Tim Harris, on the future for Adelaide’s Anglicans

Following up The Other Cheek’s coverage of the sale of churches in Adelaide’s North, and a decline in the attendance in the diocese, Bishop Tim Harris engaged us in discussion and agreed to follow up.

In a crucial comment on The Other Cheek’s Facebook, Tim said, “The challenges in Adelaide have less to do with theological labels or ecclesial cultures, and more to do with socio-economic and demographic factors. In general terms, the Trinity Network churches and areas where diocesan parish ministry is relatively stable or (in a number of instances) are showing encouraging vitality and growth share the same socio-economic and demographic footprint – churches along the coastal strip, hills adjacent, CBD, inner south and in the north eastern corridor. One exception is the sustained and fruitful university-engaged ministry (including international students) where Trinity is especially notable….
“However, the greatest decline for the diocese (and where Trinity is yet to make inroads) is in the northern suburbs, where the collapse of GMH and associated manufacturing employment was an especially strong Anglo-Celtic demographic, and that generation (once booming Anglican communities) are -literally – dying out. The new northern area is dramatically more ethnically diverse and represented by refugee groupings (and less-skilled migration presence in wealthier areas). Churches that adapt and express this culturally diverse mix are either more liturgical (notably the Roman Catholic expressions) or Pentecostal.”

The Other Cheek asked Bishop Tim: You say that Adelaide Anglicans’ attendance issues are centred on the North, where GMH closed down. But that was 2017 – are the church and the district still in decline?

No, the decline started long before then. The peak migration from the UK was in the 1950s and 60s, and this led to a growth period in the 70s and 80s. The children of this (largely English) migration are now in retirement age, but up until a few years ago were the stalwarts in Anglican churches in Salisbury and Elizabeth (now Playford). The parish model was a reasonable fit. However, what was a new City in the 60s and 70s is now quite run down, and the newer growth areas are spreading further away from the northern centres, so the location of some churches (like Holy Cross) was more isolated from residential areas, but still trying to operate as a parish-type church. In many ways, maintaining buildings not designed for mid-week or communal activities in areas at some distance from the new residential developments has become an expensive hindrance to the mission. The Trinity Network notably don’t invest in buildings. The Uniting Church sold 3 or 4 smaller and older churches in this area and has built a missional ‘fit for purpose’ community-friendly church in a prominent location in the new residential corridor in Playford, and that has shown vibrancy and growth. The Anglican Church has yet to (but is planning) to do something similar in the even newer growth areas north of Gawler, but a regional team ministry rather than a silo-parish is proposed. But that raises other issues for training and formation. And alongside this, integrating ethnically-specific ministry (especially Dinka Sth Sudanese) is underway, but will undergo further challenges as the next Australian-born generation will have another cultural integration journey of its own.

To ask an impossible question: does the north of Adelaide need much Anglicanism, or is it served by our sisters and brothers in Pentecostal and Baptist churches? Or to put it another way, what sort of Anglicanism: Liturgical? Alpha Style? Sydney or Trinity style?

Ha! You are right – a near impossible question. The short answer is that it needs a variety. A significant number of culturally diverse migrants feel more at home with the order and drama of liturgy. For some, it is more familiar. For others, it is more visual and participatory. Significant pockets of the north rate as the lowest adult literacy levels in SA, so more experiential and down-to-earth modes of engagement tend to be more effective (hence the appeal of Pentecostal churches). Another dynamic (and not just in the north, but especially in inner urban areas as well) is the balance between word and deed. It is here that I think the Baptist, Church of Christ and Uniting Churches are more intentional about being churches ‘in action’ and not primarily about listening to the teacher at the podium. My personal take is that expressions of church largely created or received from boomer leadership are reaching a ‘use by’ date, and newer generations don’t have the same ‘anti-religious/liturgical’ baggage the boomers have.

Yes, please God a quiet revival for SA, or maybe a noisy one if the Pentecostals lead it. The SA Unitings are a very special case with their twin Evangelical and Progressive presbyteries or networks. But here in the east, the Uniting Church has settled into being a version of a US “mainline Church” using social action stances to attract people. I am not sure it has arrested their decline. They have halved since 2001. But you Adelaide Anglicans, have halved since 2014. So something radical might be needed – and I have observed great distress at a parish level in Adelaide. What would you like to see tried?
(Melbourne is doing school-based plants. They have City on a Hill doing their thing. And the Melbourne stats are similar to Adelaide from what I can make out.)

I’m an advocate for the context-related adaptation and innovation approach, such as [Melbourne’s] Archbishop-elect Ric Thorpe has facilitated in the UK. A mix of possible models and approaches, but something smaller churches or planter teams can explore. The Church Army UK stats have shown that multiplying smaller and more highly relational forms of church is the most effective way to disciple and nurture faith, especially when linked and supported (but not controlled) by an established resource church. And as a footnote to the north of Adelaide, we have some of the most vibrant and accessible Anglican schools doing great work in the north. Conversations continue around more integrated ventures.

I believe one of Adelaide Anglicans’ biggest challenges is that it is culturally institution-centric and while it talks mission, it has a deeper default of “but that is not the way we do things around here”…

That sounds very Adelaide to me! (Apologies to my Adelaide relatives.) Yes, let’s hope that Ric Thorpe being in Australia sets off a chain reaction. The schools in North sound like a great opportunity to me. It has worked for Catholics for decades; the Sydney Anglicans have adopted the model in the fast-growing west, so I hope Adelaide can throw resources into the North. (Readers need to know that the far South of Adelaide is in a different diocese.) What’s next for you?

I’m looking to provide whatever support and guidance where I can for the next generation of evangelical leaders. I’m also just setting up the public face of the ‘St Barnabas Centre for Missional Research and Praxis’ (via Facebook and a blog (Under the Radar Mission – undertheradarmission.com) and otherwise exploring new expressions of church as community gathering back in my old stomping ground at St Matthew’s Kensington – and contribute as an Assistant. Bishop…

We will wait for you to launch and come back to you on praxis. We love praxis!