Be loving in everything you do." - I Corinthians 16:13-14
|
"Be on your guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be brave. Be strong. Be loving in everything you do." - I Corinthians 16:13-14 |
Well, at least as we expected.
Karen from Lent & Beyond sends along this chart showing the steady decline since 2000. From my thumbnail calculation, there was a 7.2% decline in average Sunday attendance in between 2001 and 2004.
Of course, these are the numbers that reporting parishes and dioceses choose to report to 815. I know there are some folks out there on both sides of this debate waiting to spin these numbers up and down, so have at it.
Imagine my surprise! If ECUSA was a stock, it would be on my "sell at any price" list. Just wait, there are a slew of people out there (I'm one of them) who have been putting off the painful decision to hit the road in the vain hope that ECUSA might come its senses. When we all finally decide to throw in the towel, ECUSA membership and ASA are going to drop like a rock.
the snarkster
# Posted by: Michael Ware at October 31, 2005 07:33 PMThanks for posting that Greg. Your thumbnail estimate is on the money. Down 7.2% from the high in 2001.
2001 ASA = 857,566
2004 ASA = 795,765
And remember these stats don't take into account many of the parishes that have left since the end of 2004, such as Christ Church Overland Park, the various Diocese of Florida parishes, etc.
So tragic. I can only pray that these data WILL get some people's attention and cause them to "wake up" and face the choices that are ahead and get active in the battle.
# Posted by: Karen B. at October 31, 2005 08:02 PMSadly, Karen B., there will be simply be a whole lot of smug chortling over how great it is that all those "fundamentalist Episcopalians" [sic] have left.
Plus a lot of back-slapping over how few have left . . .
Give 'em a few days, and they'll all be back to complaining about why so many of us have stayed and are being "divisive" through our open resistance.
It *is* tragic. We're watching church history in the making, and I personally would be enjoying it much more if I could be outside of the whole historic mess and observe the whole thing in peaceful objectivity.
# Posted by: Sarah at October 31, 2005 08:08 PMFor the record: raw data for my spreadsheet which permitted the creation of the graphic comes from these files:
1992-2002: ASA by diocese http://www.dfms.org/research_28437_ENG_HTM.htm
2003 ASA by diocese:
http://tens.org/SCSD/2003PRFolder/Table.1.2003.pdf
2004 Fast Facts:
http://www.dfms.org/research_28079_ENG_HTM.htm
Also, it is important to note that some years the format of the Parochial Report has changed meaning the data is not easily comparable year-to-year. For details and "adjusted" attendance to even out the definition changes, there is a helpful report here:
http://www.dfms.org/research_39483_ENG_HTM.htm
As Karen B. says, these numbers, as bad as they are, don't reflect the loss of numerous large congregations in late 2004 and 2005, such as occurred in north Texas, Kansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and California.
They are also propped up from numbers from Network churches such as Christ Church Plano, Truro, etc. which have a much higher Sunday attendance percentage than the "mainline" Episcopal churches. I wonder how long these parishes will be reporting anything to ECUSA.
Sarah, don't be sad. God is allowing this to happen, and a new Anglican Church is emerging. I have visited several of these churches and have seen a freshness that suggests we are on the verge of a revival. Many of us are being called to give up those wordly things we once held dear, in the expectation that God will replace them with riches beyond our dreams.
# Posted by: Barnabas at October 31, 2005 08:31 PMI wonder how many churches are basing their planning and decisions on GC 2006. If a miracle doesn't happen the mass exodus will drop the stats like a proverbial stone. I agree with Barnabas, God's purpose will be served. The demise of ECUSA may at least serve as a beacon of hope for the Orthodox in the other denominations.
# Posted by: Jackie at October 31, 2005 08:46 PMI do not think that God's purpose is the 'demise' of anything. To say that the demise of ECUSA will be a beacon of hope for some merely promotes the divisiveness that seems to be the goal of many at Stands Firm. Peaceful objectivity will only come with peaceful dialogue.
# Posted by: Heidi Alvey at October 31, 2005 09:34 PMI do not think that God's purpose is the 'demise' of anything. To say that the demise of ECUSA will be a beacon of hope for some merely promotes the divisiveness that seems to be the goal of many at Stands Firm. Peaceful objectivity will only come with peaceful dialogue.
# Posted by: Heidi Alvey at October 31, 2005 09:34 PMHeidi- Let me clarify. It is not my desire to see ECUSA crumble. I would like to see full repentence from the church of my birth. I would like to once again proudly proclaim my church affiliation rather than offer it with an explanation of how, yes, there are still a few remaining members who still believed in the Gospel. Hope? Yes, I truly believe that if ECUSA refuses to repent, which I believe is unlikely, that it will crumble. But God can use all things to His purpose and giving other Orthodox the strength and courage to carry on the fight for the Gospel is a very, very good thing.
Divisive? So say the sheep and the goats.
