Shrinking Episcopal Church

Episcopal Church Still Skidding Downhill

on September 21, 2017

Episcopalians have yet to hit bottom in their downward membership spiral that began in the early 2000s.

Updated statistics made available today by the Episcopal Church General Convention Office show a denomination continuing a sustained decline in 2016 to 1,745,156 domestic members. The U.S.-based denomination shed 34,179 members, a decline of 1.9 percent, while attendance losses were relatively limited compared to previous years, declining 9,327, down 1.6 percent. A net 37 parishes closed, bringing the denominational total to 6,473 congregations.

Among dioceses facing the largest declines is Eastern Michigan, which dropped 14.7 percent from 5,888 down to 5,022 members (-866). The diocese also saw a 3.5 percent drop in Average Sunday Attendance (ASA), down to 1,922 attendees.

The diocese’s past bishop, Todd Ousley, recently joined the staff of Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry to serve as bishop for pastoral development after 16 years serving in Michigan. In a letter to the diocese, the local standing committee wrote about its decision to pursue a provisional bishop rather than seek a new diocesan bishop to replace Ousley.

The committee cited among manifold reasons, “budget realities, decreasing and emerging populations, and cultural trends away from church-attendance and religious life.”

The nearby Diocese of Western Michigan also took a sizeable hit, dropping 10.4 percent from 9,675 down to 8,668 members (-1,007). The diocese also saw a 4 percent drop in ASA, down to 3,491 attendees.

Domestic dioceses posting large membership declines include Virgin Islands (-10%), Georgia (-7.5%), New Hampshire (-6%), Vermont (-6.4%), Albany (-5.1%), New Jersey (-6.1%), Western New York (-10.6%), Central Pennsylvania (-5.6%), Milwaukee (-6.9%), Fond Du Lac (-5.3%), Iowa (-8.5%), Northwest Texas (-8.6%) and Spokane (-8.1%).

Episcopal Church officials have been aware of the negative trend lines for some time. In March, Bishop Maryann Budde of the Diocese of Washington gave a sermon at the spring House of Bishops meeting in which she broached the subject of ongoing decline.

“I live in a perpetual state of holy urgency about the spiritual health and ministry capacity of the congregations I serve and those I hope to establish on my watch,” Budde shared with her Episcopal colleagues. “Looking deeply at the trends and internal realities of each [congregation], only 12 of them, at most, are on a path of sustainability and growth; another 12-15, at the other extreme, are in precipitous decline—most of them in our most vulnerable or rapidly transitioning neighborhoods or communities. The rest, despite working as hard as they can, will most likely be, without some intervention or significant change, almost exactly where they are now 10 years from now in terms of size and capacity for ministry–this in a part of the country that is experiencing significant population growth and where other expressions of the Christian faith are thriving. I can’t bring myself to count the number of congregations I cannot, in good conscience, recommend to those who are seeking a vibrant expression of Christian community.”

In a reference to Presiding Bishop Curry’s embrace of the language of “the Jesus Movement,” Budde provocatively offered, “There’s no doubt in my mind that the Jesus Movement is alive and well in the Diocese of Washington. I cannot say the same about the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement in all of its expressions.”

While the Diocese of Washington lost more than 1,000 members in 2016, its relatively large size meant it only shed 2.6 percent of members, and nudged up attendance of 1.8 percent.

Among those congregations facing precipitous decline in Budde’s diocese is the congregation of retired Bishop Gene Robinson, who famously contributed to the Episcopal Church schism with his consecration as an openly partnered gay man to be Bishop of New Hampshire. Robinson has served several years now as “Bishop-in-residence” at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., where he relocated as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. Robinson’s parish will, as part of a property redevelopment, feature an eponymous chapel that he has proposed be a pilgrimage site for youth who identify as LGBT.

St. Thomas has declined precipitously in the past five years, shrinking from 350 to 140 members (-60%) and from a weekly attendance of 150 down to 75 (-50%). The congregation’s priest-in-charge, Alex Dyer, cited the ongoing construction of a new church sanctuary and a major purge of the parish membership rolls as contributing factors to the congregation’s diminished size. Asked about the decline in attendance, Dyer commented via Twitter “ASA is one measure. @StThomasDC is one of the most best parishes I have served. Check back in 5 years and the story will be different.”

The population of the District of Columbia has grown 16 percent from 2006-2016.

Among those dioceses posting growth in 2016 were the Episcopal Church in South Carolina (5.2%), Delaware (2.2%), Western Kansas (2.1%), San Joaquin (8.5%). Attendance rose in Northwestern Pennsylvania (4.9%), Pittsburgh (3%), Nebraska (3.5%), Fort Worth (2.3%) and Northwest Texas (7%).

Attendance dropped precipitously in Connecticut (-4.9%), Albany (-6.1%), Newark (-4.7%), Virgin Islands (-10.7%), Bethlehem (-6.5%), Easton (-4.3%), West Virginia (-6%), Kentucky (-4.9%), Lexington (-4.3%), Milwaukee (-4.2%), Northern Indiana (-7.4%), Iowa (-5.9%), Kansas (-4.9%), Alaska (18.8%), Arizona (-5.5%), and Utah (-4%).

The denomination continues to see church size shrink, with the average Episcopal parish attracting 57 worshipers on a Sunday, down from an average of 64 in 2012. Similarly, 71 percent of the denomination’s churches have an attendance of fewer than 100 persons, while less than 4 percent attract 300 or more. The trend lines do not bode well for the future, with 58 percent of congregations experiencing decline of 10% or greater in the past five years. In contrast, only 16 percent of congregations grew their attendance by 10 percent in the same time span.

