Feverswamp Leftism - a cancer destroying its host since 1917.

The Episcopal Church is well on its death spiral down the toilet, but that fact doesn't alarm committed the feverswamp leftists who drove off the normal people.

//But as a priest, the daily office immerses me in the PATRIARCHY!! of the psalms. We can’t change the PATRIARCHY!! of our heritage. That’s how God has revealed herself to us over the centuries.

So God’s kind of a screw-up then?

So in reading Scripture, in seeking its meaning, I do not feel free to make changes in the text. But in my worship, I do feel free to do so. When I pray the psalms, it seems to me that I am free to make changes that express my heart.

Son of a…aw, skip it.  You have to give Double W this much.  Dude’s all-in.

So I have gone through the Prayer Book psalms and substituted feminine pronouns for masculine wherever the reference is not clearly to a specific male, such as David and Moses and Joseph.

Any male human being reading this can sit Christianity out since any manifestation of masculinity whatsoever gives Warner the vapors.

I call these committed psalms.

Because anybody stupid enough to read them ought to be?

They go the path of commission rather than the path of omission. Further, they require a commitment on the part of those who use them. We commit ourselves to a path of reparation, of repairing the relation of female and male in our life and worship. Similarly, this is committed language in contrast to inclusive language. This language is not inclusive; it overdoes the feminine on purpose. It is matriarchal language instead of patriarchal.

So basically, it’s totally dishonest.  An absolute frickin’ lie.  Yeah, great Christian witness there, Warner.

Catholics?  Never EVER let down your guard.

Go here to read the comments.  Leftism is a cancer wherever it takes hold.  It perverts and destroys its host.  In religion it transforms Christianity into dying shattered husks of denominations.  Make no mistake:  most Leftist Catholics know precisely what they are doing.  For them the destruction of traditional Catholicism through embracing their ludicrous politics and economic superstitions is a feature not a bug.//

Father Barron on Bishop Schorri's Sermon in Favor...

... of Demonic Possession.

But the Bishop moved, instead, in an astonishing direction, finding an example of the lamentable exclusivity she is talking about in the behavior of the Apostle Paul himself. In the 16th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, we find the story of Paul's first visit to the Greek town of Philippi. We are told that one day, while on his way to prayer, Paul was accosted by a slave girl "who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling" (Acts. 16:16). This demon-possessed child followed Paul and his companions up and down for several days, shouting, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation." Having finally had enough of her, Paul turned to the young woman and addressed the wicked spirit within her, "I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her" (Acts. 16:18). And the demon, we are told, came out of her instantly.

Up until last month in Curaçao, the entire Christian interpretive tradition read that passage as an account of deliverance, as the story of the liberation of a young woman who had been enslaved both to dark spiritual powers and to the nefarious human beings who had exploited her.

But Bishop Jefferts Schori reads it as a tale of patriarchal oppression and intolerance. She preaches, "But Paul is annoyed, perhaps, for being put in his place, and he responds by depriving her of her gift of spiritual awareness. Paul can't abide something he won't see as beautiful or holy, so he tries to destroy it." The Bishop correctly points out that the girl was saying true things about Paul and his friends, but demons say true things all the time in the New Testament. Think of the dark spirits who consistently confess that Jesus is the Holy One of God. That a Christian bishop would characterize the demonic possession of a young girl as something "beautiful and holy" simply beggars belief.

And:

What is at the root of this deeply wrong-headed homily is a conflation of early 21st century values of inclusion and toleration with the great Biblical value of love. To love is to will the good of the other as other. As such, love can involve -- indeed, must involve -- a deep intolerance toward wickedness and a clear willingness to exclude certain forms of life, behavior, and thought. When inclusivity and toleration emerge as the supreme goods -- as they have in much of our society today -- then love devolves into something vague, sentimental and finally dangerous.

How dangerous? Well, we might begin to see the devil himself as beautiful and holy.

