepared to admit that the church represents a powerful force for the good but sometimes they feel that unnecessary minutiae and ritual procedures have dubious relevance to what is supposed to be the overall message of Jesus.

Again the old cliché of the Anglican church representing the conservative party at prayer is not a good slogan for recruitment.

Often even members of our own family, grandchildren, nephews , nieces, even sons and daughters or just friends freely admit that they find attending Church boring or irrelevant so when they are around both we and them stay away. We can understand their point of view, especially if young children are involved, although we don't like to admit it openly. Given those circumstances it would be counter productive to insist that we all went to church together, and perhaps it is more important to stay away from church and prepare a meal which unites the family in a more practical way.

Perhaps the church should make itself more “user friendly.”

A lot of people find that the big questions are not looked into, let alone answered.

Are we to consider the people of other faiths “outsiders” and on the wrong track ?

Are Christians the only ones to have a future?

Are those of no faith, yet who behave with great kindness and consideration towards their fellow beings, to be considered less worthy than those who attend Church?

How can the idea of an all powerful loving God be reconciled with all the suffering and injustice found in the world?

Being told to be “a believer” and “have faith” can appear to be rather an easy opt out for those who are being mentally or physically torn apart or who have been born into a highly distressed environment.

Why isn't the “truth” more accessible and more convincingly proved?

Possible Way Forward

If the church is to survive it has got to behave and put it's case differently. Otherwise, as we are already seeing on the Costa Blanca as well as in most parishes in the UK it will fade away into oblivion. In a few years there will hardly be a trace left. Churches are being abandoned, priests are hard to come by and congregations even more so!

The church may have to change and adapt to secular ways if it is to survive and resurface as a more powerful force in people's lives.

In our case there are younger people around (By that I mean people under sixty) but apart from honourable exceptions they have no desire or inclination to attend church and who can blame them?

We the older generation just shrug our shoulders and say , well that is the way it is. We bury our heads in the sand and make no effort to change the structure of the Church to attract others and future generations.

The Catholic Church is able to keep a minimum grip on the situation and knows how to attract followers by employing culturally appealing as well as religiously appealing rituals.

The Easter Processions in Andalucia and elsewhere get people together to experience and celebrate as a community. There is a lot of bonhomie and eating and drinking.

The tradition of First Communion encourages all members of the family to get together as a community. The girls and boys dress up for the occasion. This appeals especially, (and why not?) to mothers and daughters. Photos are taken, convivial meals occur.

Palm Sunday Processions take place followed by a lot of eating and drinking among friends and relatives.

This means that the lives of a lot of people are at least touched by the Church two or Three times a year.

Again look at the admirable way Los Salesianos, for example, hold sporting activities for the young. They are not cramming them into Church for a boring service to profess their faith which may or may not exist. They are demonstrating the qualities that Jesus suggested we should cultivate.

Also the Catholic church provides the possibility of attending church on days other than on a Sunday.

What I am trying to say is that maybe the Anglican Church should follow the Catholic example; pinpoint the religious/cultural events during the year that the secular community can relate to. These would include:

Remembrance Sunday.

Many members of the expat community are involved in Remembrance activities and services.

This should be an “outreach” priority.

It is arguable that had not those of a generation or two ahead of us not got involved in putting down their lives for us , as Christ did, we would be living in a “police state” and not even be in a position to think about the future of the chaplaincy because there wouldn't be a chaplaincy to think about.

Sadly, as we are only too well aware of, this work of the armed forces continues in great measure today. The services give great “service” to the rest of the community, churchgoers or not. This to a large extent is recognised by all and is a great point of contact for both the church community and the secular community.

The cliched response of politicians and others including ourselves or at least myself (I mustn't pretend to speak for others) is that “our thoughts and prayers are with the dead and wounded and with their friends and relatives.” The church has a part to play in making these “thoughts and prayers” more sincere and realistically felt. Supporting the charities that help those who have lost their limbs or suffer from post traumatic stress that if not treated and recognised has the effect of ruining their lives. .

The Anglican communion should be in there taking part and offering its support to any Remembrance / Recognition activities of the armed forces.

Christmas Carol Services

The value of these has been noted and acted upon. Perhaps there should be more in informal situations like pubs with just a couple of sentences of well chosen words in the form of a prayer to start the proceedings. Families with children particularly can relate to this.

Songs of Praise type Activities

Many would enjoy coming together for a bit of a (religious) sing song.

Church services

(Those of a sensitive disposition should skip this)

I would reduce and alter bits of the liturgy.

How many of us really concentrate a hundred percent of the time on the words we are singing, listening to, or saying during the average service? Sometimes, in my case at least, the rhythm just carries me along inducing a feeling of general well being.

I would try to keep the sermon short with a few “bullet” points like Richard Horner our visiting priest from Rugby who on his home territory is not allowed to go over 8 minutes.

I would simplify the setting up of the church . A plain altar with a cross. Did Jesus tell us to produce altar cloths? Did Jesus tell us to produce candles? Did Jesus tell us to sing hymns or psalms? Did Jesus tell us to bring flowers and put them on the altar? ( Maybe he did. In which case I apologise)

I am sure Jesus would be delighted if the above items are in evidence but I don't think they are essential, rather just optional extras.

The Service/Eucharist could take place on a weekday morning, afternoon or evening so not necessarily on a Sunday.

Also it could be every two weeks rather than a weekly service.

