Posted on 03/06/2006 5:59:12 PM PST by sionnsar
The Episcopal Church admits that it JUST might have a problem:
The Episcopal Church’s accelerating numerical decline can only be reversed through an organized, broad-reaching effort, according to the Standing Commission on Domestic Mission and Evangelism. In a draft version of its report to the 75th General Convention, the commission is requesting that bishops and deputies reaffirm the Church’s commitment to doubling average Sunday attendance by the year 2020, the so-called 20/20 initiative.
“We are very disappointed that after all this time, all this passion and concern, in the face of continuing decline, so many diocesan bishops have not even begun to have these conversations about mission, evangelism, new starts and new opportunities,” the report said. “Bishops, please turn your attention to mission, and turn away from distractions like ongoing disputes and looming international meetings.”
And if you thought that "distractions like ongoing disputes and looming international meetings" were related to ECUSA's freefall, the Commission thinks you're wrong.
Using data and analysis presented during the past two years to Executive Council by the Office of Congregational Development at the Episcopal Church Center, the commission attributes the majority of the numerical attendance decline to systemic factors rather than General Convention’s steps to normalize homosexuality.
I agree with them; ECUSA was declining long before Robbie got his pointy hat. Although the reason for that decline should not be attributed to "systemic factors" as much as to, well, ceasing to seriously believe much of anything or stand for much of anything a long time ago. The Commission made a number of recommendations to turn things around and basically admitted that they still don't get it.
The commission report said renewal is still possible, and a significant portion highlights successful initiatives in planting new congregations, developing vital existing congregations, making churches more welcoming to future generations of Christians, pastoral leadership training, improved communication, better research, funding and reconciliation training.
“We need to communicate and embody the gospel story in a rapidly changing world of multiple generational and cultural experiences,” the report said. “The Episcopal Church has never engaged in domestic mission in the way that is called for now. In our current national context, where more and more people are without spiritual community, we are called to be explicit in inviting our neighbors to share with us in the life and community of Christ.”The commission is submitting 10 resolutions for approval at General Convention. In addition to reaffirming commitment to the 20/20 initiative, there are resolutions to:
• develop a strategy for ongoing diocesan development;
• develop and implement formal training in faith-based reconciliation training;
• identify and train young adult leaders;
• affirm the importance of college and university ministries;
• establish a church planting initiative;
• encourage every diocese to identify and document prime locations where new churches could be planted;
• study and make recommendations on ethnic congregational development;
• change the canonical requirements for ordination to include cross-cultural ministry skill training and the theory and practice of leading change in organizations;
• schedule future General Convention during July or August to permit students and young adults to participate.
In other words, for the last 40 years, we've been telling the culture what it wants to hear and people are abandoning us in droves. So let's all work together to come up with bold, new ways to tell the culture what it wants to hear.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. It seems like doubling the congregation to 4 wouldn't be too lofty of a goal by 2020
rather than General Convention’s steps to normalize homosexuality.
Using data and analysis presented during the past two years to Executive Council by the Office of Congregational Development at the Episcopal Church Center, the commission attributes the majority of the numerical attendance decline to systemic factors rather than General Convention’s steps to normalize homosexuality.
I agree with them; ECUSA was declining long before Robbie got his pointy hat. Although the reason for that decline should not be attributed to "systemic factors" as much as to, well, ceasing to seriously believe much of anything or stand for much of anything a long time ago.
The problem is not ceasing to seriously believe much of anything. The problem is that many of us discovered they do believe quite firmly in a number of things - wymyn Priests, abortion, birth control, the Real Absence, the blessedness of sodomy, the absence of Divinity in Christ, liturgical anarachy.
And having discovered that we became so disgusted we got up and left.
At this point, their decline into irrelevancy is inevitably forced by the demographics they have created - few attendees, fewer children, many conversions to other denominations, many apostacies.
The only real question is will the conservatives salvage much of anything to bring over to the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, and to Continuing Anglicanism, and if Continuing Anglicanism will discover unity. On the latter count, I doubt it.
The decline began in the 50s with Pike and Spong abandoning basic Christian doctrine without suffering any consequences, and accelerated through the abandonment of the Book of Common Prayer and the male priesthood.
Vicki Gene was simply the Last Straw for many people (including our family) . . . other people's Last Straws came sooner . . . and I guess the selection of another homosexual bishop out in California will be the Last Straw for a few more . . . and so it goes.
Not really worth the effort ~ after all, there are many, many more churches around with more to offer. Folks who are interested can move on. Those who aren't may get the opportunity to serve on the facilities and assets auction committees needed to shut these places down.
There is a joke current among those of us who fled from the collapse of Anglicanism years ago:
As a idol of the Buddha is carried down the nave of the cathedral, an
old Anglo-Catholic hold-out turns to his wife and say, "So help me,
one more thing like this, and I'm out of here."
As "high church" Episcopalians in a traditionally Low diocese, we had nowhere to go but the Catholic Church. I was worried whether my husband would accept that (he was raised Methodist even though his mom was raised Catholic - she married a P.K.)
But then he brought it up . . . so we high-tailed it across the Tiber. And here we are, just wishing we had got here sooner . ..
Ditto, for me...except I took a detour through a "continuing" Anglican denomination along the way. What I discovered was that I was still involved in "reformed catholicism" when what I was really searching for was "transforming catholicism." So, I finally waded across the Tiber, too. Like you, I wish I'd gone "home to Rome" a whole lot sooner.
The Dean of the Ft. Worth cathedral said in a recent sermon, "At the general convention there have been two types in attendance - those who say Jesus has changed me and those who say I've changed Jesus." The decline of the ECUSA can be laid at the feet of the second group, because they are in the majority, they are the people that preach the best seller list or the Brokeback Mountain story instead of preaching the gospel that is in the weekly lexionary.
I and mine chose the Bosphorus instead of the Tiber.
It was still the case when I was growing up (in the 50s and 60s) that a nice Greek girl would not marry a non-Greek boy. A friend of my dad's fell in love with a beautiful girl, but her family would not allow her to marry him and she sadly acquiesced. Very sad, but I think it would have been a difficult cross-cultural marriage 40 years ago. My Big Fat Greek Wedding to the contrary notwithstanding.
They're cutting a baling bucket out of the hull planks.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.