dwindling congregations c of e

No they aren’t or at least they don’t seem to be. Taking notice I mean.
It’s not only churches - parish councils, village halls and many other groups that need volunteers to keep them going are suffering.
I think that the majority of the population think that the government will sort it out!
I totally understand if people don’t believe in God, I don’t myself, but I do believe in community. People need a bit of leadership and involvement in the community from their local clergy. Most vicars have umpteen parishes, many meetings to attend - HR, policies and protocols on nearly everything including working out if their church is eco friendly!
They don’t have time for community and communication.

"They don't have time for community and communication" you're spot on Pamela.

Our lovely vicar has just retired, she's 70 and was working an average of 60 - 70 hours a week!!!

severe back biting and rumours are the reason we left our church a couple of months ago red and with a dwindling congregation there, and a small one at the church we are now attending, I do wonder where this will end.

Our congregation on a Sunday is around 25 people. Our church is very active in the community with a playgroup for children, a weekly coffee morning and a lunch club. We are lucky to have a wonderful Vicar and support team that make things happen. So it is sad to hear that some churches are now in decline.

Surely a congregation of 25 is very tiny too unless it’s a very small village judy

Yes BlueBelle it is a village church which has been here since the 13th Century.

I'm happy to report that our C of E village church is thriving .

We have a new Vicar and she is fantastic .

There's been a change of vicar at my church. A young man who is encouraging the congregation to speak in tongues if they feel the spirit within them. I have always liked the peace of a church to reflect on life.
That's gone and think I may leave too.

Jaffa that sounds awful, I would leave too. Church for me is joyful singing and a place fir reflections, not frenzied speaking in tongues surely that’s against Christian teaching.

Our local Roman Catholic church got a warning from the fire service for overcrowding.

I prefer bells and smells .

Isn't speaking in tongues encouraged by Pentacostal churches ?

I used to go to a Baptist church and one of our congregation - a very strange mainly silent woman was said to speak in tongues .

Looking back , I think that she was actually epileptic .

I think that chapter one in Corinthians states that when speaking in tongues the speaker is directly speaking to God , but that the words should be translated for the congregation .

One Corinthians 14 ...

Not a good sign red1.
Methodists in same boat for same reasons.
Not sure Baptists are faring much better?

I have put on this forum before, that evangelical churches, on the other hand, are not doing as bad. From what I know of, generally, around the country.

Catholic and happy clappy/evangelical/charismatic seem to be doing well (The influx of catholic Poles boosted congregations), but the middling C of E is suffering.

I just think we are becoming a more secular society.

Church of Scotland is the same shutting churches everywhere . I do not think they ever kept up with the times we live in . Our town is down to one church of Scotland when there used to 3 . We decided many years ago to leave .

I live next door to a large village church. Population maybe 1,500. On Sundays you are lucky if 10 people attend the service and they are mostly elderly ladies.

Christenings are well attended, as are weddings and funerals.

Floradora9

Church of Scotland is the same shutting churches everywhere . I do not think they ever kept up with the times we live in . Our town is down to one church of Scotland when there used to 3 . We decided many years ago to leave .

The Church of Scotland is selling many rural churches where the congregation are dwindling. DH often gets requests to do conversion designs for homes.
His first question is ‘how much have you got to spend?’. The buildings, although cheap to acquire, are often in poor condition and require a lot of work to bring up to modern standards.
Such a shame as many of them are architecturally beautiful.

Archbishop of Canterbury apparently prays every day in tongues. Jesus encouraged it.

Our Church is jam packed at each of the 4 Saturday/Sunday Services (Catholic)

There are several churches in this area, all with dwindling congregations. There are also 2 Baptist churches, both getting a congregation of 450-600 on a Sunday with a lot of younger people. I went to one of these churches a couple of times and can certainly see the attraction. They are very welcoming and songs were modern with music being played by a guitarist or band. It was quite interesting although different.

It is a very difficult situation. The CofE still wants churches to pay their Parish Share, despite falling number, though there is some adjustment made. The thriving charismatic city churches are well supported financially and well resourced, whilst village churches are left to struggle- at least in my diocese. Vicars are run off their feet serving several villages, whilst cathedrals have a number of clergy. I am not sure the situation is being handled well, but look around and you ask yourself how many will still be here in ten years’ time. The activities designed to attract younger people may be successful, but they don’t easily turn into people who give their money or their time to run the church.

Churches with trivial attendances ought to be secularised and converted into community centres, arts and theatre centres, libraries and meeting rooms, concert venues, etc. Lack of interest in local volunteering e.g., as a parish councillor is a great pity and probably reflects a whole range of reasons for not wanting to get involved.

Grantanow

Churches with trivial attendances ought to be secularised and converted into community centres, arts and theatre centres, libraries and meeting rooms, concert venues, etc. Lack of interest in local volunteering e.g., as a parish councillor is a great pity and probably reflects a whole range of reasons for not wanting to get involved.

Churches often do that anyway, if they have an enterprising but small congregation and a vicar happy for the church to become a multi-use building.

Children's holiday clubs, fundraising social events with food and a glass of wine, even dinners (with wine) and poetry evenings, a food bank corner where people can donate.

Oh, and concerts with local singers and a local Male Voice Choir performing too.