Unlike previous years, the 2016 table of statistics does not offer new data on marriages, baptisms or funerals. This report will be updated if and when that data is made available.

  1. Comment by Susie on September 22, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    I can understand this. I’m a cradle Episcopalian attending a conservative parish in Louisiana. The national church has veered so far left that it embarrasses me- and many others who live in fly-over conservative states. Roughly half of the country are conservative in our political leanings. The national church HAS FORGOTTEN ABOUT US!

  2. Comment by Charles Traylor on August 23, 2019 at 7:19 pm

    I left the Episcopal Church after four generations when my children at 3 and 5 years of age were made to feel unwelcome in the service. They are grown now and I don’t regret that decision. I am by no means a conservative, but The Church ignored the needs, opinions and concerns of traditionalists as well as their youth and families and this is the result. Unfortunately due to the indifference of Episcopal leadership, the scandals of other mainline churches and Televangelists the future of faith in America is bleak for the next generation. They want no part of the extreme left or right and I can’t blame them.

  3. Comment by John Smith on September 22, 2017 at 6:39 pm

    Northwest Texas is growing and declining? I think there is an error here.

  4. Comment by Jeffrey Walton on September 25, 2017 at 10:15 am

    The diocese of Northwest Texas reported a membership loss and an attendance gain in 2016. They are different measurements. That being said, it is somewhat unusual to see such a big difference in direction between the two.

  5. Comment by Emily Duensing on September 22, 2017 at 7:16 pm

    Would love to know the demographic profile of these churches because if they are the older parishinors, they are going to continue to decline just because of death. If there are younger people coming in to these churches, I would guess there is a ray of light.

  6. Comment by Jeffrey Walton on September 25, 2017 at 10:26 am

    That’s a great point, Emily. We do have demographic information for the denomination as a whole, but the Episcopal Church hasn’t publicly made parish-by-parish information readily available. Nationally, the median Episcopal Church member has grown older each year for the past decade, at least.

  7. Comment by Dr George Mims on September 22, 2017 at 8:10 pm

    The word apostate is mentioned no where here because from top down such a word is unknown whether you as a Presiding Bishop says our salvation isn’t Jesus, it’s diversity, or you as a priest for years have deliberately seen to it that any number of Holy Scriptures in our official Lectionary are not to be used In any Liturgy. Think about those who refuse to accept the Apostles Creed or/the Nicene Creed yet lead it in a service. Remember the intimate conversations with those pledging when joining Holy Orders to uphold the prayer Book. Now explain a Church on “sinking sand.” I remain a communicant in deep faith this will turn around but know at my age I’ll not be present to see the brilliant takeover turn even more brilliantly over to become the church that can and will turn around!

  8. Comment by Rev. Dr. Richard Zeile on June 25, 2018 at 7:43 am

    I fully agree theologically. But even a secular mind can acknowledge that the Episcopal Church has a fundamental problem with integrity, and this will discourage all but the residual members (and even many of them!).

  9. Comment by The rev Rebecca spanos on September 22, 2017 at 8:11 pm

    Bishop Robinson is now a v p at Chautauqua institution in western N.Y., where we have been coming for over 50 years. I had a pleasant meeting with him suggesting more biblical preachers and speakers. We can only pray for divine providence

  10. Comment by Rev. Brooks Keith on September 22, 2017 at 8:51 pm

    Jeffrey, As our former professional actuary deacon is fond of pointing out, years in which Christmas Eve or Day falls upon a weekend therefore include “Incarnation attendance inflation” as compared to other years which do not. 2016 was such a year. The truly sobering fact of these figures lies in the knowledge that, even with our denomination’s inevitable holiday attendance addition, we are nonetheless still listing a percentage drop in annual attendance from the previous year! I would hazard a guess that those dioceses listing modest percentage attendance gains are smaller dioceses whose Christmas attendance make a more significant percentage difference. It’s too bad deacons don’t generally do “priest math!”

  11. Comment by Jeffrey Walton on September 25, 2017 at 10:29 am

    Good point! I had not considered 2016 a “Christmas year” in calculating attendance inflation, because Christmas Eve was on a Saturday, not a Sunday. But yes, some parishes might include Saturday night services in their attendance count. In 2017, Christmas Eve will be on a Sunday, and we’ll certainly see a larger attendance reported.

  12. Comment by Hugh J Hansen, Ph.D. on September 23, 2017 at 3:54 am

    Totally agree with Susie! I stay for what it was, not IS! If Methodists had a
    Eucharistic form of worship, I would be there tomorrow. The national church ministry has been a stray for a number of decades now. It affects my attendance, my giving, and my spiritual life.

  13. Comment by Chris Worrill on September 23, 2017 at 8:07 am

    I baptized four children into the Episcopal Church and I myself wanted to be a deacon. The national Church went so far off the deep end, however, blending left wing politics with theology that we couldn’t in good conscience stay. Today, my wife, four children and I are all part of the Catholic Church. They didn’t just lose me, they lost the future when they lost my children.

  14. Comment by Justin Senneff on November 29, 2017 at 5:09 am

    Are you part of the Ordinariate.?

  15. Comment by Episcopal Visitor on October 8, 2018 at 12:57 pm

    I know the comments here are a year old, but I still wanted to respond after yesterday’s service. The Gospel reading was from Mark and Jesus’ words about divorce followed by teaching the disciples about children. When the rector began his sermon, he stated that Jesus’ words about divorce weren’t really about divorce. I grabbed my Bible thinking I must have missed something all these years. Nope. How in the world except going with the PC flow do you say Jesus’ crystal clear words about divorce weren’t about divorce?!

