Look to community and to gospel

THE planned sale of Anglican churches and other properties to provide redress for victims of sexual abuse and funds to bring the gospel to the people in a way more relevant to modern society has always had my support. But the response from your correspondents raises the issue of community interest in many beautiful rural churches and also, for some, making the building and the form of worship more important than preaching the Gospel. The general community may love having these buildings, but rev- enue to maintain them has always come from the much smaller number of worshippers. I believe community members should put up their hands and open their wallets to purchase buildings which could be used for worship and for many other community interests.

This issue was a hot potato in Christchurch, when the Anglican Cathedral was badly damaged in the 2011 earthquake. The Anglican Church could not afford to renovate the cathedral and proposed a new building more in keeping with the needs of modern worshippers. The community had pledged the extra money to rebuild the cathedral. Maybe it is better that those who believe the building and the form of worship is more important than taking the good news of God’s saving grace to the community are not part of a church acting out Christ’s commission to “go, make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”