Sean Major-Campbell | The Church militant shall not die

The Sunday Gleaner of February 16 carried a piece under the caption ‘Bell tolls for traditional churches’? It noted, “The church will not die,’ says clergyman, but anthropologist sounds death knell for quiet worship”.

The rising and falling numbers in Church and among the youth population is a fact of church and community life. This is also happening in service clubs and other non-profit organisations. While it is true that the Church must take a critical look at self, it may also take pause and note that it has been an agent for much good in our nation with all its challenges.

The truth should also include the fact that many churches have lost youth to migration. Not because they were leaving the Church. But instead, because they were relocating to urban areas or overseas.

There is a timely Letter of the Day in the Daily Gleaner of February 14 – ‘Church leaders need deeper introspection on how to address crime and violence’ by one Carlton Francis.

The letter writer observes, “The moral and spiritual condition in our country is cause for grave concern and requires deep introspection of ourselves as leaders in the church.” The Cambridge Dictionary defines introspection as “examination of and attention to your own ideas, thoughts, and feelings”.

I agree with Francis who also notes, “As church leaders, we need to ask ourselves, how can we help our country out of this crisis? As John Maxwell said, ‘That everything rises and falls on leadership’. We have to do personal self-examination and ask where have we failed? This is not the time for pontificating and self-righteousness. Lest we forget, the scriptures tell us that “all our righteousness are as filthy rags”.

My interest here is inviting those of us who serve in the leadership of Church and other religious spaces, to indeed engage deep introspection. The reality of crime and violence stares us in the face even as we parade such expressions as “Jamaica is a Christian country”, “we are blessed and highly favoured”; while many are busy declaring themselves as prophets.

A closer look at what obtains reveals that too many in the space of Church have lost the capacity to do introspection. When people believe that they have God’s cell number and they accord all their thoughts and actions to visions from God, you dare not tell them that they are misguided.

The Church is far and wide in its reach across Jamaica, while at the same time being one of the most divided institutions! Just like Christian nationalists in the United States of America, many in the Jamaican Church have lost their way. Many are only united when it comes to bashing, condemning, stigmatising, and discriminating against those they deem to be unrighteous and destined for hell.

Back to ‘Bell tolls for traditional churches’. It is worthy of note that it is traditional churches which are deliberately decolonising the Christianity that was bequeathed to them. Many people are not aware of the fact that the United Theological College of the West Indies facilitates those who would engage ministerial studies in the mater of a critical analysis of our history and the necessity for prophetic ministry that recognises God’s preferential option for the poor and the oppressed.

This principle of Catholic social teaching advances care for the poor and vulnerable. White Christian Nationalism on the other hand condemns such approaches as socialist or even communist.

While the numbers may not show it, there are people from the more ‘charismatic’ and contemporary traditions which seek the respite of reason and even quiet from time to time in traditional spaces. They even seek them out for counselling and conversations that include but do not limit the context to prayer and Bible verses.

It does take time, training (culture), and some amount of discipline to appreciate the calm and routine of Holy Mass. The same is true of such ancient disciplines and offices as mattins or morning prayer and evensong or evening prayer. However, for much of Christian history, worship was focused on giving worth to God. Not on entertaining the worshipper. In a fast food, fast Internet, quick paced world, the young are not usually drawn to “quiet” worship. However, it is not unusual to see those who as they mature returning for another experience of the holy.

Writing in Lutheran Confessions, Clint Schnekloth observes under, Why People Still Go to Church in 2025 (And Why It Matters), that “I can’t predict whether Church attendance will rebound in the latter half of this decade, especially in progressive Christian spaces. But I do believe that in times of upheaval, more and more people recognise their need for intentional, faith-based communities, not just for personal edification, but because these communities have the capacity to mobilise for the common good in ways that are difficult to replicate elsewhere. Churches, when healthy, can serve as community centres with a chapel – places where social connection, mutual aid, and spiritual formation converge.”

Schnekloth, further notes, “The benefits of church attendance – both to individuals and to society – are not easily distilled into statistics, but they are tangible. They manifest in the quiet acts of care, the shared meals, the support through crisis, the organising for justice, and the spaces carved out for joy and rest. In a culture that increasingly isolates, these are no small things. Perhaps that, in the end, is why people will keep finding their way back.”

The death knell may indeed sound for “quiet worship”. It is also true that the Church which has seen many crises, wars, pandemics, and recessions will continue to be alive. Oh, that it would return to the Jesus movement of yesteryear, spreading the good news and works of peace, love, and service to all.

Fr Sean Major-Campbell is an Anglican priest and advocate for human rights and dignity. Please send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and seanmajorcampbell@yahoo.com