Shaping the Spirituality of the Church 
Congregational Life
The Spirituality Of The Church
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012Spirituality Of Family, Workplace And Community
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012The Spirituality of Family, Workplace and Community
Possibilities For Leadership In Rural Catholic Churches
Sunday, January 22nd, 2012With the declining number of priests available, many Catholic dioceses are investigating various ways of organising their parishes. The issue is similar to that faced by many denominations. Catholic parishes, however, have some issues not faced by most Protestant denominations in that priests have an irreplaceable role in celebrating the sacraments. Priests are central to parish life in the Catholic church and there has not been a tradition of lay people as leaders of worship. However, two case studies suggests that the patterns of leadership can change and may even strengthen parish life as they do so.
Dropping Out Of Church
Sunday, January 8th, 2012Two-thirds of all Australians over the age of 50 remember a time when they attended a church frequently when they were children. Among Australians aged between 30 and 50, approximately half have that memory. But among Australians under the age of 30, less than 30 per cent remember attending church frequently.
Why Some Churches Decline While Others Grow
Sunday, January 8th, 2012Some Australian denominations are in rapid decline while others are growing. According to our calculations based on various surveys, between 1996 and 2006, the numbers attending on a typical Sunday in Australia declined in the following denominations:
Shaping Australia’s Spirituality – National Roundtable 2010
Monday, April 19th, 2010The national Roundtable on ‘Shaping Australia’s Spirituality’ was held from Tuesday 31st August and Friday 3rd September. Over the four days of conversations, close to 150 people participated. Each day explored different areas of mission and ministry, examining the Christian principles, and using contemporary research to reflect on the best ways to conduct mission and ministry in the Australian contemporary context. The following links provide some summaries of the presentations and access to audio files of the research and reflections.