The Diocese of Niagara may not have a mission, but it does have a Mission Strategy Committee. According to one of its members, (page 1 here) bold steps are needed to pull the Niagara diocese out of what even the most optimistic are seeing as a slump.

In case anyone is labouring under the misapprehension that Niagara’s malaise is rooted in a liberal drift away from Christianity towards an amalgam of neo-paganism, Gaia worship and Unitarianism and that to speak to a non-believer about this is simply too embarrassing, Andy Kalbfleisch sets us straight. The people of Diocese of Niagara keep quiet about their beliefs because to do otherwise might expose them as aggressive right-wingers – this ever present danger is a constant worry for the diocese:

The growth of, dare I say, aggressive right wing evangelical denominations, have made us fearful of being coloured with the same brush when we speak about mission and discipleship. We want to be seen and heard as promoting a God of love instead of a God of fear. So it’s much easier to forget or push to the margins of our church experience, actions and strategies about mission and discipleship. Instead we may engage aggressively in important, but peripheral activities that serve God but that may not spread His word in the manner of first century Christians.