[Redleg Duke]

I would like to see a loss-versus timeline here. I wonder if there was a significant spike in losses, say, about the time that New Hampshire adulterous, fudge-packer was ordained as bishop?

[miele man]

I cannot now give you a time-line but I do know that the Episcopal Church reached an apex in membership in 1965. At that time, she had 3.2 million members. From then on until the mid 1980s, she declined in members to approximately 1.2 million (Baptized members). Estimates of "Confirmed" members were in the mid to high 800,000 range. These losses coincided with the increase of clergy, bishops and lay leaders' loss of faith and their outright apostasy. By way of comparison, the Methodist Church lost members in this same period at the rate of 58,000 per week. The Presbyterian church likewise lost members at a high rate during this period. Their losses were for the same reasons as the Episcopal Church.

Now, the Episcopal church says there membership in closer to 2 million if I correctly (somewhat dimly) recall what I last read. However, there have been thousands of folks who've left but who have not been purged from the parish rolls as is (or sued to be) required by the canon law.

I would guess that there have been membership losses since Vicki Gene (the "fudge packer bishop") was made a bishop. In the Diocese of Newark's report "Signs of Grace", they stated Episcopal Church losses were about one third or 15 per cent of the diocese of Newark's losses". This would be the time frame you mention (approximately).