St. John’s, the fourth oldest Episcopal Church in the state, was established in 1853. For most of its history, the church thrived….

[Henry] Delamere said St. John’s predicament is a product of several factors, including a split four years ago in the wake of a church-wide split.

In addition, costs of maintaining the facility continue to increase.

“There’s a combination of other factors,” [Jan] Caselli said. “Megachurches are growing in leaps and bounds, and we have an aging congregation that’s not drawing in young families.”

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Each year, as Convention comes around, I look at the numbers you present in your Parochial reports. The figures I pay attention to are those related to Sunday average attendance, baptisms and confirmations or receptions in a given year, Easter Sunday attendance, which often gives a picture of potential for those numbers, tends to come close to total communicants, and financial health as shown by average pledge per week. The total number of enrolled members has always lagged behind reality depending on the energy of clergy to obtain a membership that represents the recent present. We all know that two in three people on Episcopal rolls never show up at church unless of course you have just happened to have culled the list the year before! The three values of vitality, visibility and viability are not really captured in the Parochial Report. I do know however that God’s impact through any particular group of the baptized in a given place always far exceeds anything we can know or report.

The apparent irrelevance, however, of the totals on baptized persons, or even communicants, for understanding our life as Church points to a huge weakness in our faith system. We are poor at keeping track of one another. This is so at the very place where we might hope greater commitment is being expressed, namely at Confirmation.

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The church, originally located adjacent to the University of Nevada, Reno campus, has served the community in its current building for 45 years.

“It’s been the university’s church all those years, but participation has waned,” said Deacon Jim McGrew, who is executive assistant to the Nevada’s Episcopal bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dan Edwards. “As I understand it, the church has 31 regular, contributing members, and that became unacceptable because we just could not keep it open that way.

“It’s too bad because it’s a very nice church, and we’ll probably sell the building,” McGrew said.

The church opened on West Seventh Street Nov. 21, 1965, and will hold a private service Nov. 21. The church moved to West Seventh Street from the university district because of Interstate 80 freeway construction, McGrew said.

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One of the oldest churches in the north state is up for sale, a victim of the recession coupled with an aging and dwindling congregation.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, which has stood at Lane and Fourth streets near downtown Yreka since 1881, will close its doors Jan. 1, church parishioners announced Monday.

Seventy-year-old Harry Shannon, a heartbroken 21-year member of the church, said this week he’s hoping that his beloved church can be saved, but that it appears the closure is a done deal.

“It’s not luck we’re looking for,” he said. “It’s a miracle.”

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Throughout its 175-year history, members of Christ Church have tried to be true to the Bible’s messages of spreading the light.

Members have been instrumental in the founding of Habitat for Humanity, the Professional Center for Child Development of Andover, the Neighbors in Need food pantries in Lawrence and Methuen, Bread and Roses soup kitchen in Lawrence, and Esperanza Academy, an all-girls middle school in Lawrence.

“When you spread that light out, you get lit within,” said Margot Bixby, who has been attending the church since 1959.

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Update: In order to generate a pictorial chart of this parish, please go [url=http://www.episcopalchurch.org/109378_107383_ENG_HTM.htm]here[/url] and enter “Massachusetts” in the second line down under “Diocese.” Next please wait a moment and then click on “Church” and choose “Christ Church (Andover, MA)”. Then wait another moment and choose “View Church chart” under that line (the middle of the three choices).

A group of young adults are living at Christ Church on Broadway but working in the city that surrounds it, extending the tradition of service on which the parish was founded in 1854.

The new program is called St. Hilda’s House, and Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will dedicate it at a High Mass at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The seven first-year interns are volunteering at St. Martin de Porres Academy, Christian Community Action, the Your Place youth center at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Chapel on the Green, Community Soup Kitchen and Christ Church, serving lunch, coordinating volunteers, leading after-school teen activities and holding Bible study.

Most, but not all, are considering becoming priests.

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The Rev. Jason Catania, rector of Mount Calvary since 2006, said the congregation has consulted with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore about the parish’s future and with the Diocese of Maryland about the possibility of amicable separation.

If the congregation affirms the vestry’s two resolutions, the parish will send a proposal to the Diocese of Maryland’s standing committee four days later, Fr. Catania told The Living Church.

“A group from the standing committee has met with the vestry, and Bishop [Eugene] Sutton will be here on Sunday [Oct. 10] to hear from the folks,” he said.

He said Mount Calvary already had begun thinking about becoming a Roman Catholic parish when the All Saints Sisters of the Poor announced their decision to become a Roman Catholic Order.

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It had been sometime since I had visited a parking lot before a National Football League game. In my previous career, and even during seminary, I followed television camera crews into special parking lots and flashed press passes at the media gates. So I guess you could say I had never “tailgated” at a Charger game in my hometown of San Diego or, for that matter, anywhere else.

I saw something called a Ravenswalk at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium, filled with bands, merchants, contests, games, food and fans. Lots of fans. It was the Baltimore Ravens’ home opener and we at the Diocese of Maryland thought we should offer Holy Eucharist in the parking lot for Episcopalians who have to choose between church or football on the handful of Sundays the Ravens are in town.

