Re The Haynes Report, June
Well done! I had read Gordon’s report last fall, thought it was good, (I even cited it several times in a doctoral dissertation I was writing at the time) perhaps even prophetic in its encouragement for our future ministry. The article was excellent in its summation and insightful, not to mention its potential to catalyze the idea put forth by its subtitle. The graphics were also excellent, adding much to the content. – Rodger McEachern, Edmonton
I have read the Haynes Report in the June Record and commend Gordon Haynes and any who helped him for the incredible amount of research and work that has gone into the report.
However, I would like to share my concern about two omissions with reference to the congregation I am currently attending, Knox in Oakville, Ont. Yes, we have fewer members, fewer children in the church school, and lower weekly attendance, but the congregation is thriving in some specific areas, mainly worship and preaching, and education. These areas are historically very important in Presbyterian churches but I do not see any mention of them in the Haynes Report. Yes, theological education is mentioned, but the emphasis is on “practical training,” not on a clergy deeply immersed in the scriptures as they are being understood today, and theologies that seek to deal with innovative, contemporary ways of understanding faith.
Over the years I have had a number of conversations with people who used to attend church but no longer do and never has anyone complained about the main concerns of the report. What people have said to me is that they can no longer say a creed that was written in the fourth century. They are no longer satisfied with a literal interpretation of the Bible. They want to look at their faith in light of what we know today from the sciences and through their own life experiences. They are searching for different ways to understand God and how Jesus understood himself and his ministry over 2,000 years ago. What we really need is content that meets the deepest spiritual longings of people of all ages in the historic era in which we live. – Helen Goggin, Oakville, Ont.