How long, however, before Bishop Schori points out that at least the Devil isn't part of "patriarchal oppression and intolerance"?

Having done a bang-up job of driving Episcopalians out of the Episcopal Church...

....Bishop Robinson turns his attention to telling Catholics how to be Catholic.

Retired Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, who was the first openly gay man to become a U.S. bishop in the Episcopal Church, has written a Washington Post opinion piece denouncing Detroit Catholic Archbishop Allen Vigneron for saying Catholics who support gay unions or marriage should not receive communion.

Robinson, who recently retired as Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, wrote in today’s Washington Post “On Faith” blog that Catholic leaders such as Vigneron “profane the Sacrament” and use communion as “a manipulative tool” when they say Catholics who support gay marriage should not present themselves for communion.

“While some are seeking to withhold Communion from pro-choice and pro-marriage-equality Catholics,” wrote Robinson, “I have heard no call to withhold Communion from priests and bishops who have engaged in horrific sexual abuse against vulnerable children, nor their enablers.”

Vigneron told the Free Press earlier this month that Catholics who support gay marriage should not receive Communion, which Catholics believe is the body and blood of Christ.

Vigneron said those who receive Communion while supporting gay marriage “logically bring shame for a double-dealing that is not unlike perjury.” A Detroit Catholic seminary professor and legal advisor to the Vatican, canon lawyer Edward Peters, also said Catholics who promote gay marriage should abstain from communion.

*Sheesh*

Episcopal Church loses South Carolina.

Religion News Service reports:

 

The Diocese of South Carolina announced on Wednesday (Oct. 17) that it has disaffiliated from the Episcopal Church, escalating a long-running skirmish and setting the stage to become the fifth diocese to secede from the denomination.

 Dozens of congregations and four dioceses -- in California, Texas, Pennsylvania and Illinois -- have split from the Episcopal Church, often triggering long and expensive court battles over church property.

Fox said that "dioceses may not leave the Episcopal Church."

"Even if leaders and individual members of congregations choose to leave, those who remain continue as members of the Episcopal Church and leader of their dioceses," she said.

Under Lawrence’s leadership, the South Carolina diocese has legally and theologically distanced itself from the Episcopal Church, removing references to the the national church in civil and church documents and issuing deeds that release the diocese's and denomination's claims to parish property.

Spread along the state’s southeast coast, the 29,000-member diocese even declared itself sovereign within the Episcopal Church in 2010. After a July vote to bless same-sex unions, Lawrence and most of the South Carolina delegation left General Convention, the church’s triennial governing body.

The guilty verdict by the Disciplinary Board for Bishops came as Lawrence and Jefferts Schori were negotiating to find “creative solutions” for resolving their differences, according to the South Carolina diocese. Church rules stipulate that the presiding bishop must implement the disciplinary board's decisions, Fox said.

Lawrence was found not guilty of similar charges last year, before he released the claims to church property.

 

Needless to say, none of this ever described as "Episcopal Church Cracks down on Dissenters."

Episcopal Church as it takes its final swirl around the bottom of the bowl...

...reaches out and makes a grab for more members to take with it for the final ride.

Spero News reports:

Bishop Marc Andrus of the Episcopal Church of the USA wrote a letter to his flock that characterized teachings by the Catholic Church on marriage as “oppression.” Dated October 1, Andrus commented on the recent installation of Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone to the diocese of San Francisco. Andrus' letter focuses on Archbishop Cordileone's affirmation of Catholic teachings on traditional marriage and for California's Proposition 8, which was a voter-approved measure that defined marriage as being between one man and one woman.

Even “despite this difference of opinion and support” Andrus affirmed that he wants to work with Archbishop Cordileone in the “building of the Reign of God.” Andrus noted that he had worked with former San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer in fighting poverty in the region. He said he shares common ground with Archbishop Cordileone on immigration policy and poverty.

