A new report details the continuing decline in the Churches and Chapels of the United Kingdom, and in particular, those of Wales, once a stronghold of Christianity and host to past Revivals. There is a search going on in every denomination for the answer to the question of poor attendance at Services, and why the decline is continuing at an accelerating rate. In fact, if it continues at the current rate, with the closure of so many churches and chapels, there is a widespread belief that many communities will be left without a place of worship in the traditional sense.
For decades we have experienced the gradual decline of communities as their heart has been torn out of them, first with the closure of village schools, followed by the closure of Post Offices, Village Shops, and, to add insult to injury, even the axing in many rural areas of local Bus Services. The staggering thing is that it has all been done in the name of PROGRESS!
Now, like tens of thousands of other citizens in this beleaguered domain, I grew up in a small town in a rural area. It was served by an excellent bus service which would carry me to other towns or cities within a fifteen mile radius at most hours of the day, and well into the evening. If I travelled to the City of Bath, some twelve miles away, I was able to get home by catching a bus as late as 11 o'clock in the evening. In addition to this we had a very efficient train service from our local station, particularly useful if I wanted to go even further afield.
In this town of around ten thousand people, there were shops that supplied virtually every need that the average household could wish for. For the few items, (and I mean FEW), that were unobtainable, you had the choice to order them through a local retailer or catch a train or bus to Bath or Bristol and make your purchase there. We had a wet fish shop, butchers, greengrocers, grocers, post office, stationers, toy shop, electrical shop and newsagents. The town boasted a branch of Boots, and also a local chemist's shop. There was a wine merchant, there were banks, there was a Nursing Home --- the place in fact, where I and my siblings was brought into the world --- garages, a cycle shop, a dry cleaners, a florists, two hardware shops, a large branch of the Co-op, and plenty of places to stay or just to have a drink or a meal. All in all, a typical small town. A town that could cater for the education of children in its midst, for their leisure time, either indoors or outdoors, and for the general well being of the community as a whole.
There were many things that we did not have. We did not have huge numbers of families living on Benefits, we did not have large numbers of people who were well-off enough to travel abroad every year and who considered that they were poor if they missed a year. We did not have a society where people lived in fear of drunken yobs and criminal behaviour as the norm. In fact, I remember the name, (although I refrain from mentioning it!), of the man most likely to be guilty of any house-breaking and burglary that went on, so rare was the occasion that such a thing happened. The Police were efficient and fair, and dealt with people in a manner which displayed much of the Common Sense that was to be found in any typical community of the period.
We had churches and chapels and they were reasonably well attended. By that I do not mean that, with the benefit of rose-tinted hindsight, I recall them being full to the brim every Sunday, but that they always had a reasonable attendance from across the age range. Sunday Schools were of a good size, and as a result the children learned not only the rudiments of Christianity but also about moral and ethical living.
Then came PROGRESS, sweeping away much of all that I have described and consigning it to the dustbin of history, something to be recalled and recounted only in the diary pages of some future scribe such as me. High Streets, long the centre of the town's heart, were paved over and called 'Shopping Malls'. Many familiar shops were closed down, sold, and reopened as Estate Agents or Solicitors. The boom in Charity Shops became increasingly noticeable, even in small towns. New supermarkets opened up, trumpeting their ability to 'SAVE YOU MONEY', and 'IMPROVE YOUR SHOPPING CHOICE'. Everything, they said, could be purchased under one roof. All very well, but this trend also furthered the demise of the small independent retailers who, one by one, decided that it was no longer viable to remain open. They closed down and HEY PRESTO! yet another Charity Shop or Estate Agent or Solicitor opened up in their place.
Local cinemas closed down, unable to compete with the luxury of city entertainment palaces, Youth Centres closed down because there was insufficient funding for this invaluable facility, and chapels and churches all too often have been closed down only to become furniture repositories or carpet warehouses; some even becoming Nightclubs! How the teetotal fathers of the Non-Conformist movements must turn in their graves at such a thing!!!
In those far-off halcyon days it was the norm for mothers to regard their work in the home, raising and caring for a family, as their job. Properties were invariably rented at a reasonable rent, either from a local Estate or the Council, or, in some cases, a private landlord. Far more people rented, than owned, their homes. When a young couple got married --- Oh yes, in those days that's what they did FIRST --- they moved into a rented flat, cottage or small house, and made do with a mixture of second-hand furniture. They still lived comfortably, even though money was somewhat scarce, because people knew how to cook proper meals from reasonably priced ingredients, many of which might well have been home-produced. Only after settling into the marriage and getting to know each other better, saving a little whenever they could in their bank accounts or post office books, did they decide to start a family. When that happened they knew it was up to them to provide for their children, not up to the State, and so overtime would be readily accepted if offered, and mums found many ingenious ways to help with the household budget. Holidays were occasional, not the norm. Interestingly, many of these people continued to attend church and chapel although perhaps not with the same frequency, and their family life was, although not one filled with the detritus of materialistic gain, fairly happy. Marriages founded in that period often lasted the course, the couples ultimately celebrating their Silver, Ruby, Golden, or even Diamond, Wedding Anniversaries.
By contrast, in the age in which we now live, we have tremendous problems with violent crime, full prisons, abuse of all types that is prevalent in our Society, towns which have become dormitories for the Global Giants such as Tesco, Asda, and so on, and the decline of moral and ethical behaviour coupled with the decline of the church and of Christianity in the country as a whole. So I ask the question, 'IS THIS WHAT PROGRESS IS ALL ABOUT?' If it is, then I, in agreement with so many others, suggest that you can keep it!
Until we see a return to a moral and ethical climate, one in which people acclaim God and honour Him as the norm, then I suggest that our Society will continue in terminal decline. Already vast numbers of British Citizens are emigrating to countries where life displays a semblance of the life that they either recall of aspire to, and in their place are increasing numbers of immigrants who bring with them their own religions and cultural identities, holding fast to them rather than absorbing any sense of 'Britishness' into their lifestyles.
There is still much about our nation that continues to have the abilty to evoke a sense of pride in us, but I suggest that it exists as a sort of Living Museum rather than a liveable way of life. Years of political neglect have removed the word GREAT from our national title. Even today, there are those who attempt to colour our sense of 'Britishness' with the rainbow colours of Political Correctness.
The decline of anything is sad to behold, but the decline of a nation is especially so. It really is the eleventh hour for those who are prepared to stand up and be counted. It's time to REPENT of all that is wrong both in our own lives and in our Society, and seek God's forgiveness for the poor Stewardship of all that constitutes our religious and cultural heritage. Only then can we dare to ask for His help in rebuilding our nation. This is a nation whose roots are based upon Christianity and Christian beliefs. It is time to reclaim those roots with pride and yet also with humility.
