Trevor writes: > Problem is, it's not just the rural areas which face this future. Many > urban congregations are experiencing a similar contraction and a > consequent > loss of ministry, property and congregational life.
True, but in urban situations, it's usually not all that far to another place of worship of your own denomination. Corryong is at least an hour's drive from anywhere else and about two from Albury, the closest major centre. And that's when the fog doesn't slow drivers down to a crawl and ice and snow don't close the roads altogether. The ageing and diminishing of the church is a reality all over Australia, but in isolated rural areas the effects are often more painful because of the distances involved. There are very real differences between moving to another church of your own denomination and joining with a congregation of another denomination/religious tradition. Judy -- "Politics is the work we do to keep the world safe for our spirituality" - Judith Plaskow Rev Judy Redman Uniting Church Chaplain University of New England Armidale 2351 ph: +61 2 6773 3739 fax: +61 2 6773 3749 web: http://www.une.edu.au/campus/chaplaincy/uniting/ action for peace: http://www.une.edu.au/campus/chaplaincy/uniting/links/peace.html email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------ - You are subscribed to the mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put in the message body 'unsubscribe insights-l' (ell, not one (1)) See: http://nsw.uca.org.au/insights-l-information.htm ------------------------------------------------------
