Dale Perkins, Victoria

   The remnant who still identify with and/or participate in institutional religion of any brand tenaciously hold onto a faith – in God as they know him (sic), or science and technology, or something which helps them carry on a normal life.
    It would serve the proprietors of religion to understand more deeply the nature of the common faith held by many of their constituents. Without that they inevitably will put their time, energy and money into small “tinkerings” they trust will bring the pendulum back to the centre after which they believe it will swing to the opposite pole (the ‘pole’ being a time when institutional expressions of religion in this country were well-known and subscribed). No one has a “crystal ball” which will provide the reality that awaits us. Nevertheless, we are given clues and it is from some of those that I have the temerity to continue writing this piece.

   The remnant who still identify with and/or participate in institutional religion of any brand tenaciously hold onto a faith – in God as they know him (sic), or science and technology, or something which helps them carry on a normal life.
    It would serve the proprietors of religion to understand more deeply the nature of the common faith held by many of their constituents. Without that they inevitably will put their time, energy and money into small “tinkerings” they trust will bring the pendulum back to the centre after which they believe it will swing to the opposite pole (the ‘pole’ being a time when institutional expressions of religion in this country were well-known and subscribed). No one has a “crystal ball” which will provide the reality that awaits us. Nevertheless, we are given clues and it is from some of those that I have the temerity to continue writing this piece.
    Institutional religion as we have come to know it, is dying. There is nothing that can be done to resuscitate it. A legion of well-intentioned practitioners may step forward and offer their unique formula for massaging the corpse of the institutional religious body, but everyone now recognizes it will be in vain.
    To quote a Monty Python skit ‘the bird is dead!’ Are we simply marking time while a cadre of morticians administer the last rites and prepare the corpse for a decent burial? … maybe so. But in the mean time, what do the rest of us do?
    I am capable of honoring the dead and eulogizing the deceased, but I just don’t have enough time to devote to this honorable role, and would rather locate ways to participate in a new revival of the essence of the glorious good news offered in the memory of Jesus of Nazareth. We have a “pearl of great price” given as a legacy, and we must not toss it aside as unimportant trappings of a bygone era.
    The core message contained inside the stories and witnesses is too amazing to be thrown in the mud of ecclesiastical mucking. I want to spend the remaining days and hours that are given to celebrate that message and essential values which make up my heritage. 
    I’m sure people of other faith communities are doing the same within their traditional expressions. But I’m me, and living inside my context, and it’s the very least I can do for my ancestors and progeny. 
    I love the quotation ascribed to George Bernard Shaw: 
    “This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
    “I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.
    “I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”
    Amen, Bernard. And with that in hand I continue the journey of faith. I don’t have a clear picture of what the incarnations of that faith will look like, or whether there will be many who subscribe to it. I guess I don’t care.
    Each of us must be responsible to build our nest and select our companions on the way, and the resulting incarnation will bear a ‘family resemblance’ to the church I grew up in. That is what ‘Faith’ means to me now – just being willing and prepared to continue the journey with hope and trust that it is better to be thoroughly engaged in that task than simply lying around with my feet in the air, waiting for somebody to drop cherries into my mouth.
    So I willingly offer myself to the world, for such a purpose.  And I expect that will mean that I will be thoroughly used up when I die. Thanks to Bernard, I believe that is a mighty purpose indeed. And thanks to Jesus of Nazareth, my savior and constant companion on the Way.
   Dale Perkins is a retired United Church Minister and social activist in Victoria.