Bishop Andrus said that the teachings of the Episcopal Church of the USA on lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgendered persons is a “proclamation of God's inclusion.” Andrus opined that Catholic teaching on sexuality serves to “suppress the rights of others who, too, have been created in God’s image.” The Episcopalian cleric added, “The recognition of the dignity and rights, within civil society and the Church of lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgendered people, and of women are as core to our proclamation of the Gospel as our solidarity with the poor, with victims of violence and political oppression, and with the Earth.”

Bishop Andrus claimed that Archbishop Cordileone's appointment has been met with mixed reactions by San Franciscans of “all or no faith tradition,” while he also invited Catholics “less at home” within a diocese headed by the new archbishop to “come to The Episcopal Church.” Bishop Andrus is head of the Episcopal Diocese of California, which covers the greater San Francisco Bay area.

Hah! Rudeness costs:

BREAKING: Bishop Marc Andrus denied seating at Catholic archbishop's installation

SAN FRANCISCO

The Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, Episcopal Bishop of California and an invited guest for the installation of Archbishop-designate Salvatore Cordileone, was not allowed to be seated. He was escorted to a basement room at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral and detained by an usher until the time the service began, whereupon Bishop Andrus left the cathedral. More information will be forthcoming as it is available. - Episcopal Diocese of California

See our previous post, Bishop Andrus has a few thoughts on his new Catholic counterpart, repeated in full below:

Archbishop-designate Cordelione's predecessor and I have worked closely and fruitfully on reducing extreme poverty globally through the Millennium Development Goals. At the same time as we did this important work together, we took very different public positions on Proposition 8. We can and must both work together for the world's good, and it is equally important, as I say in most of my blessings at the conclusion of the Eucharist, that "we make no peace with oppression." The recognition of the dignity and rights, within civil society and the Church of lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgendered people, and of women are as core to our proclamation of the Gospel as our solidarity with the poor, with victims of violence and political oppression, and with the Earth.

Archbishop-designate Codelione and I share concerns for the treatment of immigrants to this country and reforming the United States’s immigration policies. Working to alleviate global poverty and change systems that disenfranchise all people are the concerns of those who follow our brother Christ, and that work is not limited to the work of bishops.

In working together with the Archdiocese of San Francisco, however, I will not change my course with regard to the full inclusion of all people in the full life of the church. I hope that public disagreements can be handled respectfully and that criticisms of public statements may be met with mutual respect. Some Catholics may find themselves less at home with Salvatore Cordileone’s installation and they may come to The Episcopal Church. We should welcome them as our sisters and brothers.

"The Episcopal church have become Unitarians with candles and some stained glass."

That's a great observation from a comment to this Via Meadia post on the decline into irrelevance of the Episcopal Church:

It used to matter what the Episcopal Church thought of this or that social issue. Other mainline Protestant churches and many social and political leaders followed its theological and political debates. Now, basically, no one outside the dwindling flock in the pews really cares what The Episcopal Church says about anything at all. General Convention can pass a million resolutions, and nothing anywhere will change. No one is even really angry anymore at anything the Episcopal hierarchy does; at most, there is a sigh and a quiet rolling of the eyes. Soon, there will not even be that.

It’s an extraordinary decline in an institution that a generation ago was still one of the pillars of American life. At this point the disaster appears irretrievable; those running the church are determined to run it into the ground and it is hard to see how that can change.

For Anglicans, the theological and demographic collapse of their church is a bitter blow. The traditions of this church exert a powerful hold on those who were raised in it; those declining attendance figures bespeak a lot of sadness and despair. But The Episcopal Church has moved on, headed down what looks increasingly like the theological path of least resistance as it makes the transition from a church that once spoke to a nation to a sect in communion only with itself.

Let us wish The Episcopal Church well on its journey towards whatever hope its bureaucrats and functionaries see glimmering ahead of them in the deepening twilight. God moves in mysterious ways, and the failure of a church is not the failure of a faith. Christianity is all about hope in the face of death; America’s Anglicans are learning a lot about what that means. For this, perhaps, we need to learn to be thankful.

