The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Quincy is studying the question, “Shall the Diocese of Quincy separate from the Episcopal Church?”
It has distributed a 35-page document, “The Church in Crisis: A Resource for the Diocese of Quincy,” to every member household in the diocese. The standing committee says it contains “reliable information on the current situation.”
It’s worthy of note that Virtue Online is listed as a reliable source. That’s not surprising given that Bishop Ackerman and David Virtue hung out together at Lambeth. So why do conservative websites, among others, consistently ignore Virtue?
Indicative of the overall sloppiness of the document, the Presiding Bishop’s name is inconsistently and incorrectly spelled throughout. On page 11 alone you will find Katharine Jefferts Schori (correct), Kathyrn Jefferts Schori, and Kathyrn Jefferts-Schori.
The document devotes a page to listing names of “Clergy Casualties.” But most of those are not casualties. These individuals merely resigned; they were not forced out.
The diocese reported an average Sunday attendance of 1,105 in 2006. In 1996 its ASA was 1, 325. (Source.) Much of the Sunday attendance is at the Cathedral. Since 1996 ASA in diocese has declined 19 percent; Ackerman became bishop in 1994. By comparison, domestic attendance in The Episcopal Church has declined 8 percent over the same time period.
Read the document and check the facts (PDF).