Attendance at Episcopal churches continues its downward spiral.
Posted on 09/18/2019 1:42:46 AM PDT by Cronos
Attendance at Episcopal churches continues its downward spiral.
At the height of its popularity in the United States, the Episcopal Church had more than 3.5 million members. By 2010, that number dropped to less than 2 million, and the decline is still underway, according to numbers from the denomination's Office of the General Convention.
Institute of Religion and Democracy Communications Manager and Anglican Program Director Jeff Walton says the decline actually started in the back in the 1960s, but picked up steam again in the 80s and 90s with the writings of Episcopal theologian John Shelby Spong.
“He said in order for Christianity to survive and grow, Christians needed to go and shed traditionally understood beliefs – not only about human sexuality, but about the role of Jesus Christ, His identity, what sin and human nature looks like – a variety of different things that are pretty key to the Christian understanding of mankind and its relationship to God,” Walton pointed out.
He notes, however, that not all Episcopal Dioceses are deteriorating at the same rate.
“The domestic U.S. dioceses are declining at a much faster rate than the overseas dioceses,” Walton stressed. “It is distinctive because many of these overseas dioceses spoke out strongly against same-sex marriage.
In other countries, the Episcopal Church is known as the Anglican Communion, and in fact, a growing number of disaffected churches in the U.S. are signing up to be part of the more conservative Anglican Church in North America.
“The ACNA now has its own American leaders and is a small, but growing church,” Walton informed. “It has about 140,000 members that are spread across just over a thousand congregations that are now present in 49 U.S. states and 10 Canadian provinces.”
(Excerpt) Read more at onenewsnow.com ...
I just heard a term - that the Episcopalians are part of the “Seven Sisters.” In descending order by size, that’s the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Episcopal Church, the American Baptist Churches USA, the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Every Episcopal church around here has a 4’x 8’ rainbow flag banner with the words “God is still alive” out front, and a radical lesbian pastor inside. The gay army is deliberately killing the church IMHO.
Churches decline when they reject Christianity? That is unexpected.
I have no problem with churches welcoming all sinners into their church. How else will the LGBT+ crowd find the truth?
What I do have a problem with is when the churches have LGBT+ as pastors, and say that it is okay that they are that way. It will make it so much harder for them to see the light and the truth.
“Welcoming” is just a code word that the church endorses the gay lifestyle.
“He said in order for Christianity to survive and grow, Christians needed to go and shed traditionally understood beliefs – not only about human sexuality, but about the role of Jesus Christ, His identity, what sin and human nature looks like – a variety of different things that are pretty key to the Christian understanding of mankind and its relationship to God,” Walton pointed out.”
In other words, hire Frank Luntz and do a bunch of Focus Group testing on Millennials and see how they want to be preached to.
That’s leadership...LOL.
I don’t either, but promoting it is an entirely different thing. And these lesbian pastors are purposefully destroying the church and driving members out with their activism.
Our protestant churches here in Connecticut are all rainbow flags, all the time. And when they’re not promoting homesexuality they’re sheltering border crashers and enabling drunks and addicts on the New Haven Green.
They’re not alone http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3779225/posts
the Episcopal Church along with the Catholic Church decided they needed donations from the sick freaks out there and lost their morality in doing so.
Oh well.
I saw one in a neighboring town here in NJ that was virtue-signaling to the max: In addition to the rainbow flag (”flag of Sodom”) they had an ANC flag, a Puerto Rican flag (didn’t know they were a “minority du jour” for religious causes), and some kind of “equal sign” flag...
And excludes conservatives
I don’t think they anticipated money from the perverts; I believe perverts within simply wanted to eliminate any concept of sinfulness to justify their evil ways. It is part of a broader secularization in which contemporary culture rather than Scripture would determine what is right and wrong.
Agree with you 100% except for the use of the word "mainline". Maybe in the northeast the liberal-before-Christian Protestant churches outnumber the Jesus-first Protestant churches. Here in the southeast most Protestants love the sinner but hate the sin and wouldn't think about replacing Biblical authority with the Demoncrat party platform.
Even that number vastly overstates the actual amount of members who actually show up at church on even a monthly basis.
...and they never wanted dirty “mob” donations.
Last one standing gets the property.
bump
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