# Posted by: Jackie at October 31, 2005 10:24 PMI find the following, written by Todd Granger, published by Kendall Harmon on Titus OneNine in February 2004, and recently republished, to be altogether persuasive and convicting. And convicting of ALL OF US:
"That Christian churches are in the divided state that we are is indeed a sign of a loss of faith, or perhaps better a loss of such virtues as the Apostle Paul enjoins on us in the fourth chapter of Ephesians. The continued state of schism in the Church catholic (since the Great Schism and the Reformation) is due to a failure of humility, gentleness, patience, mutual forebearance and love. We must confess that we - all of us, Catholic, Protestant, Anglican, and Orthodox - have failed to make 'every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.' It is for this reason that Ephraim Radner believes the Church to be under God’s judgment, just as divided Israel was under the judgment of God, and I believe that he is absolutely right about this.
****************************************
"This is not about reacting merely to revision of the Church’s sexual teaching and practice. Indeed, I do not so much find the consecration of Bishop Robinson and the recognition of same-sex blessings as 'part of our common life' to be the sin as they are the sign of our sinfulness and of God’s judgment. (But do not misunderstand; I am not saying that homosexual relations are not sinful, any less or more than non-marital sexual relations of any sort.) The Episcopal Church has tolerated and has actively promoted theological and ecclesial revisionism in matter much more foundational than matters of human sexuality. Look no further than the liturgical revisionism of the supplemental liturgical texts of the past fifteen or so years, in which the Name of God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - has been very nearly completely excised, in which 'expansive language' has gone beyond the capturing of a wider variety of scriptural images for God to include images that threaten or outright deny the revealed Name and nature of God the Holy Trinity. Even in terms of human sexuality, these revisions are built on the “foundation” of revisionist understandings of an anthropology that depart from biblical and catholic teachings on the nature of humanity.
"On the basis of the first chapter of Romans, I find myself compelled more and more to believe that the consecration of Gene Robinson, and the growing acceptance of blessing same-sex unions (as well growing questions about accepting or even blessing other sexualities - polyamory, etc.) are in fact a sign of God’s judgment on an unfaithful Church increasingly willing to teach and believe heterodoxy and to bless heteropraxy."
We all live in a fallen world. We all are bound by sin. We all succumb to the temptations put in our path by the ruler of this world. There is but one answer to our predicament. We can turn to God, seek His supernatural assistance, and trust with all our hearts and minds and souls that He will redeem this situation.
Yes, the Episcopal Church is under judgment. The entire church catholic is likewise under judgment. We have failed miserably. We have failed individually and we have failed corporately. We NEED to be under God's judgment. It is only by coming under God's judgment that we can be redeemed.
But be of good cheer and take comfort. God is Almighty and He is All-knowing. He is beyond time and place, beyond cause and effect. He in fact planned this very situation before the beginning of the world. "We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose." God is up to something that will be wondrous and transforming. We should not be belligerent and rebellious and demand of God that He do something that we want, on our timetables.
Just watch. Prepare your heart to obey God's call when it comes. If you are a faithful Christian you will be amazed at what will happen. And every tear will be wiped from your eyes.
# Posted by: rick op at November 1, 2005 07:09 AMI don't see how anyone can read the OT or NT and believe that God doesn't want the "demise of anything." For example, how about the demise of sin and evil?
# Posted by: at November 2, 2005 02:22 PMHow about the demise of our self-righteousness?
How about the demise of our damnation?
I would think that those would certainly be within God' will for us.
In fact, I think that remember hearing that "God so loved the world (read unredeemed mankind) that he gave his only begotten son..".
That would seem to qualify wouldn't it?
My guess is that real life can only come at the expense of dying to ourselves. In fact, didn't Christ say somethign about being borne again to Nicodemus?
There's that pesky old bible getting in the way of our baby boomer generations' love of the great tale of constant evolution. I hate it when it does that.
GW
# Posted by: George Walker at November 2, 2005 04:42 PMMaybe attendance is also down because of the abrasive manners of our Church leaders.
I have been in a better humor about our Church since hurricane Katrina partly because “Episcopal Life” has not caught up with my new address - but the respite was not long lived because, while reading the November 7, 2005 issue of TIME magazine, I ran across the article on page F18 about “Pamela Ramsden” administrator at Episcopal Church headquarters in New York City. “On one cleanup day, for example, nobody could find the paintbrushes, and everyone sat around eating bagels and chatting.” You want me to clean the bathrooms?” Ramsden asked impatiently. “O.K., but be sure you have the damn bucket here and don’t waste my time. I have better things to do.”
I am sure Ms. Ramsden believes that no apology is necessary, but I think many Episcopalians would be shocked to hear that our leaders are so uncharitable when representing our religion to charitable organizations.
By the way how hard is it to go out and buy paint brushes for a charitable organization?
Of course attendence is "down as expected"! Nobody in his or her right mind would want to be involved with a Church where so many nasty fights are going on daily. I've considered leaving many times, myself, because I had no idea there were so many anti-gay, anti-"reappraising" people in ECUSA. (It turns out there aren't, but they sure are noisy.)
I can't believe people actually trot out a period like this - some of the worst internecine fighting that's ever occurred in ECUSA - as indicative of anything. Good heavens, take a look in the mirror.
# Posted by: bls at November 21, 2005 06:33 PM