From the article:

Cityside pastor Brenda Rockell thinks the mainstream churches "need to get a little bit more humble about hearing the stories of people's lives, actually hearing that God is already in people's lives and understanding that God can be there even if it's not in a traditional Christian way.

"I'd really like to see the church offering more rituals to interface with people's growing sense of spirituality; not just weddings and funerals, but offering things like baby blessings, house blessings, rituals for things like redundancy, moving into a retirement home, or having an abortion or a miscarriage," Rockell says.

"We don't do transitions very well in our culture. Change is happening very fast and we're not often equipped to manage that change, and I think that's something the church can offer."

This hunger for emotional engagement might help explain the growing popularity of evangelical and charismatic faiths, with their emphasis on self-discovery and personal journey, says Kevin Ward of Knox College.

"We threw out ritual and tradition as fast as we could but now people are wanting it back," Ward says, pointing out that Catholic and Orthodox faiths were among the few Christian denominations to rise in the 2001 census - the ones which do smells-and-bells best of all.

"Spirituality is not about having a few nice experiences, it's about how you live in the world, how you can help to transform society."