By Ross Greer, Scottish Green Party MSP, West of Scotland
‘FOR I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you.” As the Church of Scotland’s General Assembly wrestled this week with the familiar challenges of declining membership, congregations folding and a dearth of young people those words feel a little jarring. Accordingly, one of the first items on the agenda was a 10-year survival strategy.
Observers would be forgiven for believing that, when not rupturing over issues of sexuality, we only discuss our decline. This is both wide of the mark and a risk to the Kirk if we ourselves conclude that a logistical solution alone will resolve those logistical woes.
The church isn’t here to sustain itself, we are here to demonstrate a revolutionary message in words and actions. A renewed focus on that revolution is what we need.
The Gospel I read is absolutely clear: our purpose is to tear down established orders which divide the many and protect the power and privilege of the few, building in their place a better, loving world. Our challenge is not just to admire Creation but to play a leading role in the increasingly desperate fight to protect and save it from the greed and exploitation of the few, which has brought our planet to this place of crisis – so this week’s decision not to divest our own money from fossil fuels was a dereliction of duty and a moral failure.
Our task is not to politely highlight the crushing inequalities of the world: it is to rage against and overthrow them. At the cost of his life, Jesus stood unconditionally with and for the poor, the marginalised, the oppressed and excluded. Christians must ask ourselves today if we are following His lead in a way He would recognise?
Churches effectively diagnose the problems of poverty, war and the climate crisis and we’re exceptional at treating the symptoms; foodbanks and night shelters, refugee support, caring for the elderly and much more. Diagnosing problems and managing their symptoms is not enough, though. We’re here to transform a deeply imperfect world, not to cushion its blows.
Take war as an example. The Kirk has long spoken out against militarism and the arms trade. Those words are valued, but not enough. As the people of Yemen suffer under a relentless Saudi bombing campaign the Church of Scotland should be leading demands to close the Raytheon missile system factory in Fife which supplies the Saudi air force. The church should be immersed in direct action against arms manufacturers whose industries stain Scotland and export death and suffering across the world.
I highlight this not to detract from the good and sincere work the Church of Scotland and others do against these societal ills. But I cannot imagine Jesus surveying our world and regarding our present actions as enough.
A brave church, with a radical message of social, economic and environmental justice should not fear bold statements or, better, bold actions; indeed our faith should compel us to act.
The appetite for a braver church is clear. On Monday delegates overwhelmingly rejected that ten-year strategy, demanding something more radical and immediate. If only that radicalism had lasted until the vote on fossil fuel divestment.
Our church and our world are past the point where agreeable but vague objectives are enough, we need concrete plans and commitments to action. With a clear sense of mission and purpose, that radical church, faithful to the example set to us by Jesus, can attract those young people who have drifted away from an organisation with which they no longer feel a connection or see a purpose.
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