Australian Anglican and Uniting Churches are in trouble
Haberfield, St_Davids_Uniting_Church (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Two Australian denominations have been given reports that reveal decay and a need for change that questions the viability of their current structures. The Anglican Church is painfully aware that its network of dioceses (regions) is not viable following its General Synod (national church parliament) last week, while a recent Uniting Church census also underscores decline. “With 90 per cent of Australia’s population now living within 100km of the coastline and that trend continuing to strengthen, it presents enormous challenges for Australia’s inland dioceses,” says the Viability and Structures Task Force report paper for the Anglican General Synod. For example, the Murray Diocese in South Australia has 1300 people in church attendance; Bunbury in Western Australia has 1600; and the Northern Territory and North West Australia , which did not report their figures, probably have considerably fewer. To support a Bish...