Episcopal Church plans to apologize to Catholics for oppression and theft...

...oh, wait. That's wrong.

The Episcopal Church is apologizing to American Indians for "invading" America and exposing the natives to Christianity.

Episcopalians from around the country gathered here this week for their church's 77th triennial General Convention, which ended Thursday. Although other Protestant denominations have national governing councils, the Episcopal Church's triennial gathering stands apart. For starters, it's one of the world's largest such legislative entities, with more than 1,000 members.

General Convention is also notable for its sheer ostentation and carnival atmosphere. For seven straight nights, lavish cocktail parties spilled into pricey steakhouses, where bishops could use their diocesan funds to order bottles of the finest wines.

During the day, legislators in the lower chamber, the House of Deputies, and the upper chamber, the House of Bishops, discussed such weighty topics as whether to develop funeral rites for dogs and cats, and whether to ratify resolutions condemning genetically modified foods. Both were approved by a vote, along with a resolution to "dismantle the effects of the doctrine of discovery," in effect an apology to Native Americans for exposing them to Christianity.

Here is the Episcopal lament over the "Doctrine of Discovery" (which is from their 2009 General Convention an dnot from the current convention):

“In an unprecedented step of significance for Christian response to the European invasion and settlement of the Americas, the Episcopal Church is the first Christian denomination to publically repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery through the actions of D033 taken at GC 2009,” explained Eagle Heart. “The Church demonstrated the courage of our convened leadership by offering the repudiation in 2009, and now in 2012 calls upon and invites all Episcopalians to join in a substantive response to the Doctrine of Discovery through participation in this lament to acknowledge, honor and respond compassionately to our grievous past of invasion and settlement.”

Here is the Episcopal Resolution on the Doctrine of Discovery.

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 76th General Convention repudiates and renounces the Doctrine of Discovery as fundamentally opposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and our understanding of the inherent rights that individuals and peoples have received from God, and that this declaration be proclaimed among our churches and shared with the United Nations and all the nations and peoples located within The Episcopal Church's boundaries. This doctrine, which originated with Henry VII in 1496, held that Christian sovereigns and their representative explorers could assert dominion and title over non-Christian lands with the full blessing and sanction of the Church. It continues to be invoked, in only slightly modified form, in court cases and in the many destructive policies of governments and other institutions of the modern nation-state that lead to the colonizing dispossession of the lands of indigenous peoples and the disruption of their way of life ...

The replacment appears to be syncretizing prayers to the "Great Spirit" and to the Four Directions.

In their puppy-dog desire to be loved, the Episcopal Church has managed to equate the "White Buffalo Woman" with Our Lady of Guadalupe, i.e., the Mother of God:

The Virgin of Guadalupe

[Note: Although it is not on the Liturgical Calendar of the Episcopal Church, December 12 is still widely celebrated by many Episcopalians as the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe.]

Huh?..."still celebrate"...WTF?

When did the Episcopal Church recognize the Our Lady of Guadulupe as authentic?

Notice that for these Gaia-worshipping feminist liberal Christians, Our Lady of Guadulupe is simply the "Virgin of Guadulupe" and all connection with the reason that makes her "Our Lady," namely that she is the mother of Jesus Christ, is forgotten in order, it seems, to make Mary as legendary and non-historical as "White Buffalo Woman."

As a member of the Church that does put the Feast of Our Lady on its calendar, I'd appreciate it if the Episcopal Church would bloody well not dechristianize our beliefs now that it has managed to bleed its own beliefs of any Christian meaning.

Then there is this Episcopal document, which suggests that the Episcopal Church views the whole project of America as something of dubious provenance and doubtful legitimacy:

The national commemoration of Columbus Day poses a painful problem for many American Episcopalians. The public legal and religious reasoning and language used to explain and justify the discovery and conquest of the Americas, stands in glaring contrast to the vows of the Baptismal Covenant “to persevere in resisting evil, to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself and to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.”

