Thursday, April 1, 2010

Anglicans warn of lonely heart at the centre of glittering city


From Australia-

IF SYDNEY were a person, she would have a loud laugh but a lonely heart.

The city's Anglican archbishop, Peter Jensen, says ''our glittering city contains so much loneliness'', and he is so concerned he has made it the theme of his Easter message.

''You can have it all and still be miserable,'' he said. ''We are not meant to be alone.''

This year the archbishop will make it his mission to ease the loneliness of Sydneysiders by bringing them to church in a campaign that some say is placing too much pressure on overworked clergy.

Connect '09, last year's campaign to hand out a million copies of the gospel of St Luke around Sydney, has been extended and rebranded ''Connect for Life''.

Dr Jensen has also extended his own reach beyond the religious holidays like Easter, seizing on Anzac Day, which this year falls on a Sunday, to distribute a special DVD message in parishes throughout the Sydney Archdiocese.

And he is still committed to the mission he took on in 2002, to have 10 per cent of Sydney's population in ''Bible-based churches'' within the decade, although he admits progress is lagging.

''Our starting base was 2.5 to 2.7 per cent [of the population],'' he said, while conceding Anglicans are not too good at counting.

''There is slight growth. We are nowhere near the 10 per cent.''

More here-

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/anglicans-warn-of-lonely-heart-at-the-centre-of-glittering-city-20100331-reww.html

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