CHURCH LOSING MEN

THE Anglican Church in Barbados is facing a problem where it has lost its men.

This declaration came from historian Trevor Marshall who said the Anglican Church is now a church of women, when compared to pre-independence.

While speaking during a panel discussion titled “The Ministry of the Anglican Church in Post-Independence Barbados”, held at the St James Parish Church on Wednesday evening, Marshall said men abandoning the church which was the first to be introduced to Barbados is one of the problems facing the Diocese.

The historian said up to 1966, the Anglican Church was predominantly made up of men, who particularly held leadership positions. He pointed out that the notion of women ascending to the priesthood was a distant inevitability, and noted that people fought against it.

“If you go from one church or to another, you will see either a constancy of numbers or a decline in numbers which has to do with the role of men in the church.

“You go to an Anglican Church once upon a time and it was a man carrying a cross, but now it is a woman. Altar servers were men, now they are women.

“And lest anyone think here is this guy attacking women, then bring it on, I can defend myself. But that is not my intention. As a sociological observer, I am noting that these are the changes within this particular denomination,” he said.

“The Anglican Church in Barbados is undergoing a transition in which it is losing men to dominoes, to drinking, playing cricket and football on Sundays,” Marshall added.
Marshall stressed that there is a need for more men to return to the church, to work alongside the women, for the growth and development of Anglicanism in Barbados which he said appears to be fighting hard to remain relevant in today’s society where there are a number of secular churches growing in numbers.

“The Roman Catholic Church, one of its competitors, is still a male dominated entity. The Methodist Church is still a male predominant entity and the Moravian as well. Muslims, you don’t even mention them, women can’t worship at the same time as men. Hindus are still male oriented . . .,” he said. (AH)