Looking at Columbus Day through the Lens of the Baptismal vows is no simple matter. It is not something to be quickly addressed, and then left behind.
This journey into “Exposing the Doctrine of Discovery” is part of a call from God to Healing and Hope for all people. With Resolution D035 offered at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 2009, the Church repudiated and renounced the Doctrine of Discovery. The Doctrine of Discovery refers to documents, and practices of Church and state that legally justified the theft of Native lands, genocide, denial of basic human rights and self-determination, and the attempted extermination of Native identity.

General Convention took this step of repudiation because even though 1492 was a very long time ago, the reasoning and language used to explain and justify the discovery and conquest of the Americas, stands in glaring contrast to our Baptismal vows. The Doctrine of Discovery continues to be invoked in contemporary legal practice, and contributes to the on-going
oppression of Native Peoples. The on-going impact of the Doctrine of Discovery can be seen in and attributed to the failure of state and federal governments to fulfill the promises made in 400 still legally binding treaties, negotiated in exchange for the land on which most Americans now live. These treaties – are “the supreme Law of the Land” according to the
Constitution of the United States – purported to buy the land that is now the United States, from Native tribes with promises to provide for monetary payments, continued hunting and fishing rights, and provisions for housing and health care.2 Few, if any of these treaties, were fulfilled as promised.

Look at the scare quotes for the description of the Constitution as "the supreme Law of the Land."

Are the Episcopalians saying it isn't?

The Episcopal Church wants its members to view the founding event with shame. How can any people hope ot survive that way?

Ross Douthat asks whether "Liberal Christianity can survive?"

The answer would appear to be, not if it doesn't stop committing suicide.

By the way, the original resolution made a fashionable stab at blaming Catholicism for the "Doctrine of Discovery," but this is only part of the story. The whole story includes the fact that the Catholic Church attempted to protect the rights of indigenous populations as human beings.

Discovery was happening. The normal course of human history involves the wholesale enslavement of the weaker populations. Something unique happened when Christians ran up against that situation - their church demanded that they treat the weaker population like human beings and not enslave them.

Here is the text of the Papal Encyclical Sicut Dudem:

Eugene, Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God,

To our venerable brothers, peace and apostolic benediction, etcetera.

1. Not long ago, we learned from our brother Ferdinand, bishop at Rubicon and representative of the faithful who are residents of the Canary Islands, and from messengers sent by them to the Apostolic See, and from other trustworthy informers, the following facts: in the said islands—some called Lanzarote—and other nearby islands, the inhabitants, imitating the natural law alone, and not having known previously any sect of apostates or heretics, have a short time since been led into the Orthodox Catholic Faith with the aid of God’s mercy. Nevertheless, with the passage of time, it has happened that in some of the said islands, because of a lack of suitable governors and defenders to direct those who live there to a proper observance of the Faith in things spiritual and temporal, and to protect valiantly their property and goods, some Christians (we speak of this with sorrow), with fictitious reasoning and seizing and opportunity, have approached said islands by ship, and with armed forces taken captive and even carried off to lands overseas very many persons of both sexes, taking advantage of their simplicity.

2. Some of these people were already baptized; others were even at times tricked and deceived by the promise of Baptism, having been made a promise of safety that was not kept. They have deprived the natives of the property, or turned it to their own use, and have subjected some of the inhabitants of said islands to perpetual slavery, sold them to other persons, and committed other various illicit and evil deeds against them, because of which very many of those remaining on said islands, and condemning such slavery, have remained involved in their former errors, having drawn back their intention to receive Baptism, thus offending the majesty of God, putting their souls in danger, and causing no little harm to the Christian religion

3. Therefore, We, to whom it pertains, especially in respect to the aforesaid matters, to rebuke each sinner about his sin, and not wishing to pass by dissimulating, and desiring—as is expected from the pastoral office we hold—as far as possible, to provide salutarily, with a holy and fatherly concern, for the sufferings of the inhabitants, beseech the Lord, and exhort, through the sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ shed for their sins, one and all, temporal princes, lords, captains, armed men, barons, soldiers, nobles, communities, and all others of every kind among the Christian faithful of whatever state, grade, or condition, that they themselves desist from the aforementioned deeds, cause those subject to them to desist from them, and restrain them rigorously.