  16. Comment by Mark on September 23, 2017 at 9:29 am

    Forty years ago, I had a discussion with my Bishop about whether I should go into the priesthood or government. Bishop Sherman said to me, “Mark, we have plenty of Christians in the priesthood, you should go into politics.” I wonder if he would say the same thing today.

  17. Comment by Jacques on March 15, 2018 at 2:27 pm

    Very interesting advice coming from a bishop.Witness 40 years later the triumphal Episcopal church having purged itself from any narrow-minded Christians.i myself left TEC with my family 2 years ago.

  18. Comment by Jo on September 25, 2017 at 9:07 am

    I left a dying, small Episcopal church that had almost nothing but elderly members to join a vibrant ACNA church, when I could take the policies of TEC no longer. What a welcome sight it is to see my new church bursting at the seams with babies, young kids and teens! Gray heads are there as well. I am awed to see some truly elderly people who left the Episcopal churches they’d attended for decades as third and fourth generation members, in order to take a stand with the ACNA.

  19. Comment by Vee White on September 25, 2017 at 11:59 pm

    I came very close to leaving The Episcopal Church when Gene Robinson became a bishop. Our parish was in chaos and nearly bankrupt. Fortunately for us a wise and knowledgeable priest was assigned as priest-in-charge. He has helped us to learn the story of scripture and the church and the importance of Christian community. He has gently taught us spiritual disciplines. We now are a healthy parish, learning to be apprentices of Jesus and challenged to bring Jesus to those outside the church. Had my priest not listened to my anguish and encouraged me continue growing in Christ, I would no longer be an Episcopalian – something that had been so important in my life prior to the chaos. I thank God I was able to stay the course!

  20. Comment by Earl H. Foote on September 26, 2017 at 2:18 pm

    I am a communicant in the Diocese of Washington and a parishioner at All Saints, Chevy Chase. I am fortunate to have found a parish that is Christ-centered, Spirit-driven, and Gospel-based. If I weren’t at All Saints, I’d probably seriously consider leaving TEC. Sadly, while Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde says some of the right things about church growth and renewal, the actions of the diocese have spoken a different language. Because the cathedral hosted a vehemently anti-Israel presentation and put up signs urging a boycott of Israel (in addition to bringing forward a resolution that fortunately was defeated at the national convention), I no longer will attend any event (barring something extraordinary) at the cathedral. If TEC leadership wants to understand why Episcopalians are leaving, all it has to do is look at its own actions.

  21. Comment by dan quinn on September 26, 2017 at 10:09 pm

    All the people that I knew who grew up in TEC have left. it was a great church to grow up in during the 1960’s. But the politics took over and it was only one way or the highway. if you did not go along you were a bigot. But many of these people did not grow up in TEC, they were not in our Boy Scout troop , their ancestors did not build the church but we were taken over and isolated in our own church where we went for comfort and Christian charity and love for all no longer existed. There was no discussion or collegiality left.

  22. Comment by mike geibel on October 14, 2017 at 9:02 pm

    Episcopal Bishops and many pastors are mired in the third stage of denial:
    1) denial that there is a problem;
    2) denial that there is a big problem; and
    3) denial that the problem has anything to do with them.
    Mixing politics with religion and then adding in the actuarial tables, is a lethal mix for the Episcopal Church. People hungry for guidance on how they should live their lives will not give up even an hour on Sunday to listen to clergy infected with a political agenda. When the Church only adopts and advocates leftists causes followed by the chant, “we are the Jesus Movement,” then the chant becomes nothing more than a partisan political slogan.

  23. Comment by Robert P Worst, Sr on October 20, 2017 at 4:31 pm

    I wonder, do your statistic include churches that have been commandeered by TEC, and sold off church properties for other purposes?

  24. Comment by Jeff Walton on March 5, 2018 at 5:05 pm

    You have a valid question, Robert. The statistics are self-reported by each diocese. In some cases, I have caught errors where this has occurred. The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles continued to report the members of St. James Newport Beach in their diocesan totals for several years after the church departed. I think these instances are rare, however, and they are usually corrected with time.

  25. Comment by Beau Snowden on November 16, 2017 at 10:26 am

    I recently left TEC and became Catholic after a lifetime in the Episcopal Church. I was baptised in the same church I was married and my children were baptized. It broke my heart to leave but I woke-up one day and didn’t recognize the church. I thought I was going to be buried there but it was no longer a church. They removed all the religious art from everywhere but the sanctuary and replaced it with modern art. And there was no difference from what I was hearing on Sunday and what I was reading on Huff Post on Monday. If there’s no discernable difference between what the church says and relativism in secular society, then what’s the point? If it’s just about outreach, I’ll mail a check to United Way and sleep in on Sunday.

  26. Comment by Scott on December 16, 2017 at 7:53 pm

    I left the Episcopal Church because the church has surrendered to political correctness. Sermons have almost become a politically correct pep rally.
    The Church in increasingly moving away from using the term God the Father choosing more politically correct terms.
    It seems like heterosexual males have a decreasing voice in the Church especially in leadership.
    I also notice a move away from Scripture which is being replaced by current socially acceptable teachings.
    I would have remained in the Episcopal Church if only they would have stuck to their theological roots.

