A longer answer is
what Pope Benedict XVI has understood: that the church has gotten
away from its roots and has too often found itself on the wrong
side of the question, “Is religion a good thing or a bad
thing?” Fewer than 20 percent of Western Europeans say
they go to church twice a month or more. In England the figure
is as low as 8 percent.
As fewer citizens declare themselves church members, the German
per capita church member assessments decline. As these funds
dry up, so too do ministries to the poor, immigrant groups,
and missions in Africa, Asia and elsewhere.
We need not look too far from our own front doors to witness
this secularization that has become entrenched in our own country
and in our own churches.
But the picture is not all gloom and doom. In fact, signs
of renewal are all around. From the often church-led and finally
successful peace talks in Northern Ireland, to the reunification
talks between the members of the Russian Orthodox Church and
their sisters and brothers of the Russia Orthodox Church Outside
Russia, God IS doing a new thing in Europe.
That is why I am so glad to now be a part of the fabric of
this renewal. The group of regional liaisons (mission personnel—short
and long term) are vital to this mission. They do us Presbyterians
proud and have enormous impacts on the families and communities
with whom they do the day-to-day hard work of ministry in another
culture and church tradition.
In addition to reading the stories on the following pages,
why not write a letter of thanks to a selected missionary? And
plan to invite one of them to your congregation during the next
year. Find out who is available in your area at www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/speakers/speakers.htm.
Thank you and God bless.
—Rev. Jon T. Chapman, area coordinator for Europe, Ecumenical
Councils and Advocacy, World Mission, General Assembly Council
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