The Episcopal Church, like most mainline denominations, is shedding members fast and furious, with experts predicting a dire future for the denomination. And while members wail and wring their hands — or clutch their pearls — they’re doing damned little about it. As a result, the Episcopal Church has reached a point where it needs to grow, or… Read More »
The following is reprinted with permission from my dear friend Dee Parsons’ blog, The Wartburg Watch. The piece was written by Wade Burleson and can be found here. As someone who experienced firsthand an effort by the Episcopal Church to get me to sign an NDA, the article is spot on. Any church that requests one is morally bankrupt, and… Read More »
Several days ago, I read an article in Episcopal Cafe about the Alabama Cathedral. The article was enough to make my head explode, and it’s no surprise that my comments didn’t pass muster with the site’s censors. The story was about how the Cathedral has now agreed to use the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and financially support the diocese.… Read More »
The Episcopal Diocese of Washington (EDOW), led by Bishop Mariann Budde, has launched an innovative program to strengthen or otherwise address issues involving struggling parishes. The program, “Tending our Soil,” involves a holistic look at parish finances, membership, governance, attendance, dynamics, leadership and more. In cases where it is warranted, the diocese can extend financial, consulting, and other… Read More »
One of the givens of change management is that conflict is inevitable in a declining organization. With the Episcopal church now in a state of precipitous decline in almost every aspect of its fortunes, it seems that there is a rapidly increasing level of infighting, bad behavior, bullying, and more within every level of the church. With that… Read More »
The more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s often a true statement, given our propensity as humans to prefer the comfortable and known, versus change and the unknown. But it’s nowhere more true than DioVA, where the recent passage of an annual budget — one quarter of the way into the new budget year —… Read More »
Years ago, my family and I often spent much of our summer on Long Beach Island, one of the barrier islands off the coast of South Jersey. Those were delightful years, the sort that make me smile, even now. Just a few years before I was born, a big hurricane had breached the island in several places, leaving… Read More »
Apparently, it’s not just wealthy persons in Los Angeles who don’t want the homeless living in their neighborhood. Following his recent remarks in support of removing a homeless encampment near diocesan headquarters, Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles John Harvey Taylor appears to have a bad case of NNMC, or Not Near My Cathedral. The issue arises from the… Read More »
You can’t make this stuff up. In the midst of the pandemic, at a time where abuse and domestic violence are skyrocketing, the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia is now proposing to zero out its budget for sexual misconduct training and prevention. Seriously. The announcement comes as the diocese attempts for the second time to pass a 2021 budget.… Read More »
Earlier today, Anglican Watch had the opportunity to interview Tom Rastrelli, author of “Confessions of a Gay Priest.” The conversation was a searing look at the pain that arises when faith, abuse, and sexuality collide. Tom is in many ways an ideal priest. Intelligent, articulate, compassionate and obviously intrinsically kind, it’s easy to see how, growing up Catholic, Tom followed… Read More »