One of our parishes had done this three seasons ago. The rector then, the Rev. Scott Slater, is now the canon to the ordinary. He encouraged us as we had plans in the works when he joined the staff this summer….

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Jefferts Schori’s stop in Shepherdstown ended a three-church pilgrimage to the Mountain State. She also visited Christ Church in Fairmont, W.Va., and St. Luke’s on Wheeling Island.

She said that during a dinner at Christ Church, paper stars were passed out inviting those eating to write notes to its rector, who is facing cancer surgery. The woman turned 29 Saturday and the congregation had seen her only once since she became ill in May, Jefferts Schori said.

“At some point … a parishioner stood up and offered a lament … ”˜Why is this vibrant young woman so terribly sick? Why has our shepherd been taken away?’” Jefferts Schori said during her sermon.

“Questions like those haunt all of us at some time or other,” she said. “That lament is universal. Why can’t we fix it? Oh, God, why?”

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In order to generate a pictorial chart of this parish, please go [url=http://www.episcopalchurch.org/109378_107383_ENG_HTM.htm]here[/url] and enter “Upper South Carolina” in the second line down under “Diocese.” Next please wait a moment and then click on “Church” and choose “Trinity (Columbia, SC)”. Then wait another moment and choose “View Church chart” under that line (the middle of the three choices).

You may find the parish website there.

I do not like the new way the website is laid out at all–it is very user unfriendly. In any event, use these numbers to get a sense of where your diocese has been.

Then go to the link at the end of this sentence and enter the name of your diocese (and parish if you desire) and you can see some of the data from 2009 (Click on the “Studying Your Congregation and Community” words under Research if you have any trouble).

The installation of Jane Alison Shaw as the eighth dean of Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill on Nov. 6 is a milestone ”” she will be the first woman to lead the cathedral, which was founded during the Gold Rush in 1849.

Dr. Shaw will also be the cathedral’s first openly gay dean.

“I’m glad I live in a moment in history when I can answer the call,” Dr. Shaw said in a telephone interview from England, where she is finishing work as the dean of divinity at Oxford University.

While one’s sexual orientation rarely raises an eyebrow in San Francisco these days, the Episcopal Church has been torn apart over the issue of full inclusion for gay men and lesbians. Dr. Shaw’s elevation to lead one of the denomination’s most prominent churches is “a signal moment,” said The Rev. Marc Handley Andrus, bishop of the Diocese of California. “We seek to be a house of prayer for all people.”

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The town [of Fishkill, New York] boasts an impressive involvement in the Revolutionary War, with several of its buildings having been used for various military purposes at the time. Among those sites, Trinity Episcopal Church on Route 52, just east of Route 9, served as a hospital for Gen. George Washington’s troops.

A formal plan to form the Fishkill church began in 1756, following a missionary visit to the village by the Rev. Samuel Seabury, which was sponsored by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Seabury convinced the society there was adequate support for an English church in the region.

Because the new church was required to provide a priest’s salary and a glebe (a farm to house clergy), Trinity Church and Christ Church in the City of Poughkeepsie agreed to share a priest, who was housed in today’s historic Glebe House along Main Street in the city.

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If you go to the link toward the end of this sentence and enter “Indianapolis” as the name of the diocese and then go to “Church” (the third possible entry line) and enter “Saint Paul’s, Jeffersonville” underneath the entry point (where you will see a list of parishes alphabetically in the Indianapolis diocese) then you can see in pictorial form some of the data from 1999-2009.

You may find the parish website there.

Read it all and watch the video–so appropriate on this day.

A survey conducted by the Forward has found that Jewish and Christian religious institutions appear to raise about the same amount per member, despite the fact that church giving is voluntary and synagogues charge membership dues.

The more than 20 churches and synagogues surveyed by the Forward represent a sampling from a variety of denominations in six cities across America. While there are significant regional and denominational differences, an examination of the aggregate data indicates that the amount raised per individual member is very similar between synagogues and churches. But the level of participation is quite different: While synagogues require roughly the same amount of dues from each of their members, church giving does not appear to be so evenly distributed.

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What distinguishes your church? We have a very broad theology that embraces both ends of the spectrum between Catholicism and Protestantism. The idea that we are open to anyone regardless of belief traditions, race, class, gender, orientation. We all sort of come together under the understanding that we are faithful people.

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At first, the concept of “Undie Sunday” unsettled some members of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.

Tighty-whiteys and the Lord’s house, after all, are not a natural fit.

“Some of the older people were saying, ‘How can you talk about underwear in church?’ — but once they realized there was such a need, everyone got around it,” church member and collection organizer Lelia Druzdis said.

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From here:

Bishop Lawrence has called for a meeting of all parochial clergy of the diocese who have seat, voice and vote at the Convention for Thursday, September 2, 2010. The meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m. at St. Paul’s in Summerville. In preparation for the meeting clergy are asked to review a copy of the Title IV canon changes passed at the last General Convention. This will be central to tomorrow’s discussions. View the document. Clergy are encouraged to bring a printed copy of the document with them to the meeting.

It appears after a brief introductory letter. Please read it all.