  27. Comment by Mike on June 17, 2019 at 11:35 pm

    I joined the Episcopal Church two years ago after having spent the previous 18 in a Southern Baptist Church. The Episcopal Church seemed to have everything I was looking for, and what I needed. Now I’m wondering if I haven’t made a colossal mistake. My parish is very conservative, but the national church has gone so far left that I am in shock. None of the ‘higher ups’ in the church will admit this, but the reason for the decline in TEC is due to liberal leadership, a new interpretation of Scripture for the comfort of new members, and a total lack of common sense. I’m seriously considering joining an Orthodox Church; the nearest one being 100 miles away. It would be well worth the drive. Apparently they still teach the Truth.

  28. Comment by Craig on December 22, 2017 at 1:55 am

    I found that my now teenage kids became less and less connected with Episcopal services as they became teens. We now attend a non-Episcopal church that doesn’t have a choir, church organ, or sing hymns. There is a rock band and a 30-something minister whose “priestly garments” are an untucked shirt without a tie. My three kids relate to this. Other Episcopalians tell me that they have noted other parishioners with teenagers either leave the Episcopal church, or leave their kids behind at home while they continue to attend Episcopal church services.

  29. Comment by Deplorable Basketdweller on February 5, 2018 at 10:08 pm

    I just happened to catch Episcopal priest Alex Dyer on Tucker Carlson and I did some quick research on Dyer and the Episcopalians! WOW, even a cursory and rapid fact gathering search proves Dyer and the Episcopal church the most Leftwing and Anti-Christian group of folks to claim Christianity that I have ever encountered! On Tucker, Dyer actually questioned Eves gender and had the sack to claim that God is not identified with gender?! The Word was, is and always will be God and the Bible, the word, indicates that God is a He! From the very first word until the very last word, God refers to Himself as He! The Episcopal church provides nothing for the sinner in need of salvation through Jesus Christ and caters to the world! Exegesis such as that of Alex Dyer and the Episcopal church is heretical! Dyer, like all Leftists, creates his own reality based on what HE Thinks and Feels rather than the Truth, Facts and clinical reality! Dyer creates his own scripture as he goes along and he denies God’s complete Sovereignty of Rule over His creation?! Dyer seems to “declare” his own scripture based on what he thinks should or shouldn’t be and dismisses God Almighty with a wave of his hand?!? Dimwit! The unsaved will see much of Scripture as “foolishness” but much of the Holy Bible is brutally obvious to anyone with rudimentary 5th grade reading and comprehension skills and Dyer comes off as an arrogant fool to anyone at that level or above! Dyer seems to think that because he has fooled a few poor saps that the rest of us will “bow” to him because of his “lofty” title of reverend? Another typical Leftist flaw is to consider everyone as an idiot because a few fools blindly follow the garbage they spew! Of course his “eminence” Alex Dyer and the Episcopalians can believe what ever they wish but when virtually everything they profess is antithetical of the Truth of Scripture, they should maybe chose to claim something other than Christianity as the basis of their system of belief! The Episcopal supports and lifts up the things that Scripture call vile and filthy
    Matt 7:15-20 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. {16} Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? {17} Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. {18} A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. {19} Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. {20} Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
    Matt 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. {22} Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? {23} And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
    Beware Alex Dyer and his Episcopalian Comrades as the above Scripture warns us of them! The New Episcopal Church of Satan is quite Apra Poe!

  30. Comment by Hughbert Briss on January 25, 2019 at 4:56 pm

    I knew Alex Dyer briefly while he ‘served’ in CT in various temporary positions: as interim, priest-in-charge, etc. Personally, he comes across as self-righteous and smug. People who behave that way, whether they’re straight or gay are obnoxious, and I stay clear of them. I was not surprised one bit by his embarrassing ‘performance’ on Carlson’s program. His radical liberal revisionism is painful and saddening to listen to and observe. He doesn’t represent a significant number of Episcopalians who, like myself, have learned to listen politely and keep our mouths shut in order to keep a low profile when it comes to our liberal-progressive leader who has been quoted to say: “For and Episcopalian, I have a “very low theology of the Priesthood. The liberal, revisionist bishop in CT, according to news reports, is the first priest to be elected Diocesan Bishop in Ct in its.224 (at the time) history. He is, quite possibly, the only priest to be elected Bishop of CT who: NEVER SPENT ONE DAY in full-time parish ministry; has NEVER been a RECTOR, and came with little or no experience in leading and managing a staff. He’s never wrestled with a parish budget, never hired an organist, never preached to the same congregation more than three or weeks in a row; never buried one of ‘his’ parishioners; get the picture??? So when foolish comments are made by foolish radical-liberal revisionists like Dyer, some of us just cringe and shake our heads.

  31. Comment by Richard Basta on February 15, 2018 at 10:28 pm

    Alex Dyer made a fool of himself on national tv. His intentional lying about Scripture and his provable lies about his church being non political are beyond belief. Left wing heretics like he will have divine judgement barring repentance. Scripture tells us God will deal with such false teachers harshly. I pray daily for Alex’s sake and his flock’s souls that repentance comes sooner than later.

  32. Comment by Richard Basta on February 16, 2018 at 2:53 am

    I saw the Alex Dyer interview. I don’t think he represented the Episcopal church well at all. A bunch of deflection, denial, deception and distraction.

  33. Comment by jason02 on February 24, 2018 at 7:15 pm

    Some of these comments have a lot of hate in them. I pray for you.

  34. Comment by Jeff Walton on March 5, 2018 at 5:11 pm

    Not hate, but there is lingering bitterness in some instances. We can struggle to emotionally separate from institutions that were spiritually formative in our lives. It’s analogous to a divorce. Thank you for your prayers, they are welcome with gratitude, and Christ hears them.