4. And no less do We order and command all and each of the faithful of each sex, within the space of fifteen days of the publication of these letters in the place where they live, that they restore to their earlier liberty all and each person of either sex who were once residents of said Canary Islands, and made captives since the time of their capture, and who have been made subject to slavery. These people are to be totally and perpetually free, and are to be let go without the exaction or reception of money. If this is not done when the fifteen days have passed, they incur the sentence of excommunication by the act itself, from which they cannot be absolved, except at the point of death, even by the Holy See, or by any Spanish bishop, or by the aforementioned Ferdinand, unless they have first given freedom to these captive persons and restored their goods. We will that like sentence of excommunication be incurred by one and all who attempt to capture, sell, or subject to slavery, baptized residents of the Canary Islands, or those who are freely seeking Baptism, from which excommunication cannot be absolved except as was stated above.

5. Those who humbly and efficaciously obey these, our exhortations and commands deserve, in addition to our favor, and that of the Apostolic See, and the blessings which follow there from, but are to be possessors of eternal happiness and to be placed at the right hand of God, etcetera

Given at Florence, January 13th, in the Year of Our Lord, 1435

And here is Sublimis Dei:

Sublimus Dei
Pope Paul III (Topic: the enslavement and evangelization of Indians)

To all faithful Christians to whom this writing may come, health in Christ our Lord and the apostolic benediction.

The sublime God so loved the human race that He created man in such wise that he might participate, not only in the good that other creatures enjoy, but endowed him with capacity to attain to the inaccessible and invisible Supreme Good and behold it face to face; and since man, according to the testimony of the sacred scriptures, has been created to enjoy eternal life and happiness, which none may obtain save through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, it is necessary that he should possess the nature and faculties enabling him to receive that faith; and that whoever is thus endowed should be capable of receiving that same faith. Nor is it credible that any one should possess so little understanding as to desire the faith and yet be destitute of the most necessary faculty to enable him to receive it. Hence Christ, who is the Truth itself, that has never failed and can never fail, said to the preachers of the faith whom He chose for that office 'Go ye and teach all nations.' He said all, without exception, for all are capable of receiving the doctrines of the faith.

The enemy of the human race, who opposes all good deeds in order to bring men to destruction, beholding and envying this, invented a means never before heard of, by which he might hinder the preaching of God's word of Salvation to the people: he inspired his satellites who, to please him, have not hesitated to publish abroad that the Indians of the West and the South, and other people of whom We have recent knowledge should be treated as dumb brutes created for our service, pretending that they are incapable of receiving the Catholic Faith.

We, who, though unworthy, exercise on earth the power of our Lord and seek with all our might to bring those sheep of His flock who are outside into the fold committed to our charge, consider, however, that the Indians are truly men and that they are not only capable of understanding the Catholic Faith but, according to our information, they desire exceedingly to receive it. Desiring to provide ample remedy for these evils, We define and declare by these Our letters, or by any translation thereof signed by any notary public and sealed with the seal of any ecclesiastical dignitary, to which the same credit shall be given as to the originals, that, notwithstanding whatever may have been or may be said to the contrary, the said Indians and all other people who may later be discovered by Christians, are by no means to be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, even though they be outside the faith of Jesus Christ; and that they may and should, freely and legitimately, enjoy their liberty and the possession of their property; nor should they be in any way enslaved; should the contrary happen, it shall be null and have no effect.

