from the Founder’s  Statement of Inspiration and Intention

When I read for a diploma in theology in Durham (1949-52), I was a lecturer in education of many years standing. Therefore I was used to work with students keen to share as fully as possible their knowledge, skills, interests and ideas with others.  So it came as a great shock to discover how wide was the gap between what clergy learnt as students and what they tried to share in sermons with congregations.  It seemed that many clergy felt that to share their knowledge with the laity would harm the laity, though this is not true of all clergy.  

The consequence of this attitude for the church in general and the laity in particular are:

1. When knowledge is denied to those who are faithful, their religious life is often reduced to one of personal piety.  Thus the church is deprived of an informed laity capable of leadership and mission in spheres beyond the reach of the clergy.  Alternatively, some, who might have remained faithful, drift away alienated by uncritical or merely pious explanations of scripture.

2. When it is axiomatic with the clergy that to raise matters of faith with laity undermines the faith of the laity, many laity are quick to accept that suggestion.  Afraid to ask questions, they are left with their Sunday School precepts, many of which no longer make sense to them.  Such anxiety itself undermines faith by begetting insecurity. It fosters emotionalism and fundamentalism on the one hand; and, on the other, robs adults of knowledge which they need to deal with life situations.

3. When the clergy pay no heed in their own teaching to what is commonly taught in schools or presented by the media, they lay themselves - and the church - open to charges of being out of date and hypocritical, and therefore something which can safely be ignored.

Within a life of other commitments I committed myself to serious study within the context of worship, and the needs of neighbours.  It was clear that the service I must give others was to create for them opportunities for study and commitment.   Lay people would be free to discover that they were not a passive flock to be ministered to, but men and women called to share in active ministry.

more >>

Our History (2)