Repent!

The society around us has changed in huge ways that we could never have anticipated and those changes have deeply affected the church.  When I started in ministry approximately 35% of the Canadian population would be in church every Sunday morning.  Today it is only about 8% who are there on any given Sunday.  I could go on and on talking about the changes but I think most would not challenge the assumption that things are different.  A couple of weeks ago I was at the Diocese of Huron's Diocesan Council meeting.  The meeting opened with a mediation by the Rev. Robert Lemon who reflected for a few moments about the challenges that the church faces in 2011. But he didn't stop with speaking of the changed world.  He continued by suggesting that we, the church, have not been quick enough to respond to those changes and have not really be faithful to the call we have been given to share the gospel.  He went on to remind us that it was Lent and that Lent was normally a time of reflection that led to repentance.  He stated that we needed to repent of our inaction and lack of diligence in tackling the task we have been given by Jesus.  He then led us in a prayer of confession and Bishop Bob gave an absolution.
Hurrah to you Rob.  While I do not think that repentance is as easy as a five minute talk and response (it actually requires a new direction), I think you are absolutely on the right track.  I'm not sure I expected to ever hear such a call for repentance at a Diocesan Council meeting, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world...