The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina cleared the way Wednesday for Trinity Episcopal Cathedral to dissolve its 11-year relationship with the Very Rev. Philip C. Linder, the dean who was suspended in July.

Bishop W. Andrew Waldo lifted the original suspension ”” for violating a pastoral directive not to speak to members about a growing leadership conflict ”” and indicated he would not file formal disciplinary charges against Linder.

But Waldo insisted Linder remain “constrained” from ministry at the city’s oldest and most prominent Episcopal congregation. The Rev. Charles M. Davis Jr. remains acting dean.

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Using a two-sides-of-the-coin approach ”” traditional liturgy and social outreach ”” St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Hollywood, has found success in a transitory neighborhood and an often anti-religious culture. In the process, it has become a model for catechetical training, new-member retention and fundraising.

“If you want snobby ”˜privileged at prayer’ go to Beverly Hills,” said longtime parishioner Michael Ensign. “We’re a funny little outpost at Hollywood and Gardner; a real ship of fools. But we’re clear about who we are. We’re messy and very human, but in messiness is God.”

Ensign has been at the church for 22 years. He is a career actor and veteran of too many movies and television series to list (including Big Love, CSI, and Boston Legal).

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It was a celebration of how people of different faiths can work together for the common good. An interfaith sunrise worship service at Trinity Episcopal Church in Pass Christian recognized the impact that many religious groups have had in hurricane recovery.

Jews, Christians. Muslims and Hare Krishnas were at the sunrise worship service. All believers were welcome.

“That we all serve an awesome God,” said Alice Graham, Mississippi Coast Interfaith Disaster Task Force. “We come to that service of God from different faith traditions. We’re unified in that we serve a God that calls us all into community.”

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Christ Church uses remarkably simple equipment to take prayer to the people in southeast Schenectady, New York.

I arrived at the church at 9 a.m. with Torre Bissell and we set up a 4-by-4 folding table with five chairs.

“Put it here,” Torre said, pointing to the crack in the sidewalk that must have been the property line. “That way no one can say we’re on the sidewalk. And point chairs this way, facing out. That way people don’t feel trapped.”

And that was it. A laminated sign reading “Prayer Table” flapped from the front. Torre pulled out a pen and paper and jotted down my name and his and the day’s date. Then he pulled out a bag of wooden crosses and laid out a few along with a thin paperback English Standard Version New Testament.

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It’s church versus state in a local taxation battle.

Episcopal church officials say the property tax assessment on land next to Holy Apostles Church on the Oneida Indian Reservation is unlawful because it’s designated a cemetery.

Village of Hobart assessor Mike Denor says 23 acres that have a 2010 property tax obligation of about $600 are mostly woods, and even calling it a cemetery “is kind of a stretch.”

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Maggie Thompson, the ex-wife of John Bennison, was instrumental in sharing information that resulted in the presentment. She underwent grueling hours of testimony at the original trial, and was present along with other persons mentioned in the trial briefs at the hearing held in May by the Court of Review.

The Court of Review, while acknowledging that Charles Bennison was guilty of Conduct Unbecoming a Member of the Clergy, overturned the conviction because the statute of limitations had expired.

The victims of the Brothers Bennison were victimized once. Now they’ve been victimized yet again by the judgment of the Court of Review. Fortunately, John Bennison is no longer a priest. Unfortunately, Charles Bennison is free to once again resume the reigns of the Diocese of Pennsylvania.

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At 33, [Ryan] Wright is young compared to most priests, yet his vision is clearer than many who have been in the clergy for decades.

“I don’t think my age is really a factor,” he said. That is unless you count intense passion as an age-thing.

“As Christians we are called to enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ, but that is only the beginning,” he said. “The fruits of that relationship are a desire to live and share the Gospel with our neighbors and to enjoy fellowship with our community to experience the transformative power of being in a relationship with Christ within this world.”

When asked what he finds most rewarding in his new cure thus far, Wright comes forth immediately with his response, “From the joy of grandkids to the death of a loved one, the whole church community can come together to share and bear hard places as well as celebrate the positive. It is my pleasure to invite God into those places.”

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I will tell you something candidly. As a priest standing before a congregation, it is quite an experience to be mindful not only of those gathered in Trinity Church, but also of those watching from afar: England, Kenya, Australia, Germany, and in towns and cities across the United States…

This is true for people in the pews as well. It is challenging to maintain the intimacy of an in-person parish setting when the world is watching. Part of the story of Trinity’s near ten years of webcasting its 11:15 a.m. Sunday service is this congregation’s ability to say of its liturgical tradition, yes, this is worth sharing. On the other hand, there are times when our connectivity creates intimacy that would not have existed otherwise, or enhances that which was already there.

I’m thinking now of the time recently when the Very Rev. Robert Osborne, Dean of St. John’s Cathedral in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, read the Prayers of the People for the opening Eucharist of Trinity Institute. There he was with his flock, in Winnipeg, and here he was as a presence in Trinity Church, connecting two congregations in the same spiritual place.

Read it all–and I love the Georgia story–KSH!

Read it carefully and read it all.

See what you make of it.