Last Rites

A former parish priest offers a provocative examination of the contemporary Church of England—an institution in crisis—in this controversial book.   Dire Sunday services, shrinking congregations and financial meltdown are the realities of today's Church of England. In Last Rites, Michael Hampson, who worked as a parish priest for thirteen years, examines why this centuries-old institution is in such crisis. He describes a church divided between liberals and evangelicals, shackled by tradition and with little resonance for the laity of modern Britain. He locates the roots of its demise in its history, from the Reformation to the ordination of women and beyond.   According to Hampson, the internal fault lines of the Church were exposed in 2003 by the forced resignation of Jeffrey John, the first openly gay man appointed a bishop. Hampson demolishes the arguments against homosexual clergy and movingly describes his own journey to ordination as a gay man within a prejudiced Church. In a powerful conclusion, he argues that a radical transformation of both culture and structure is the only hope for the renewal of the Church of England.  Last  Rites is a fiery insider's view of a Church that has failed its clergy, its laity and the nation at large.