The Melbourne diocese of the Anglican church is in trouble. Whether they know it is another question. But they are in trouble.
In 1981 there 235 Melbourne parishes. Today there are 216, a loss of 19. In the same time period average Sunday attendance has fallen from 50,000 to 29,000.
40% of those attending are over 60 years old, only 11% are under 30. Currently only 6% of active clergy are under 35, while 59% are over 50.
That’s not decline, it’s disaster.
Peter Corney has come up with a vision and a plan to renew the Melbourne diocese. It’s realistic, and by faith, achievable.
If you’re a Melbourne Anglican you must read it. If you’re not, it’s still a great example of an effective strategy for the renewal of any denomination.
All you need to do is add leadership. . .
Thanks to Alan Hirsch for passing on the report. Still waiting for your blog to launch!
2 Comments
This is an interesting article. Yet as a person who has tried to do something innovative within the Anglican system I find it rather futile, not very realistic at all. Like poking the last remaining hot coals. For other movements I’d say this is realistic. As the statistics put it, the next line of Clergy for Anglicans are important yet I just don’t think the seminaries are up to scratch. I doubt that they would agree with what Corney has written at all, even the Evangelical college!
I actually wish that Corney was a little less anglican centric (Apart from Arrow) he has a lot to offer the broader church.
Good point Scott. Perhaps Peter’s strategy for renewal can only be achieved if the Anglican hierarchy were to see the writing on the wall and begin employing missionaries in established Australian suburbs. Yes, alongside existing, declining Anglican churches!
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[...] I read this article by Peter Corney from Steve Addisions blog, and couldn’t resist writing about it, coming from an Anglican background. Steve writes that – ‘The Melbourne diocese of the Anglican church is in trouble. Whether they know it is another question. But they are in trouble. [...]