We need “all hands on deck” to survive these difficult times. That includes the church, which has an important “down to earth” role to play.
Some feel that the state must look after people’s worldly lives while the church is concerned with their eternal lives. I don’t agree. While I don’t think priests should be involved in party politics, since this would muzzle them on important issues, they should take an active part not only in people’s spiritual lives but also in their everyday lives, as was done in the past when the church was intimately involved in the education, health and other aspects of its congregation. Both dimensions of our being must be attended to.
The church should also strongly advocate a just society. While some priests are speaking out, others prefer to put their heads down and not “rock the boat”, which reminds me of the story of a priest who continued to preach weekly about the “good Samaritans” who assisted accident victims at a dangerous bend rather than advocating the widening of the road.
Like everything else, the church in general (although there are many exceptions) has become too impersonal and far removed from the people. Gone are the days when priests knew their congregations personally and visited them, particularly when they were sick. I remember my mother saying how their priest would often visit them.
At funerals nowadays, sometimes the priest doesn’t know the deceased and hasn’t even taken the time to properly check their name. This was blatantly evident at a funeral some years ago when the priest announced the name of the deceased as that of one who was sitting, alive and well, in the congregation.
Of course there are pockets of outstanding work being done by churches nowadays in feeding and clothing the needy as well as contributing to their education, but in general, I agree with a priest who recently said publicly that the church “. . . gets into a religious rut and puts too much emphasis on formality”.
Maybe this is why the established churches, in particular, find it difficult to attract the youth who perhaps feel they could just as well stay home and read their prayer books. While the church shouldn’t yield to pressure to change to suit the world in the same way that parents tend to “go with the flow” where moral standards are concerned, priests could make their teachings more relevant and interesting while adhering to the scriptures.
Oftentimes priests, like politicians, seem to think that the longer and more repetitious the sermon, the more big words used, the better. Nothing could be further from the truth. I can guarantee that people’s minds wander after about ten minutes, so they must deliver crisp, inspiring messages based on the teaching of the church but related to everyday life.
This was demonstrated at a national event some months ago where, although the message was relevant, the delivery was so long-winded that many dignitaries in the audience were captured on camera “nodding off”. On the other hand, I was impressed by the priests conducting two family funerals recently where the sermons were short and to the point, and the family came away with a feeling of comfort rather than fatigue.
Like politicians, many priests feel that the louder they shout, the more impressed the congregation will be – also a fallacy. Some speak with an affected accent, most difficult to understand, while others display poor grammar that distracts from the subject of the sermon.
Society is a reflection of homes and communities and the effects of the destruction of family values and moral teachings have spread like a disease, influencing the viewpoints of children, the future leaders. So the church must be encouraged “not just to open the doors of church buildings every Sunday morning, but to daily open the doors of their hearts to those around them so that they may see the change in them brought about by the love of Jesus Christ being abundant in their lives” (www.theologyexchange.com).
Finally, as far as I’m aware, churches own substantial areas of land which are in bush. Couldn’t these be used to produce food which could be used to raise funds and also help to feed those who are in need?
• Dr Frances Chandler is a former Independent senator; email [email protected]
