As reported, last week the Blue Book for General Convention 2009 became available. Among the many public documents is one from the House of Deputies Committee on the State of the Church. It is a hard-hitting self examination of where we are and the challenges before us.
Some of the tough language:
On membership
The advanced—and still advancing—age of our membership, combined with our low birth rate, means that we lose the equivalent of one diocese per year. In the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s we were growing faster than the population, due to a high birth rate and the fact that many formerly unchurched persons were joining Episcopal congregations, usually with their families. By the late 1960s the birth rate had dropped greatly, and many of our youth began to drop away from The Episcopal Church as young adults—a large number never to return. This trend, plus the fact that the decline in the birth rate was greatest among the college-educated population (which increasingly is our primary constituency), began the process through which the average age of adult Episcopal membership diverged from the larger population.
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As a final comment on the age structure of The Episcopal Church we note two facts. First, “youth and young adults” were articulated by General Convention as one of our top five priorities for the 2006-2009 triennium. The Executive Council, in developing the draft budget for the 2009-2012 triennium, did not list “youth and young adults” as one of their mission priorities. Second, in the recent reorganization of staff in New York City, the position of Staff Officer for Youth and Young Adult Ministries was eliminated and the duties of that officer re-distributed to other ministry areas.
On financial health of parishes
Over the last five years income growth was at least keeping pace with inflation—good news, indeed. However, with net losses in membership and attendance, the continuing financial burden falls more heavily upon remaining members. …[A] very substantial fraction of our congregations—two-thirds—reported that in 2008 they experienced some level of financial difficulty. Eight percent report “serious” difficulty, 17 percent report “some” difficulty, and another 42 percent describe their financial circumstances as “tight, but we manage.”
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The increase in parishes experiencing financial difficulty between 2000 and 2005 is alarming, jumping from 44% to 68%. While that does not worsen between 2005 and 2008, the rate is far too high to allow a rosy picture to be painted.
On evangelism
In view of losses due to the age structure and declining birthrate of The Episcopal Church, as well as losses associated with controversy, an emphasis on evangelism and recruitment of new members would seem a natural, almost inevitable consequence. Interestingly, the 2008 Faith Communities Today Survey revealed that under 20% of our congregations report active evangelism programs and less than 5% report that evangelization is a congregational specialty.
Who are we?
Quoting from the 2006 report to General Convention from the Committee on the State of the Church, “As a Committee, we are convinced that when we heed closely Christ’s call to us in the Great Commandment and Great Commission, the church is at its best, and we all become ‘bringers of hope and proclaimers of joy.’ ” While this statement brings some clarity to the identity issue, the present Committee on the State of the Church continued to struggle with the same issue and concluded that it has no unified answer, but raised a most significant question: “Has the time come for The Episcopal Church to make a definitive statement to the world about our identity as Episcopalians?”
Read it all.