It’s hardly news that the Episcopal Church is dying. But what is news is the numbers in the recently released results of the annual parochial report. Not because they confirm that the denomination is dying, but because they are so bad. Like Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, rivers of blood, plagues of locusts bad. Things begin with a… Read More »
The Blue Book, the three-volume mountain of paper that comes out in advance of every General Convention of the Episcopal Church, is here. And leaving aside the environment destruction it has wrought upon our forests, it’s a doozy, primarily for what it doesn’t say. Coming in at a whopping 1193 pages, the compendium has many sections that, despite… Read More »
The past 18 months have been rough, but for the Episcopal Church, things are about to get worse. Specifically, the results of the annual parochial reports are about to come out, and they won’t be pretty. And that’s not the worst of it—folks who left the church during the pandemic by and large won’t be back. Nor is… Read More »
As I look with increasing dismay at the discord within American society, I am reminded of the times that people have shown extraordinary kindness to me. One case in particular comes to mind, and it allowed me to finish law school without dying of starvation. Before we go further, the reference to starvation is not hyperbole. Due to… Read More »
In the course of my travels, both in-person and cyber-based, I am hearing a recurring criticism from Episcopalians, particularly those who are elderly, shut-in, or isolated. That criticism, and it is deeply concerning, is that the church is ignoring them during the pandemic; that they feel ignored, brushed off, and irrelevant. I don’t have hard numbers, but I… Read More »
Many Episcopal churches have begun streaming services in response to the pandemic. And while this may be a short-term solution that protects church members and the public, the long-term consequences likely will prove lethal for many churches. Say what? Won’t being online help broaden one’s reach and help spread the Good News? The short answer is that while… Read More »
Reports coming out of Truro Anglican, one of the parishes at the center of the property dispute with the Episcopal Church, indicate that the church is again embroiled in scandal following the resignation of Tim Mayfield, the interim rector. According to various sources, Mayfield was asked to resign by the church’s senior warden following reports he inappropriately touched… Read More »
Not long ago, the Episcopal church launched an audit of race and racial reconciliation in the church. The resulting report was damning, utterly expected, and something the church desperately needed to hear. And while the church, in true TEC fashion, lumbers along in sharing the remarkably unremarkable results, it misses the larger points. These include: The fact that… Read More »
One of the problems facing many Episcopal churches, dioceses, and the national church itself is a lack of willingness to look the truth in the eye. That’s especially true when it comes to finances. Fortunately, small glimmers of hope come from the tiny diocese of Vermont, which recently announced that it faces a looming financial catastrophe and is… Read More »
Title IV is the canonical framework for clergy discipline in the Episcopal Church. And while it’s constantly being tweaked and re-tweaked, there is a fundamental problem with Title IV. Simply put, the problem is that it does not fully appreciate the importance of disclosure and truth-telling, and leaves victims of clergy abuse open to retaliation. That is the… Read More »