Decline and revival in the Church of England
by Philip Jenkins, Christian Century:
Future historians will identify the past quarter century as a time of real excitement and innovation.
British media regularly report the latest surveys of religious faith and activity in that country, and rare is the news that is not deeply depressing. So rapid has been the process of secularization that it hardly seems far-fetched to imagine a near future in which Christian faith in the country would be confined to recent immigrants.
Particularly hard hit is the Church of England, which in practice attracts only a tiny proportion of the national population on any kind of regular basis. Yet even among what seem to be the battered ruins of Anglican loyalty are surprising signs of life and even vigor. (I will focus here on England, as conditions in other parts of the British Isles differ in many ways.)
The best known of these is the London parish of Holy Trinity Brompton, which attracts over 3,000 to its Sunday services. The life of Holy Trinity is based on intense small-group activities, organized through its 50 pastorates meeting in nonchurch locations. Holy Trinity is committed to church planting and has established seven offshoot congregations. The present archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has strong associations with the church and its clergy. HTB is famous for its innovative forms of outreach and evangelism, most spectacularly the Alpha course, which has reached tens of millions worldwide.
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