World News and Trends: Like to buy a used church?
Shrinking church attendance throughout much of Europe is forcing church leaders to face a troubling question: What can be done with the thousands of enormous churches, chapels and monasteries that no longer receive enough use to justify the high costs of their maintenance?
In much of Europe church attendance began a serious slide in the 1960s before plummeting in the 1980s. Consequently, unused churches are scattered throughout Germany, France, Britain and other northern European countries. Many have simply shut and locked their doors.
In Germany and France, churches receive some government support, so churches that would otherwise close have remained open. In the crowded Netherlands, however, where some 40 percent of the Dutch claim to belong to no church or religion, a cash-strapped clergy has sold more than 250 church buildings and properties in the last two decades. Many were converted into cultural centers, libraries, apartments, shops and even discotheques. (Source: The New York Times.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: March - April 1998
Course Content
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
Scott Ashley
Scott Ashley was managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course until his retirement in 2023. He also pastored three congregations in Colorado for 10 years from 2011-2021. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he worked for 50 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He was employed by the United Church of God from 1995-2023, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.
