The Dear Old Church of England

One of the former Archbishops of Canterbury once described the CofE as being like an elderly aunt at a family gathering, sitting in the corner and largely being ignored by other members and guests of the family, being treated with respect but really out of touch with what was going on. Another commentator on the CofE, who was in leadership, said that the CofE had been driving along but spending too much time looking through the rear view mirror. It was Stephen Fry who used the phrase "The Dear Old Church of England" in a debate on the Roman Catholic Church, not a force for good in the world. Fry spoke of the dear old Church of England as if it were a family pet or some benign old lady. I have visited quite few parish churches in the lovely Hampshire countryside and I am sad to report that some of them are like museums and historic places of interest. There is, in some cases, little evidence of vibrant spiritual life. In some parish churches there are few pew Bibles, sometimes no Bibles, a boring bookstall, no indication of a Sunday school or youth ministry, drab artwork and far more interest in the past than in the present. In some places the Spirit of the Lord has clearly departed. Ichabod?