Rector’s Report for the Annual General Meetings of Cleobury Benefice

EASTER 2023

It has been another dramatic twelve months. The Church of England continues in something of a crisis of self-confidence. It is estimated that there has been a fall in Sunday attendance of some 22% between the beginning of the pandemic and 2022. Of the 22%, 7% has been caused by death and the remaining 15% by actual reduced churchgoing. Financial difficulties have continued, but there the situation is complicated, dioceses are strapped for cash, but the central church institutions are beneficiaries of extremely healthy portfolio growth, and some parishes are also sitting on major reserves. In my view our major resource problem is shortage of clergy. We are retiring in considerably greater numbers than we are being ordained.

I want, though, to think about the positives, of which there are many. I strongly argue that the Church has recovered a much more sane and straightforward view of the way forward. The megachurch resource projects launched from 2014 onwards have failed to attract new people. It is no surprise whatsoever to discover that what works best is more clergy on the ground in ‘ordinary parishes,’ and this is where the money is just beginning to flow, aided by record numbers of new curates. This Easter there is hope for the Church of England!

There is certainly hope in Cleobury Benefice, attested by the hard work and practical care by so many of us in our communities. Last year I wrote of how the achievement of our people in helping others had been applauded by national and local authorities. This has been magnified since. I vividly remember our first Ukrainian guests coming into St Mary’s one Sunday, and us clapping them. It was a moving moment, and there has been much that has been deeply emotional along with the practical stuff that so many have helped with. Our special service for Ukraine was extraordinary, incorporating as it did Ukrainian poetry, and the singing of their anthem at the end. We continue to pray that this bestial war will end with a just peace soon.

The war and other factors have brought in their wake over this winter a severe cost of living crisis which looks intractable. I cannot thank people in the churches and beyond who have ‘loved their neighbours’ at a time when most of us are feeling the pinch enough. The foodbank has been heroic. Care for others is the best proclamation of the Gospel.

Last year at this time we were looking forward to the June celebration of the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II, this came and went with great joy. Rationally it is difficult to explain how it seemed so shocking when on the 8th of September news began to filter through of her impending death after a lifetime of exemplary Christian service to the nations, the Commonwealth, and the world. This time the leadership of the Church got it right in their dignified expression both of the mood of the country and the Christian hope of the resurrection life. Equally our parish churches reflected the feelings of our communities in a way which showed how they can be the loving hearts of our local areas. Thinking on the year past, I can’t help feeling that we have got the big things right. I continue to be amazed and humbled at the dedication of our Churchwardens, PCCs, ministers, musicians, cleaners, flower people, pastoral carers, our church schools, and all the rest. Thank you.

God bless,

Ashley





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