  35. Comment by Episcopal Visitor on October 8, 2018 at 1:02 pm

    No, it is called truth. The problem with the progressive political correct crowd is if you don’t agree with them you are labeled a hater, bigot, racist or any other name they can give you to shut you up when you are speaking truth. Jason, you are the one that needs prayer. I hope you eyes open before it is too late.

  36. Comment by Lynn L Nickens on November 26, 2018 at 12:43 am

    Reading this reply, as well as others, shows what I consider to be a mixture of both hate and misguidedness. I’d ask anyone who uses the terms “political correctness” what they actually mean by that?

    I read this as simply not being willing (or perhaps able) to treat others in the way Jesus directs us to treat others, with respect, with love and with understanding.

    The direction from God, from Jesus is to simply “Love God with all your heart, all your soul…and treat others as you wish them to treat you.” Now I ask anyone who seems to use the term(s) “politically correct” and or “PC”, how is loving God with all your heart, all your soul and treating others as you’d want then to treat yourself a problem; because doing so to me actually IS being politically correct?

  37. Comment by Sola Fide on July 22, 2019 at 4:10 am

    satanic infiltration of all churches happened a long time ago. They know how to take all of the power out of the rituals over time so you don’t notice…like taking up the collection in the middle of communion between the confession and the taking the bread and wine. This destroys the flow of the holy spirit and the ritual becomes dead and meaningless. This was done on purpose, just one small example of how their evil trickles down slowly from the top where they reside. Go back to taking communion in your living rooms, the holy spirit has left the building!

  38. Comment by Marc Meinzer on April 25, 2018 at 8:15 am

    My biggest complaint, at least as an adult, is that the Episcopalians have been sun subsumed into the greater entity known as “mainline Protestantism” and that 60% of their clergy are adult converts from other churches, and that frequently these people are recruited from non-denominational divinity schools much as if the bishops believe that no cradle Episcopalians wish to seek ordination. More to the point those rejected are often treated in a patronizing manner by such converts who typically display all the attributes of people who commonly could reasonably be viewed as “a——-“. So no thanks for that. Let the Episcopal Church, a historical curiosity and perhaps the most grotesque of churches die the ugly death it so richly deserves. The only church currently extant actually run by cradle episcopalians is the Anglican Catholic Church. And never forget: the mother CofE is expected to decline by mid-century to roughly 250,000 members, or less than one percent the population of England.

  39. Comment by Jeffrey Walton on April 25, 2018 at 12:58 pm

    Marc, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I have also noticed that both the Episcopal Church and the ACNA recruit clergy from a population of post-Evangelicals (or Evangelicals on the ‘Canterbury Trail’). I have mixed feelings: we want to share the rich gifts of Anglican tradition with others, but there is a problem when our own children raised within the Anglican/Episcopal context do not remain in the church. As for the future of the Episcopal Church, let us pray that its officials change direction, and for the Holy Spirit to strengthen and encourage those who faithfully minister within it. Lastly, let us learn lessons from those who have gone before us, both positive and negative: an exit from the Episcopal Church guarantees nothing. I have seen churches depart the denomination and go on to do amazing ministry (The Falls Church in Virginia, St. Andrew’s in South Carolina) and I have seen churches turn insular and forget their outward-focused mission (some — but not all — of those in the continuing church movement). We all have baggage, there is no ‘pure’ church, and we are all in need of a hospital in which we can be treated by the Great Physician.

  40. Comment by Marc Meinzer on April 26, 2018 at 9:41 am

    Leaving to become Catholic, while teaching RC parochial school didn’t work for me either. For one thing, Catholic clergy are far more liberal than Protestants realize, and are not fond of meddling conservative converts. Although their monasteries sincerely want new postulants, marked declines in both quality and quantity of aspirants is painfully obvious. Anglican monastics appear to be allergic to work, or at least to manual labor, and tend to be painfully effeminate and distrustful of anyone who is even remotely macho, tending to recoil in horror from anyone who hasn’t spent every waking moment for years reading the Anglophile canon and playing silly board games like Catholic Trivia [which actual Catholics never heard of]. They are also devoted to ridiculous historical figures redolent of mental aberrations such as St. Simon Stylites who Roman Catholics have no use for and frequently ridicule.

    It is interesting to note how more recent prominent Anglican thinkers are not believers: Alan Watts;Bishop James A. Pike; Bishop Spong; Tom Harpur, author of “The Pagan Christ” and former clergyman like Watts. Do these people remind you of Hans Kung, Schillibeck or Mathew Fox?

  41. Comment by Lucinda Jackson on May 10, 2018 at 7:58 am

    Ascension Day. Rejoice and give thanks…grateful, though no longer at worship weekly with Episcopalians. Once one, forever blessed.

  42. Comment by Henry on May 10, 2018 at 1:06 pm

    When you remove God’s teaching as reveal in the Bible, your church is doomed. The absolute authority of the Bible cannot be question because it is God’s Word !

  43. Comment by John on May 28, 2018 at 11:30 pm

    I am a lifelong Catholic, so I read these comments as a person standing on the outside looking in. If you are thinking of becoming Catholic, please be aware that the church depicted by Hollywood before 1965 no longer exists.

  44. Comment by Eric Bonetti on June 1, 2018 at 6:49 pm

    Although I am liberal, I chose to leave The Episcopal Church because of its utter inability to effectively address clergy misconduct. I reported possible sexual harassment to my diocese, which told me to get lost, then allowed the priest responsible to retaliate against me. So TEC talks a good game when it comes to addressing sexual harassment, but the reality is the polar opposite.

