Official TEC Report Warns of Long Term Decline

Well, well, well. Some of us were warning of this many years ago. Finally their leadership seems to begin to acknowledge the facts. Scott+

Posted on: March 27, 2009

More than five years later, tensions caused by the consecration of a partnered homosexual man as Bishop Coadjutor of New Hampshire continue to affect half of all Episcopal churches, according to census information compiled in the Blue Book prepared for the 76th General Convention, to be held July 8-17 in Anaheim, Calif.

The report, based on results from 783 completed surveys, is a sober snapshot of an aging denomination, struggling with unresolved conflict and in danger of long-term decline. It was written by the House of Deputies Committee on the State of the Church and included in the Blue Book report published in advance of Convention.

“In prior years the Committee on the State of the Church often heard the criticism that our church seemed unwilling to recognize the presence of a major source of internal controversy that some argued was having an impact on our common life, as reflected in declining membership and attendance statistics,” the Blue Book Report states. “The metaphor most often used was that we ‘failed to acknowledge the elephant in the room’, referring to what many viewed as the momentous decision by the 74th General Convention (2003) to consent to the consecration of the Bishop of New Hampshire.”

There are some indications that what the committee describes as “tensions” are growing in congregations. In a similar survey undertaken in 2005, 37 percent of congregations reported serious conflict that resulted in at least some members leaving. About one-third of those responding in 2005 attributed the conflict to decisions made during the 2003 General Convention. In a similar survey conducted in 2008, 64 percent of congregations reported some level of conflict over the ordination of homosexual clergy, with most reporting such conflict to be serious.

“Overall, 47 percent of Episcopal congregations had serious conflict over this issue, 40 percent indicated that some people left and 18 percent indicated that some people withheld funds,” the committee report states. “Furthermore, the rate of decline in Average Sunday Attendance from 2003-2007 among congregations with serious conflict over the ordination of gay clergy was 35 percent higher than congregations with no conflict over the issue (and accounted for more than double the aggregate loss).”

The report states that among the most enlightening insights gained from the survey is the skewed age structure of The Episcopal Church. The report noted that The Episcopal Church has an average 19,000 more deaths than births each year, which is comparable to the loss of an entire diocese annually.

“Despite these trends of decline, about 50 percent of ‘cradle Episcopalians’ are being retained. Detailed analysis of our survey data suggests that The Episcopal Church does make up for some of its losses through ‘transfers in’—although not nearly at the same rate as in the historic past,” the report notes. The ongoing tension and loss of membership has caused what the report describes as an “alarming” increase in the number of congregations reporting financial difficulty. In 2005, 44 percent of congregations reported experiencing some degree of financial difficulty. By the 2008 the figure had increased to 68 percent. Only one domestic diocese, South Carolina, reported growth in active members and communicants in good standing between 2003 and 2007.
The Committee on the State of the Church report constitues about 20 pages of the entire Blue Book report. Also included are canonically required reports by all of the other committees, commissions, agencies and task forces of the church. The Blue Book report also includes the proposed 2010-2012 budget as well as all of the resolutions that have been pre-filed. The complete report is more than 700 pages in length, twice as large as the report published before the 75th General Convention in 2006.
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