Entitled “Generous Love for All, Presence and Engagement for the New Quinquennium”, in non C of E jargon this basically means facing up to other faiths.
How does the C of E carry on being the C of E when it is surrounded, some might suggest overwhelmed, by other religious groups and is already contending with a changing spiritual landscape?
The Venerable Richard Atkinson from Leicester, in his opening speech, said:
The 2011 Census will reveal the growth of multi-faith Britain; the international agenda will continue to bring the best and worst religion into the lives of all; the very pressing challenges before some of the churches in areas of significant other faith populations will require all of us to identify and support appropriate models of presence.
It is a problem for the C of E – the increased confidence of religious movements and non-religious movements. It is no longer the only voice or focal point of community activity but, unlike other groups, it remains damn close to being ubiquitous. Omnipresent even.
More telling is this paragraph from the report itself:
Over the next few years the multi-religious nature of British public life will present some of the most extensive challenges for the Church of England’s credibility in its established role.
Its ability to serve the whole community of this country, whilst remaining true to its aim of growth, will depend upon being able to sustain its claim to be present everywhere and to engage constructively with the whole population. The Church’s responsibility to serving the nation and to its evangelistic mission will have increasingly to learn how to engage effectively with people from other faith backgrounds whilst retaining the trust of the nation.