  45. Comment by John on June 13, 2018 at 6:19 pm

    Personally I can’t understand why anyone would be Episcopalian per se. I mean it is not like it has any actual historical background from which it springs, it’s just some kind of Henry The VIII child of miscarriage of religion with all the authority to teach nothing at all, my impressiion is it basically one step from Unitarian and two from Mormonism. It’s not even Catholic Lite, my impression is that they are more like democrat precinct committee groups. I mean my impression is that they have devolved into a bizarre group of possible theists, but possibly not. But it is all only my impression. And it seems to me they don’t have an ortodoxy except that anything goes.

  46. Comment by Mike on June 19, 2018 at 7:31 pm

    All of this is no surprise. As the author noted the decline has continued, if not, accelerated. After years of whatever-floats-your-boat theology, outright heresy of Jefferts-Schori and celebration of aberrant behavior, is it any wonder its communicants have fled for the exits. The only way the Episcopal Church can turn this around – if its already not too late – is a return to orthodoxy.

  47. Comment by Terry Hiller on June 24, 2018 at 11:44 am

    The Episcopal Churchnis now a far left political organization. That’s why it’s declining.
    Former member

  48. Comment by CCoderre on January 1, 2019 at 10:03 pm

    agreed- I left 10 yrs ago

  49. Comment by Prairiemom on July 15, 2018 at 11:06 am

    Our family left TEC in 2006. We were unchurched for several years. Never thought I’d become Catholic but I checked it out in desperation. Found out that virtually everything I thought I knew about Catholicism was wrong. It’s all based on the Bible, which was canonized by the Holy Spirit guiding the early Church. Unfortunately our now adult children were so horrified by TEC hypocrisy that they are avoiding all churches now. I trust God will judge the apostates of TEC and pray for salvation of my children and others who have been misled and harmed by their heresy.

  50. Comment by Cory on August 17, 2018 at 10:38 pm

    I think that the rust stains on the Episcopal Church sign at the top of the article speaks much to me as does the article’s content and comments. A friend recently asked if he could be a worthwhile person even though he had spent time in jail. His jail time was an unknown surprise for me. I don’t know the particulars of his crime (why, how long, where, etc), and yet I sensed someone whom God is leading and needing Christ’s words. Another younger adult friend asked me how he could relate to and talk with his parents when they have such disgust and disrespect for religion and God, although he has seen value in religion and God for his life. That’s the kind of environment where I meet family, friends and acquaintances regarding spirituality, the Scriptures and Christ Jesus. I think that those in and out of the Episcopal Church might need to be less rusty in how to bring Jesus or show him to my friends above. Thanks.

  51. Comment by Jereme on August 28, 2018 at 6:36 am

    I am a recent convert to the Episcopalian church. I was originally raised Roman Catholic and went many years as an atheist/agnostic though finding a Christian denomination that was open to everyone and less dogmatic always lingered in the back of my mind. It is disheartening to see the decline and the latest stats of continuing decline were just published via the Episcopal News Service. And many of the commenters along with the Bishop quoted in the primary article bring up legitimate points, albeit some are rather vitriolic and mean-spirited turning into a political left and right argument which is something that is tearing the nation at large apart. My home parish is one of the oldest parishes in the US and one of the most historic, Christ Church in Philadelphia. Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Benjamin Rush, among others were parishioners. For services on Sunday, by visual observation, there are probably between 150-200 attendees of various ages, though, probably like many other main line Protestant denominations and even Catholic Churches, more over the age of 50. I suppose most people would view our congregation as in the more “liberal” side with frequent messages of inclusivity, diversity, social justice, etc which I would think is much in line with the Jesus movement, and is a welcome departure from the fire and brimstone tradition that has mired Christianity in a bog of intolerance, fear mongering, anti-intellectualism, among a litany of other policies of cruelty and shaming. Kindness is more quiet and subtle than aggressive evangelism. It isn’t built on hype or pomp and circumstance. Nor is it directed from a summit of out of touch old, predominantly heterosexual white men who fail to see beyond their own gender, nationalistic/post WWII mentality, and diversity in expression of faith or none at all. Society changes and the church must act accordingly. It probably does need to find a balance between orthodox views and more progressive views. It probably also needs, much like any other old school Christian church, a re-assessment of some of its litgurical features. Specifically, why do we say the Nicene Creed? It was made up in 325 by competing bishops about the nature of the Trinity. Do we have to say this week after week? Why are there readings from the OT if Jesus established a new covenant? And let’s be honest, the OT is often difficult to stomach. It involves a violent and vengeful god for a violent and vengeful people. It was written by and for a militant ancient tribe not for a modern audience. I would hazard most Jews probably cringe when they read it themselves. These are just two small examples of re-assessment. Perhaps Bishop Spong was correct when he said 20 years ago, that another reformation was in order or basically the faith will die. I hope that doesn’t happen, but reformations are certainly in order and I hope TEC can be a vanguard in ushering changes that can stop this continuing decline and forge forth into the next century and beyond.

  52. Comment by mike geibel on August 30, 2018 at 6:09 pm

    According to the 2017 Parochial Report, in the last three years, the Episcopal Church has lost over 100,000 members. With each passing year, the TEC leadership has become more political, more leftist, more divisive, more activist, and has spewed more hate towards Trump and Republicans than ever before.

