Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken, Zion

Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken, Zion
Psalm 87

A few weeks ago, we had a visit from friends in London who told us exciting tales about developments in their parish, where they have a rector who is full of ideas for reaching out into the community and a church that is growing. Like many churches in our area, the church of which I am honorary minister is shrinking, and I don’t know what to do about it (I am only an Old Testament professor, after all; I don’t have that London rector’s instincts and ideas). A lively and outspoken lady on the church council declared last month, “We have to find ways of reaching out to the community; otherwise we’ll soon be dead.” In the past, it’s been easy for churches in the West to assume that if they just carry on as they always have, they will be able to continue maintaining themselves—which is no longer so in the United States, any more than it is in Britain...