My Lord Bishop, Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am honoured to have been invited today to launch this new Centre.
People say that history goes in cycles. I wonder whether we are now coming to the end of a cycle, which started two hundred years ago in July, with the storming of the Bastille and the start of the French Revolution. [end p1] That may have removed old abuses but it also signalled the start of a wave of secularism which has swept over Europe—the arrogant assumption that humanity had in some sense outgrown the need for God and Church. That denial of the dependence of all of us on God found its ultimate expression in the Marxism which, in countries where it dominates, still seeks to suppress the [end p2] rights of many believers to worship freely in church.
Perhaps because of that very denial of rights the Church in those countries has retained and indeed enhanced its spiritual and moral leadership and its central place in the life of the community. This was brought home to me very forcefully when I was in Poland last year. [end p3]
In this country the secular wave had a gentler effect. No edict has closed churches. But in the last few generations we have seen religion increasingly put into a separate compartment of our lives— “Sundays only” for churches. In too many senses it has taken the church out of the community. [end p4] And, sadly, since the 1960s more than a thousand Anglican churches have fallen out of use.
But there are encouraging signs that this decline is coming to a halt. The rate of reduction in total church membership is lessening; and, across the denominations, there will on present trends actually be more churches in the [end p5] land in the year 2000 than existed in 1980.
What I see here today is practical evidence of recovery and the renewal of hope for the future.
St. Margaret's in the Community
This church of St. Margaret's has a long history as part of the Uxbridge community. [end p6] It was founded shortly after Magna Carta was signed. But while the hubbub of great events of the world has gone by, the church has been a centre for local concerns and cares, in tune with the community's rhythm of daily life; yet also providing a time out of daily life, a place of spiritual rest and refreshment. [end p7]
The Church and Commerce
Your church has long been linked with local business and commerce. During Uxbridge's days as a coaching town in the 18th century, there were improvements and extensions to St. Margaret's. Now in this modern age, I was very pleased to see that local businesses have contributed £10,000 of sponsorship for [end p8] events at this new church centre.
Of course the essential duty of businesses must be to satisfy their customers and ensure a good future. That is their first service to the community. Through it they make employment grow and create the prosperity which provides the rising level of social services we all [end p9] want to see. Their other service to the community stems from an innate desire to share and use their success to help others, to give back directly to their community; and to enrich the arts, music, libraries and culture of the towns and cities in which they find themselves. That service finds its expression in the foundation of great galleries such as the [end p10] Tate or the Walker.
We see here today a small but shining example of this tide of corporate generosity which is now flowing ever more strongly.
Finally, a practical point: as soon as I came into this church I was struck by how warm and friendly it feels. When I have travelled in the United States [end p11] and worshipped in churches there I have nearly always encountered that same warmth. And it is good—it should be a pleasant and joyous occasion to enter church. I am sure it will be to do so here at St. Margaret's, whether it be to see one of the many interesting and informative events which are planned here over the coming months, or to worship with one's [end p12] fellows.
I wish the new Church Centre and this new Ministry in a modern town every success in the years ahead.