All new ideas, and the organisations that can arise from them, come into being as a result of dissatisfaction. Buddhism arose from the excessive philosophising and exclusiveness of the Brahmins - Islam arose from the inhuman rule of the Lords of Mecca and Christianity from the materiality of the Jewish world-view.

Within each of these great religions there arose denominations - all starting as dissatisfaction with a current expression of that faith. If we look closer at these simple facts from history it seems that dissatisfaction is the mechanism by which spiritual evolution is driven.

Beyond this there is a further level of dissatisfaction that drives each individual who is actively engaged in their religious denomination. In the smallest way this manifests as a wish for a more spiritual church, or an actual shift from their denomination to another.

However, new urgency is injected into the individuals spiritual world if they realise that the dissatisfaction is within themselves - and not, as they previously thought, with some external cause. That which was merely seeking becomes an active path of spiritual self-development. And anyone who has embarked on such a path knows they need all the help they can get. The difficulty such people encounter is that none of the great religions can let go their institutional dogma sufficiently to allow this high level of dissatisfaction to exist within their ranks.

It is worth pausing for a moment to see just what those who actively seek the right circumstances for their spiritual growth require. Within any reasonably free society various paths are offered - all hopefully leading to the growth of the will, as a means of release from lower nature. Thus some are drawn towards the conquest of the body by martial arts or acts of bravery - or to conquer the emotions by the obedience of the monastery - or conquer the chaotic intellect by building a coherent system of thinking. At their extremes each of these three types of path lead the individual to withdrawal from the normal world. But the revelation of the last one hundred years is that the individual can find the space and nourishment needed for spiritual growth in the everyday world.

The Arising of The Liberal Catholic Church
The real factors that produced a Church giving the space and nourishment for those on various paths was not clearly expressed in the writings of our Founding Bishops. The validity of the Apostolic Succession from the Old Catholic tradition and their freedom from Rome was most important. If this was the attraction, the main influence on our Founders was their Anglo-Catholic inheritance within the English church. Being relatively free of dogma their eccentricity was allowed to flourish - but also they held the highest regard for sacramental propriety.

In hindsight and from the view of the action of the spirit, the Divine, to create a new vessel for spiritual opportunity used a handful of talented individuals. Other sustaining energies at that time were a new-found interest in mysticism and the penetration into European literary society of eastern philosophy. Both were caused by dissatisfaction with the apparent victory of science over religion.

Coming from an orthodox, institutional English Christianity our Founding Bishops were primarily interested in their new vision - of an evolutionary spirituality - realised within the energy and validity of a catholic vessel. This vision left us a church that remained truly Christian - in spite of the outside energy being an eastern philosophical idea. The 1920’s and 1930’s saw the arising of an unusual number of spiritual teachers. For the fledgling Liberal Catholic Church the energy of the claims centred on Krishnamurti – and the seeming transcendent level of spirituality found in India was strong food and created many adherents of a particular type.

In a real sense everything since that time has freewheeled as no new external energy has enervated our church - and which has only survived because of its residual validity and some inspired leadership.

The Superb Vessel that is the LCC
The idea of a Catholic Church that is free of dogma, meets in the sacraments and is in the Apostolic Succession is brilliant. It meets the theoretical needs of all those Christians whose spiritual life is a raging river - rather than a limpid lake.

However this is not enough – as everyone can see. In the absence of dogma there must be an enervating external energy. And it is equally obvious that this external energy needs to give the nourishment needed for the elevation of individuals up the spiritual ladder.

A small step back is necessary. Our exploration, so far, has found the validity of the LCC to be as a place of space and nourishment for those on spiritual paths. But it is necessary to say that there is the equal validity of those whose artistry brings the sacramental and congregational excellence in worship. These people may not consciously be on a path but are attracted by the tolerant love that is given off by those consciously on a path, or by chance. But without the space and nourishment validity these church members would be as well off in any ceremonial church.

From what has been said earlier we can begin to see a direction - but before doing so some current existing views have to be put in context. The first of these is the idea that all we have to do is to return to the past. Properly stated this is the idea of a return to the values of the past. No one can argue that the ceremonial rigour of our Founding Bishops is to be emphasised and even extended and equally unassailable is the need for our thinkers to make their theological examinations. But this is as far as our exploration would allow because our validity is to give space and nourishment to all on their particular spiritual path - whether it is based on the mind, the emotions or the body. The room for this notion is clearly stated in our Statement of Principles.

The second current view is that of relevance - and follows the continuous debate in the major denominations that are anxious to follow the latest sociological trends. All one can say about this is that against the seriousness of a church that is freewheeling no new external energy will arise from this direction.

Future Directions
Against a background of ever improving ceremonial performance and congregational involvement we will need to provide access to the resources that are needed by all on spiritual paths. This means the paths that are based on the body and emotions as well as the mind.

From this The Liberal Catholic Church can actively expose our existence as the perfect place of space and nourishment for those who wish to dedicate their spiritual gains, from a particular path, to the service of God, through Our Lord Jesus Christ.