DAWN Fridayfax 1996 #40

DAWN News from England, USA, Serbia, Germany

Eton, England: "Wait in line, if you want to be saved"

USA: Religion protects from depression

Serbia: Orthodox Patriarch gives his blessing to the 'Reconciliation Walk'

Trends in German churches

Eton, England: "Wait in line, if you want to be saved"

Daily Telegraph reporter Damian Thompson wrote a benevolently critical article at the end of September 1996 about a Christian revival where it is probably the least expected: the expensive school Eton, near Windsor, traditionally one of the best schools for upper-class pupils. Inspired by HTB (Holy Trinity Brompton) and, according to the article, "a whole network of London churches, the 'Sloane Rangers of Churches', including HTB, St. Michaels, Chester Square, St. Pauls, Onslow Gardens and West Kensington in which a large portion of the social upper and upper-middle class are converting to evangelical Christianity", churches in and around Eton are holding 'alternative services'. In contrast to the rather musty-seeming services held by the Eton chaplain, the services organised by the Eton pupils 'bubble with non-fundamentalist life'. They are, says Thompson, partly inspired by ex-Eton pupil Nicky Gumbel, inventor of the Alpha Course. Rev. John Irvine, vicar at St. Barnabas, smiles broadly when telling of his experiences with the Alpha Course: "We serve the people a glass of good wine, lay the table nicely and dim the lights. We expect the people to be offended by the gospel - but nothing else!" In reporter Thompson's opinion, the new relaxed evangelical mentality has led to the 'Happy Clappies' "queueing in the classrooms to be saved". Where's this all leading to?

Source: Daily Telegraph Magazine

Religion protects from depression

"The more religious a person is, the more likely they are to be healthy," according to Dr. Harold Koenig, Director of the Duke University Medical Centre in North Carolina, USA. Scientists, according to the British newspaper 'The Daily Telegraph', now agree that there is a link between mind, body and spirit, in which religion plays an important role. In a study of 4,000 randomly-selected people in North Carolina, Dr. Koenig found that elderly people who visit church services are less depressed and physically healthier than their non-churchgoing peers. Statistically, according to Dr. Koenig, those who attend church weekly are only half as likely to be depressive. Another study of 1,000 veterans published in the American Journal of Psychiatry also shows that "the degree of religious faith influences future depressions and the general feeling of health."

Source: Roger Highfield, Science Editor, "Daily Telegraph"

Serbia: Orthodox Patriarch gives his blessing to the 'Reconciliation Walk'

The almost impossible happened: London's John Pressdee, one of the organisers of the 'Reconciliation Walk' following the path of the Crusades from Cologne to Jerusalem, apparently met the Serbian Orthodox Patriarch on 27 September - in view of the previously icy relationship between the Orthodox church and evangelicals, a miracle. The Patriarch opened the meeting by emphasising the importance of "brotherhood and unity between Orthodox believers and Western Christians." Pressdee was invited to read the Reconciliation Walk's "Statement of Reconciliation". "The Patriarch accepted the statement and gave his blessing to it and the Walk's aims," according to a report by Carl Heatley, the coordinator for Germany. Following that, another bishop stood up and apologised for "the bitterness" which he had felt "towards Western Christians, particularly in the last 5 years." One pastor of a local free church said "It was thrilling!"

Source: Carl Heatley, Reconciliation Walk, FAX (+49) 221-431722

Trends in German churches

In Germany, there are 125 Protestant churches with over 400 regular visitors. Dr. Jorg Knoblauch, head of the AGGA (Working Group for Church Growth) published the latest trends in German churches in Praxis magazine, the church-growth magazine with the world's largest circulation. Germany's largest Protestant church is the Bielefeld Mennonite Church, an immigrant church with a congregation of 3050 led by Pastor Peter Rempel. 12 of Germany's 20 largest churches are immigrant churches, in which mainly Russian-born Germans have their spiritual home. Of the approximately 3 million 'Russian Germans', around 50% are Protestants. Here's a quick look at the most important church trends:

Trend 1: Immigrant churches on the rise: 49 of 64 immigrant churches with over 400 members have strong growth, according to Dr. Knoblauch.
Trend 2: Mega-churches are out, daughter churches are in. The trend from mega-church to planting daughter churches is particularly strong amongst charismatic churches.
Trend 3: 16 of the 24 State churches with congregations over 400 are not growing.
Trend 4: Church-planting in the State Church is in. Knoblauch believes that some of these new churches will break through the 400-member barrier in the next few years.
Trend 5: Large evangelistic projects have little effect. The general feeling is that the large projects are not particularly evangelistically effective but do much to bring free and State churches closer together.
Source: Dr. Jorg Knoblauch, FAX (+49) 7322-950

This Web version of the DAWN Fridayfax is maintained by the Jesus Fellowship Church (Jesus Army) as a service to the Christian church. Please visit our web pages which feature the e-zine Streetpaper and its special Revival section.

Text © DAWN Europe. Redistribution is explicitly allowed as long as the copyright remains intact with the text. Editor: Wolfgang Simson. The Fridayfax is also available by email. These web pages are copyright © 1996 Jesus Fellowship Church (Jesus Army) in this form. Webmaster: John Campbell