The church risked becoming irrelevant and boring to many people and needed to modernise the Christian message, the leader of Australia's Anglicans said in his Easter message today.
Anglican Primate, the Reverend Peter Carnley, said society's loss of interest in religion was a sad indictment on the church.
And he said the church should attempt to make "fresh connections" with society by offering "relevant worship".
"For some, the only contact with the church from year to year is the occasional baptism, wedding or funeral, and even then more of these services are taking place without the church being involved at all," Dr Carnley said.
"While Christ's message of love and forgiveness remains a true and gracious gift from God, many today feel that the church has lost its ability to present this gift in a way that makes sense to them.
"This is a sad indictment on the church and one that is being addressed."
Dr Carnley, who is retiring as Australia's leading Anglican next year, said the time had come for the church to find new ways to spread the message.
"To the church I would say: let us redouble our efforts this Easter to make fresh connections with our society. Let us have powerful, relevant worship, an unconditional welcome for the seeker, and a passionate commitment to service to all," Dr Carnley said.
"Let us learn to speak afresh the words of love and forgiveness to our generation."
And Dr Carnley said that as the high point of the Christian year, Easter should not be reduced to a mere holiday.
"For the church it is more than a holiday; more than a time for over-indulgence in chocolate; more than an opportunity to get to the beach," he said.