Present in Every Place?

Description

The Church of England's commitment to be 'a Christian presence in every community' is well known. Yet we might well wonder what this commitment could possibly mean in the context of a rapidly changing society and our developing understanding of mission. In Present in Every Place? William Foulger evaluates the theology that lies behind the proclaimed desire to have churches rooted in place, and inquires whether it is indeed the inherited parish structure which best enables this to happen. Arguing that there is a difference between 'parish instinct' (locality, rootedness in place) and 'parish structure', Foulger suggests that an attachment to the parish structure as we have received it might in fact limit, rather than extend, the Church's ministry of presence.