Rather than trying to change or argue against the doctrines laid down in our creeds, as these historical artifacts contain an ongoing relevance as foundational references in the formulation of the Christian worldview, I suggest we realise within ourselves the deeper meaning of these texts for our lives today and encourage our priests to: unshackle themselves from their self-imposed constraints of sticking to simple literal orthodoxy, and integrate into their homily’s recognition of 21st century scientific cosmology and 21st century psychological insights into human nature. An appreciation of the multivalent nature of symbolic language makes it possible to pay respect to the tradition and our contemporary context at the same time.

I approached Eugene Stockton’s pieces in ARCVoice 97 (Jun 2025) with interest and hope. Three ‘articles’ appeared in that issue with the rest to follow in subsequent issues. Part 1, Times are a-Changing, seemed to strike the right notes, acknowledging that the world had changed and our church must change in response. The observation that

Recent articles in ARCVoice have explored reasons for the striking decline in church attendance. It seems that many people are abandoning traditional religion but are still seeking something spiritual. This brief editorial from ARCVoice #96 explores the issue and poses questions for discussion.