Abandon yourself for a little to God, and rest for a little in Him. Enter into the inner chamber of your soul, shut out everything save God and what can be of help in your quest for Him, and having locked the door, seek Him out. Speak now, my whole heart, speak now to God: “I seek Your countenance, O Lord, Your countenance I seek” (Ps. 27:8). --- St. Anselm 1033-1109
I have been reading articles about the sharp decline of church membership and even sharper decline in attendance, plus the decline in belief in God. I read that in some places in Europe attendance is only 4% of what it used to be! In some groups in America, belief in God is down to 61%! It is alarming to me.
As civilization seems to be coming off the rails, losing its moral compass, forgetting its noble values, I see a direct link to the spiritual decline.
I know it can be argued that church deserves to be abandoned, for it came off of its own rails in so many ways. Nevertheless, I feel strongly that this trend needs to be addressed.
This morning an idea came to me, actually struck me with some force. Perhaps groups of prayerful people could brainstorm together over some questions needing to to be asked. Such as:
- What can be done to lead us to an actual relationship with God, to feel and know the Divine Presence?
- How can church be a part of a vital spiritual life?
- How can practical needs of life be served?
- How can what we now know from science, history, psychology, etc couple with a spirituality of profound meaning?
- How can we update theology so it is spiritually meaningful and also not offensive to our intellect?
- And more...