It could, if need be, be held in any public space: bar, restaurant, dance hall, classroom etc:

The wider community

Our local expat population is only too happy quite rightly to join branches of the U3A and indulge in all sorts of activities, become members of the English Speaking Club, join the Javea Players, hold fund raising events for castrating cats or calming distressed donkeys, strut their stuff round the many golf courses etc: etc: You only have to look in the “Costa Blanca News.”

They form communities that run into thousands of people. Some are comfortably off but many others are not.

They often contribute generously to various charities, Caritas, Cruz Roja, Medicos sin fronteras, children's care, cancer, especially animal care etc: but are more reluctant to contribute directly to the costs of the chaplaincy. (stipends etc). Witness the feedback Susan, Kim, and Flavia encountered when trying to raise funds for that purpose. So it falls on the congregations to financially support that side of things. That is not realistic unless there is a constant supply of wealthy benefactors.

We cannot expect our priests to live on 400 Euros a month ( even with a house provided) which is more than what a lot of the wider community receive. Nor can we realistically expect the ageing church going pensioners in our congregations to finance an unlimited number of clergy.

It is therefore essential that the church prioritises its needs and adapts to the prevailing conditions. At the same time it should broaden its appeal and be able to tap into the pool of non church going expats at least for the charitable work of the church if not its running costs.

Going back to the traditional role of the Church what do we expect it to provide?.

Funeral services

Baptisms

Confirmations

Weddings

Regular church services (Holy Communion) Whether weekly/ fortnightly/monthly

Carol service

Christmas and Easter services

Prison visits

Hospital visits

Home visits to the sick

Home visits to those who are housebound to administer the Eucharist

Home visits to the bereaved

A link with local expat schools

A concern for and to be involved with local charities regardless of race or nationality

A concern for and to be involved in worldwide charities

Provide A Good Samaritan type service or the ability to link up to one for those suffering mental distress

Above all build a sense of community based on kindness and consideration for other people; a community that sets an example of good behaviour.

There are obviously others.

Some of these activities can only be done by a Priest.

There are others which can be done by members of the congregation and indeed most members of the congregation and non- churchgoers find themselves fulfilling this function for relatives or friends on a regular basis.

If we restructured our Church services as outlined above; less frequent, shorter with more popular appeal and encouraged lay members from time to time to visit prisons etc: We could cut down on the number of priests required and make the budget viable.

The main problem is age. Few wish to get involved in pastoral care let alone anything else after the age of 65.

If we look at the El Campello congregation of 20 years ago what has occurred?

Some have died.

Some remain.

Some have moved back to the UK or elsewhere but still visit us two or three times a year.

Some straddle the fence and are “here” half the time and “there” the other half..

All however are 20 years older and are not able to do what they did in the past.

Not many youthful newcomers have appeared on the scene.

The situation is saved however by the influx of a group of “young” retirees lurking in the hills who are physically and mentally able and willing to hold the congregation together.

The strength of the congregation at the present time is that when visitors and previous residents coincide with the old retainers who remain rooted in the vicinity, numerically it's not a bad turnout even though the average age is a bit high!

This also means that a good communual spirit usually prevails after the Church service when cakes and buns are often selflessly provided by stalwarts with culinary skills. Fellowship lunches also usually live up to their name.

There is by and large an atmosphere of Christian goodwill.

So in Campello, for the present at least, we do need a priest to administer preferably at least once a fortnight.

However there are alternatives available for those who wish to participate more fully.

In Alicante the Church by the pyramid building is a good option. (Suggested by Geoff)

The Church where we hold our Carol Service in Coveta Fuma holds a Sunday service partly in English.

There are a myriad of catholic churches that hold services at all hours. The language is not an insurmountable barrier because the liturgy for the most part is the same as our own. I know of several Brits who attend and, without being rude, their grasp of Spanish is rudimentary.

There are services on the radio to which we all have access. Whether by satellite or Computer connection.

BBC Radio 4 has an excellent range of religious type programmes which can easily be listened to or downloaded.

There is a daily service 9.45

There is one on Sundays from 9.10 to 9.50 our time

Prayer for the day (Lasts two minutes) Everyday. 6.43

Thought for the Day (two minutes)

The Moral Maize (45 minutes) (weekly)

Sunday (Discusses church and religious matters weekly, Sunday morning 8.10 – 8.55)

Beyond Belief (Monday afternoons)

Recently there have been a series of Lent Talks (15 Minutes) I can particularly recommend the one by Martin Wroe.

Having said all of the above, our strength, as Father Peter and Paul have frequently said, lies in the good quality of our church community. There is by and large an excellent feeling of Christian goodwill.

I think it is true that everyone mucks in to the best of their ability and a pleasant atmosphere prevails.

Thanks to some members we have valuable links with non churchgoers. Witness the success of the Christmas Lunch, The Summer Tea party etc

These links can be reinforced and extended if we alter our procedures and become more inclusive.

If we break away from appearing to be some sort of weird ageing clique!

The important thing is to enjoy the community spirit, the bonhomie.

To encourage and welcome new faces

To be flexible in our worship which may mean cutting down on having a priest every week if we can't afford it and altering slightly the format of the service.

Being open to a Woman taking or leading the service.

This may mean Common Prayer or Evensong with a lay reader.(Male or female)

If possible add a pinch of prayer or communual goodwill to secular activities.

and most importantly of all encouraging the cake and bun providers.

“Blessed are the cakemakers!”