WHITSUN - The Birthday Of The Church (by Ken Roach)

The Church is like an Army with many divisions, different weapons systems, various levels of command and responsibilities, yet under he supreme authority of the country's sovereign. Its job is to protect the nation from invasion and fight threats against its citizens. Though distinguished by uniforms, in the last resort, the army is of people, by the people and for the people.

During May, we celebrate the least understood of the Christian festivals; Whitsun, the birthday of the Church. In my youth it was a national holiday with street marches behind Church banners and choirs, followed by a day of parties and sports events.

Early last September, Cardinal Murphy-O'Conner, R.C. Archbishop of London, said the Church now has no impact on modern life and its influence is almost vanquished. This statement caused a flurry of immediate responses, but was soon over-shadowed by the events of September 11th. Now that news is a little less dramatic, lets recognise Whitsun by taking another look at the Church in the modern world.

We must begin by accepting, that the modern world is entirely different from the worlds of the Bible and from the younger days of most of us. While we all try to resist changes, our life-styles, moral standards, and even the meaning of many of our words, would not be recognised by our grand-parents. Churches keep the old clichés and resist the modern challenges of change, are seen as irrelevant anD increasingly ignored. Many of the older ministries of the Church are now taken over by the Social Services and are an established feature of our Welfare State. Some services to young families are now offered by church and society, such as toddlers groups, and this must be seem as good for everyone. They also relieve the Church of some activities, so that it can concentrate on those ministries unique to God's people and vital to the health of persons and communities.

First, the sight of a Church building, many with a steeple, is a reminder of Christian influences in the past and how important they were in our development. Many of us owe much to Sunday Schools, Youth Groups and inspirational worship experiences, as well as Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals. They gave us ideals to live by, moral standards to guide our behaviour and spiritual strength to be hard working, honest, thrifty, helpful and many such virtues that helped to build strong characters, good citizens and stable homes. Many of these qualities are now in decline, with broken homes, single parenthood, violent crime, drug abuse, debt and moral confusion on the increase in all our communities. Parents and grandparents are in despair over the life-styles of some young people and fear for the future, especially for the children. Some young adults actually boast about their debts and claim they do not worry about spending beyond their means, Time will tell what kind of 'Reaping' will result from this kind of 'Sowing' It would appear that we are on a self-destruction course, but a lot of people don't seem to sense danger, nor wish to change their ways. While Church buildings are still open, and worship is still available, some may eventually question whether modern society is better than it was, and whether our increased wealth and different ways of living have really improved the quality of personal and social life. If the Church can learn the language of our present day and make some of its structures more relevant, it may yet be able to speak to the modern mind and help people find more wholesome life-styles. Declining attendance at worship suggest this challenge needs to be addressed urgently.

One of the features of our present situation is that we have many more opportunities to 'Get Religion' in greater variety than can be offered by a church. 'Songs of Praise' and 'Sunday Half-Hour' are very popular, many T.V. and radio programmes on religion and morals are good ; books and magazines offer a lot of spirituality in various forms and classes on mental health and the art of meditation are now readily available, especially in our cities. Added to these religious 'menus', we now have the rise of other faiths, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, etc, and some of these have attracted Christians to their ethos by their ideas and disciplines. Today we have a 'Pick and Mix' situations and the Church has to accept this as an irreversible fact and challenge. Many of these offerings are grouped under the title,' New Age Religion', and are meeting many needs that have not been met in the traditional Church. Fundamentalists may see these as enemies to the cause of Christ; liberals may ask what we may learn from this new situations and what changes may be indicated for Church worship and life-style. We have all been thrust into the new age and are worried. No-one has simple answers, but we should all face the new challenges, ask searching questions and seek honest answers. God loves the whole world and we believe he is the only real bread of life to satisfy the human hungers. All this however, is to be understood and interpreted in practical terms.

The sight of a Church spire can still suggest the upward look and church buildings can still evoke religious feelings, 70% of people still claim to believe in God and pray on occasions. The singing of hymns can unite a congregation in worship; biblical stories can suggest messages for our time; sermons can stir a conscience and get us thinking about values and there is something special about the Christian Fellowship. It brings together people of all ages, families and individuals, in a rich diversity of occupations, interests, social skills and life-styles. Sunday worship can be a retreat from a stressful week; a time for quiet re-evaluation where we can gain new perspectives, keep friendships in good repair, join a worthwhile project to help people in need and, in general, re-charge our spiritual batteries. Another helpful simile is that worship re-affirms our spiritual centre and put on the circumference things less important. When Quakers gather for silent worship their aim is to 'centre themselves in God'

All this leads us to ask the profound questions of life. Where have we come from;? Where are we going;? Who are we;? What should life be about and how best should we be living? Should human life be so over-whelmed with 'setting and spending', work and worry, stress and strain? What is the meaning of it all and why were we created? Indeed, is there no higher purpose than earning money and buying clothes and cars? Growing senile and dying of old age, soon to be forgotten. If this is all there is, so much for the creator! The bible opens with a great story. God created Adam with a wonderful body and clever brain, both made and sustained from the dust of the earth to which they return. But God saw something vital was missing, so he breathed into the body-brain and man became a living soul. As human beings our essential souls, our real selves are divine breath; in which 'we share in the divine nature'. (2 Peter 1:4 Authorised Version) in which 'we share in the very being of God (2 Peter 1:4 N. E. Bible) Jesus knew he had 'come from God and was going to God' (John 13:4) This is true of us all, but in our busy modern world, full of demands and distractions, we don't pause enough to ask the profound questions and muse on the biblical answers. This is really what the Church is for and only when we know deep down, who we are, can we live wisely and well as true human beings.

So, this Whitsun, we will be reminded how the Church started in the first century. We know a lot about its glories and shames down the years, we are aware of its need to change with changing times; yet the Church represents an unchanging God and values that will always be at the heart of human life, despite all its modernisation's. Let us keep our Church under constant review, judge its many activities in the Light of Jesus Christ and always remember, that there are ministries essential for full humanity , still best represented by the Church.

If the Church is 'vanquished', the world will be a darker place. Let us wake up and respond to the situation while we still have time.