This page has some resources for good statistics which show the Canadian Church is not in the poor state we image. Dock your prejudice at the door and take walk through these sites.
The headline? Around 75% of Canadians consider themselves as Christian. That is more than the membership of any organization. The next biggest is probably the unions and the unions only claim a total membership of 15% of the population. The Protestant church in Canada (at well over 25%) on its own outnumbers the unions. The political parties together have less than 2% – and they claim to represent us.
The basic information using stats Canada resources http://www.religioustolerance.org/can_rel1.htm
A 2008 series on the changing face of Canadian Christianity http://www.canadianchristianity.com/state/index.html
So where are all these people? Well we all know them – they are our neighbours. They come to weddings and funerals. But on Sunday they have other priorities. The institution has turned them off, but they still want to have some kind of connection to the Church.
Enough of being beaten up by those who point to changing attendance patterns and suggest the Church is dying. The Church is changing, that is what living organisms do. We are adapting to our environment. We are shedding our old (wine)skin and being poured into new skins. Our faith has integrity and authenticity. Time for us to rise up.
