Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Winter 2014 Issue | Page 3

Now is Our time
the Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston

These days, there is much being said and debated about the numerous
challenges facing the Church. This is happening with regard to not only the
Episcopal Church but also every “mainline” denomination in the Western
Hemisphere. Without a doubt, the problems are very real and quite
alarming: declining attendance, strained or depleted financial resources,
neglected physical plants, and the overall aging of congregations, to name
only a few of the issues. Of course, there are numerous places that prove
the exception, but nonetheless this has been the general trend for more
than 30 years, and we are facing such worries in the Diocese of Virginia.

Even so, I just don’t feel the doomand-gloom attitude that could be so
easy to adopt. I remain an optimist
about our larger Church and about our
Diocese in particular. God is sovereign
and the Church is the Body of Christ.
These two facts are why I strongly
believe that the Holy Spirit is moving
now in the Church’s life and witness.

Where the Spirit is present,
our challenges are transformed
into opportunities. With the Spirit’s
guidance and power, it is a good and
healthy thing for us that we must face
the difficulties. It is nothing new for the
Church to be confronted with makeor-break realities; indeed, past crises,
however prolonged, have proven to
be times of birth in the Church’s life.
The history is clear: Over the centuries,
whenever the Church has become
comfortable and prestigious and
privileged, we have invariably fallen
into our worst patterns of complacency
and self-interest. So I firmly believe that
the Church is at its best when things get
tough. In short, I think that we are now
in the midst of a spiritual awakening
and (dare I say it?) institutional renewal.
To be sure, there’s a long way to go,
and the tasks ahead are daunting and
high-stakes, but I do sense that we are
on our way.

In my travels and encounters
across the Diocese, I certainly
experience the challenges that befall
any given congregation. But no less
do I learn about amazing ministries

and stories that are happening all
the time. (It’s strange how we can so
quickly overlook these good things
and instead emphasize the negatives
in church life.) Your three bishops
are now rather routinely baptizing
adults during Sunday visits, and adult
confirmations frequently outnumber
those for adolescents. These are quite
positive statistics, fitting in with the
demographics of the present time;
the majority secular population no
longer assumes baptism of infants and
confirmation of teens. Moreover, our
congregations in virtually every setting
are facing their challenges head-on,
with vision, creativity and passion.
You’ll enjoy reading about some of
these stories in the pages of this issue
of the Virginia Episcopalian.

You yourself can make a big
difference for your congregation, and
these are precisely the times when
the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ is
counting on every one of us to step up.
Attend worship faithfully every week
– this is where all vitality of a church
community begins. Pray each day
for your congregation and the larger
Diocese. Work toward the biblical
standard of the tithe (10 percent) in
giving to your church. Become better
and better educated about the Bible.
(Are you taking part in the Bible
Challenge for reading the Scriptures?
If not, see our diocesan website at
thediocese.net.) Be an evangelist; share
your story of faith as readily as you

speak of movies, restaurants or books.
Support outreach partnerships, your
ministry in and to the world, so that
the Church can make a real, tangible
difference for people. If more and
more of us in the congregations of the
Diocese of Virginia did even some of
these things, we (and our surrounding
culture) would see a genuine
resurgence of the Church’s witness and
ministry.

I don’t think that I’m stepping too
far out on a limb by saying that we are
in danger of letting the times pass us
by. But, as people of God, our charge is
to shape the times in which we live. As
the beloved hymn urges us, “Stand up,
stand up for Jesus.” Now is our time to
do just that. t

Winter 2014 / Virginia Episcopalian

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