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 »
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 »
As many look eagerly to put the difficult year of 2020 behind them, so too are many looking forward to 2021. With that in mind, here are Anglican Watch’s top-ten predictions for the coming year for the Episcopal Church: Church budgets are over-optimistic due to the surging pandemic. Many churches and dioceses used budget forecasts in which income and expenses… Read More »
The following was written by The Rev. Tom Ferguson for his blog Crusty Old Dean and is reprinted with permission. The original may be found here. Tom’s views, while they coincide with those of Anglican Watch, are entirely his own and do no represent the views of his parish, his wife, or his dog. The Collapse Is Here.… Read More »
In an article posted yesterday, The Christian Post reiterated warnings that The Episcopal Church is lurching towards collapse. That assessment coincides with similar predictions elsewhere. At its height in 1966, almost 4 million Americans were members. As of 2018, official reports count just 1.676 million members. And while all mainline denominations are facing decline with the passing of… Read More »
The results of the 2019 annual parochial reports are in. While there are some positive signs, overall the numbers indicate a church in a state of precipitous decline. Indeed, many key metrics show that the rate of decline accelerated in 2019. Overall, the denomination shed 30 churches, while active membership dropped by 38,404 persons, accounting for a 2.29… Read More »
I loved my grandmother dearly. Like many in my family, she lived well into her 90’s. While she suffered from senile dementia in her later years, even in her final days she could carry on an extended and engaging conversation, despite her failing memory. Throughout 2019, it became clear that her days were drawing to a close. Minor… Read More »