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Heron has also introduced a much more progressive, and liberal form of Christianity to Eastminster, and has found his ideas welcomed.

By whom?

Yup. Clearly they weren't able to recruit new members to their church, and the lame preaching may be part of the reason. You'll note that churches with dynamic preachers and vigorous instruction in the Scripture rarely have any trouble attracting parishioners. The churches near me that preach the Gospel have jammed parking lots for numerous services and have to keep building larger and larger facilities to accommodate the crowds that demand to hear the Word.

Buddhism may have wisdom to impart to us, but people who come to church, particularly older people, are probably going to the trouble to come out on a Sunday morning because they want some direction on how to grow closer to the Lord our God. Buddhism by its very nature is not going to teach that. Neither will material from children's books. You, Tainan, may like to hear these things, and that's your right, but it's evident that this church died because only a few people liked what they were hearing and learning there.

"You, Tainan, may like to hear these things,..."

I might suggest you re-read my comment and try, again, to understand what I was saying.
I am a Christian. Born and raised in a Christian environment. I make no claim to be otherwise. And yes, I do like to hear, discuss and learn about the belief systems of those who follow a different path than I do. Whether they be Buddhist, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian or...the ambiguous path of the Unitarian(which completely baffles me in its...nothingness).
I might add, humbly, I am a poor Christian and continually seek to do & be a better one.

As to Buddhism being a "religion" or a "philosophy", I will grant that while their may be a semantic argument to be pursued on this distinction, for those involved it is indeed their 'religion.' Perhaps more accurately it can be said to be their 'Dao' or 'way' for their life.
The precepts presented affect not only their inner world but their manner of conduct in their outward life. Same as Christianity.
(I, personally, do not consider Islam to be a religion - IMO it is a political and social concept(poor word - its early for me)).

I believe in the fundamentals of Bible interpretation and the power of God as manifested in his Son who we know as Jesus Christ, and a few other names. His message is one of love, compassion and obedience to his and his Fathers words.
Pardon me for going off track with a personal witness...I hope you will understand...;-)