By virtue of Our apostolic authority We define and declare by these present letters, or by any translation thereof signed by any notary public and sealed with the seal of any ecclesiastical dignitary, which shall thus command the same obedience as the originals, that the said Indians and other peoples should be converted to the faith of Jesus Christ by preaching the word of God and by the example of good and holy living.

[Dated: May 29, 1537]

Christians did enslave and slaughter, but it was despite Christianity.

The Catholic Church should ordain married and women and gay priests so it can be just like the Episcopal Church...

...which has suffered a 23% decline in membership during the last decade.

The decline of mainstream liberal Protestantism is reaching a point where it can't be covered up.

How's that policy of promoting inclusiveness working out for you?

Episcopal Church announces that its membership level is the lowest in 70 years.

New statistics from the Episcopal Church show the group's loss of more than 200,000 members and 300 parishes between 2006 and 2010, bringing membership to its lowest since the 1930s.


In an Oct. 22 blog entry, commentator David Virtue noted that if the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion continues to lose active members at the present rate, then “in 26 years there will no longer be anyone attending an Episcopal church.”

Virtue made his prediction based on figures showing five years of consistent decline in average Sunday worship attendance, as well as total membership and number of parishes, in the Episcopal Church.

The official “Episcopal Domestic Fast Facts Trends 2006-2010” document showed a 16 percent decline in members since 2000.

The denomination has lost an average of 25,798 Sunday worshipers each year since 2006, bringing the total of U.S. Episcopal worshipers on a given Sunday to 657,831 in 2010. Overall, the Sunday attendance rate in Episcopal communities has declined by 23 percent since 2000.

With a total membership of 1,951,907 in 2010, the Episcopal Church has reached its lowest rate of membership since the 1930s. According to the Association of Religion Data Archives, the mainline Protestant denomination last reported having less than 2 million members in 1939.

Episcopalianism peaked numerically in 1959 with more than 3.4 million members. Since 1968, however, it has lost over one third of its membership.

That is an absolute decline.  The relative decline is absolutely staggering in the face of the quadrupling of the United States population during the Twentieth Century.

But, of course, according to the lady who runs the Episcopal Church in the United States, the decline is a design feature of Episcopalianism.  According to the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori :

Episcopalians tend to be better-educated and tend to reproduce at lower rates than some other denominations. Roman Catholics and Mormons both have theological reasons for producing lots of children… . We encourage people to pay attention to the stewardship of the earth and not use more than their portion.

So, in post-modern parlace, "be fruitful and multiply" means joining the voluntary human extinction movement.

If you too want to see your church become extinct, by all means ordain women and make homosexuality a lifestyle option for your clergy.

If only the Catholic Church ordained women priests, if only it would become more tolerant of homosexuality, then it could reach out to everyone and enjoy the same spirit-filled growth ....

... as the Episcopal Church.

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Latest Statistics Show Continued Denominational Decline


TEC will be out of business in 26 years figures reveal

2010 attendance figures for the Episcopal Church reveal a denomination in steep decline.


Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) in 2009 was 682,963. In 2010, ASA was 657,831, a decrease of 25,132.

The 10-year change in attendance has seen a decrease of 23%.

57% of all churches have lost more than 10% of their attendees in the last 5 years.

Median attendance per church has gone from 72 in 2006 to 65 in 2010, pushing many more churches below the threshold of the required number of attendees to support running a parish and to pay clergy.

54% of churches had fewer people attending in 2010 vs. 2009. Annual attendance declines are accelerating across the board.

The decline was 3% in 2006, 2008, and 2009. It was 5% in 2007 and is now back at 4% for 2010. This points to a widespread decline across the whole church.

The decline cannot be blamed on a few churches/dioceses leaving the denomination.

The gospel of lawsuits doesn't seem to be winning any converts and is slowly hemorrhaging viable dioceses. Active homosexual laity, priests and two bishops have failed to draw in anticipated crowds.