    Today, the editors at the Episcopal News Service discontinued the “Comment” section to its articles, citing to the criticisms of the Church and vitriolic retorts between members. The TEC should not be surprised at the internal animosity and dissent caused by its own politicking. In April 2016, the TEC was one of 99 faith groups that sent a letter to congressional leaders opposing Trump’s campaign promise to weaken the prohibition against churches endorsing political candidates. In the TEC’s own words:
    “People of faith do not want partisan political fights infiltrating their houses of worship. . . . Houses of worship are spaces for members of religious communities to come together, not be divided along political lines; faith ought to be a source of connection and community, not division and discord.”
    Then immediately on the heels of the 2016 Election, Bishops and Clergy joined the political Jihad being waged against all things “Trump”.

    The exodus from the pews cannot be explained by age or death or the rise in secularism alone. 2017 showed a loss of 32,593 members in domestic dioceses, and church-wide, a loss of 33,768 souls—all these people did not die.
    52% of Episcopal churches showed a decline in Average Sunday Attendance (ASA). ASA is now down to 55 members per church and these numbers are inaccurate. Clergy are counted as part of the ASA, and if there are two services, they get to be counted twice, and 3 times if there is an evening service. If the service includes a priest, an assistant priest and a cannon, then the ASA count inflates exponentially. The only good news was that average pledge was up 1.7% (about $100 per pledge), but even this was not enough to keep pace with the rate of inflation at 2.1%. 72% of all churches have an ASA of less than 100 members. For a Church that claims to have 1.7 million baptized members, only 556,744 (less than 1/3rd) usually show up on Sunday.

    Politics and the actuarial tables are proving to be a lethal recipe for the Episcopal Church. It is an odd marketing plan to denigrate conservatives and then be surprised when they don’t show up at Church the following Sunday.

  53. Comment by Cody on September 18, 2018 at 1:55 am

    I been recently converted Christian myself this year being atheist for a long time. I have read bible past 8 months and the bible interpretation are clearly against homosexual.

    I almost have considered to join Episcopal Church but after doing research on their church, they support gay marriage and involves very left political wings so I decided not to join that church.

    Now I am all alone because I am very unsure which the church demonstration is 100% right or close at least.
    I have researched varies type of church so I do know which church support and which church against gay marriage. I just unsure which church I should attend.

    Any recommendation? May god bless you.

  54. Comment by Episcopal Visitor on October 8, 2018 at 1:07 pm

    Cody, I am so thankful that you found saving grace in Jesus Christ. I agree with you in my beliefs. Unfortunately, too many churches across the entire Christian spectrum have forgotten Jesus’ admonishment to be in the world, but not of the world. So many churches are speaking to add members that they will do anything and compromise any belief to be relative.

    There are good churches out there. It will seem like it is finding that proverbial needle in a haystack, but it can be done. Keep seeking.

  55. Comment by Primrose Path on October 19, 2018 at 8:28 pm

    I was raised Anglo-Catholic, baptized and raised practicing Anglican but educated in Catholic schools, so quite familiar with Catholic and Anglican theology. The crisis came trying to teach comparative religion in Sunday School to teenagers and finding that literally episcopalianism provided no answers to life’s persistent questions which were more convincing than those provided by Hinduism, Bhuddism or mere Humanism. Why go to church at all? The coffee? Anyway … I had three baptized Christian children to raise and didn’t want them burdened with papal infallibility and Jansenism, so thank God (literally) we were led to Eastern Orthodoxy. It’s hard work, a bit of a culture shock, but let’s face it, Jesus wasn’t Anglo-Saxon. The Orthodox Church is collegiate, rather than papal, theologically rigorous, and refreshingly relevant (the early Church was really a women’s movement, in a world which casually accepted homosexuality and the subjugation of women and minorities) And as a working mother of boys, it’s nice to see MEN pulling their weight at the altar and the confessional and reinforcing the Gospels – Lord knows women are expected to do quite enough catechism cleaning and coffee hour stuff already, and church becomes seen by future fathers as “women’s stuff”.

  56. Comment by Fred on August 1, 2019 at 1:01 am

    Cody, After reading your comment, I invite you to learn about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am a convert to this church from the Catholic Church which my father belonged to. My mother‘s family was Methodist. I wanted to know the truth and I have found it to be true and it brings me great comfort and direction in my life. As I read The Book of Mormon and the Bible I find that they testify of each other. I wish you the very best in your search for truth.

  57. Comment by Aenne on November 13, 2018 at 6:14 am

    I moved to my new home several years ago and was happy that there was an Episcopal church nearby. During liturgy, I noticed that the “Prayer of Humble Access” – a penitential prayer by which we acknowledge our sinfulness and unworthiness to receive the Eucharist – had ben omitted. My former parish makes use of it. I later asked the priest “why”, and she replied, “Oh, I find it to be to negative! God loves us just as we are and we are ALL worthy to partake in communion!” Seriously? It’s come to the point where there are no goals or parameters? No need for perfection or to “be perfect” even as Christ is perfect? What watered-down, “feel good” nonsense. I now make a one hour drive every Sunday to a more traditional parish.

  58. Comment by Scott on December 15, 2018 at 8:46 pm

    The reason for the decline is simple. The move of the church to celebrate same sex unions and to elect church officials who practice and support the same life style will continue to cause a decline in the church. We are all sinners and we need the grace of god to help find our way to his glory. With that said we should all be praying on a daily basis that Jesus intercede on our behalf so we can be cleansed of our sins. The Church should be doing the same. Satan is alive and doing well to pull us away from God.

  59. Comment by Anthony G. on December 27, 2018 at 2:55 pm

    Unlike many of the Episcopal parishes in this part of Connecticut, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Niantic is a thriving, growing and traditional, Book of Common Prayer parish. Lots of outreach, excellent liturgy and Lectionary based preaching that is faithful, challenging and inspiring without delving into hot-button political issues!!! St. John’s has welcomed 14 new “households” just since Sept. There were 30 kids in the Nativity Pageant and that wasn’t even all of them!! This rector has been here for about 5 years and there’s a great sense of authenticity about him. The folks there are welcoming and real. Everyone feels welcomed and special. Best of all, no hint of any political bent in the rectors sermons, but justice and faith in Jesus are always ‘in the mix’. Lots of kids serve every Sunday. Church school leader is fantastic.

  60. Comment by Eric Rachut on February 20, 2019 at 11:43 am

    As a confessional (meaning not ECLA) Lutheran, I see the seeds of destruction in Anglicanism’s heritage of compromise – which eventually meant compromising Christianity. Those who I have seen convert from Lutheranism to Anglicanism have done so – in my view – because Episcopalians generally represent a higher socio-economic class. This is not to say Lutheranism is free of similar problems – the ELCA has abandoned Scripture with their
    permitting Communion to nonbelievers in the Real Presence, permitting women to become pastors and, of course, failing to recognize homosexuality as a sin. But many Lutheran denominations are still orthodox.

  61. Comment by Kevin on April 10, 2019 at 6:59 pm

    I love what the Episcopal Church offers so much that I went back to school and got a master’s degree in organ performance and church music. I even had a full time position for a few years (in a Roman Catholic Church).

    As a religious liberal, I felt integrity demanded I leave the Episcopal Church – I am now an active member in a Unitarian Universalist congregation.

    Heretic that I am, I learned something disturbing about many ordained people from my UU minister (she went to a United Methodist seminary): Many of them lose their faith in seminary. She has been told by at least one person, and maybe more, that candidates for ordination lose their faith but go through ordination anyway. They have said, “I will be living a lie.”

    I have a problem with the lack of integrity – if your faith changes, you may need to join a different group. There is no shame in that. I became UU (although one does not I join the Episcopal Church – I’m an inactive parishioner.)

    We do have freedom of religion. I am glad I made the change.

  62. Comment by Deanne Garman on May 31, 2019 at 10:48 am

    Many Episcopalians left because the church leaders have distorted the Word and Liturgy. We all now are Anglican aligned with other Anglican churches aligned with England. We haven’t left our faith, the Word or Liturgy. We have left the episcopal church. The people have choices. And the Anglican church continues to grow and thrive in the U.S. and around the world. St Georges in Colorado Springs aligns with a Nigerian Anglican church. Read about our story on a web search! There are many just like ours who are thriving in America!

  63. Comment by S R B on June 26, 2019 at 7:16 pm

    I loved the Episcopal Church. I wanted to be Episcopalian. It grieves me deeply that this is no longer possible. Here is why:
    1. Sermons have become more political than spiritual.
    Focusing on how evil the current President is (what
    happened to praying for ——— our President?)
    Global warming, climate change. Legitimate concerns but
    is a Sunday Church Service the appropriate forum?
    2. The feminization of the Holy Trinity.
    One church starts the Lord’s Prayer by saying “Our Father
    and Mother in Heaven…”
    In a Sermon on Trinity Sunday, the Priest referred to The
    Holy Spirit as “she” more than once.
    3. An over emphasis on LGBQT issues.
    4. On the official website the following headline appeared
    on June 21,2019
    House of Bishops theology committee examining
    “Infection of white supremacy.
    How does this arguably offensive statement further
    racial reconciliation?
    5. It appears that males need not apply to be elected Bishop.
    The same almost seems to be true for Priests.
    In short I guess I am saying excessive political
    correctness killed the Episcopal Church
    R.I.P. as membership plummets.

  64. Comment by dale tyler on August 18, 2019 at 12:02 pm

    I did not attend the Episcopal church today.I am waiting on the Lord for direction.Satan has infiltrated this church and I am ashamed to be associated with it. God is longsuffering,but leadership needs to repent and become followers of the bibical Christ before Ichabod is written over the door. Oh by the way ,Mormonism is not biblical Christianity.

  65. Comment by dale tyler on August 18, 2019 at 12:13 pm

    I am leaving the Episcopal church. I want them to repent and turn to Jesus for forgiveness. I can no longer be a member of a church who ignores the bible and goes it’s own way. I think that’s called a cult? If a person has never had a born again experience I can see why they are fine with this. you are still in the kingdom of darkness. I admonish the Episcopal church to come into the light.

  66. Comment by Billy Edwards on March 7, 2020 at 7:51 pm

    My two cents: Under 30 family with kids. Longing for liturgy. Demand biblical fidelity. I’m not alone, either. I went to a baptist college, and I’ve found others are seeking a connectedness to historic Christianity. There is a LCMS Lutheran parish down the road, and a TEC parish. While I appreciate the BCP more, I’d rather rear my kids up in a place that loves God more than being politically correct. You can guess where we are attending tomorrow. Kinda makes me sad, though.

  67. Comment by Stephanie on March 17, 2021 at 10:21 am

    I left Episcopal church last year after 72 years. Not welcoming especially if your political views were different from the rest. My husband died in 2018 and I need spiritual strength to handle his loss, not politics. I go to a home church now, evangelical. I don’t agree with everything, but at least I feel accepted there. It took me a long time to make that decision. I feel sad, but relieved.

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