From 2002 through 2007 the diocese lost 7 percent of its Members, 15 percent of ASA, and Pledge & Pledge declined about 10 percent in real (inflation adjusted) dollars. Not good, but almost 50 percent of TEC dioceses had worst records for the same years. The diocese has two strong suits: only about 48 percent of its churches have small Plate & Pledge of less than $150,000 and it has not lost any entire parishes. It would serve well as a modal example of the TEC; a slow but steady death trend. If TEC can’t succeed in San Francisco, where can it? Statmann
I thought the Robinson consecration was supposed to make TEc attractive to the LGBT community & result in significant growth. Clearly the bishop of CA is supportive of the LGBT community, so where is the anticipated growth? (sarcasm off.)
Scott — we know they are there as Gene Robinson saw them with his own eyes. So I can only assume that they have invisibility cloaks that they put on when the attendance is counted. (Well — it’s an explanation that makes as much sense as most we are given today!)
No surprises here. I’m more interested in seeing the statistics of the Diocese of El Camino Real, which was my old stomping ground before I sw the Light.
Cennydd: Comparable figures for El Camino Real are Members down 17 percent, ASA down 21 percent, and Plate & Pledge in real dollars down 9 percent. Only 16 dioceses had a worst record for 2002 through 2007. Also, El Camino Real has a higher (59) percentage of small Plate & Pledge churches. I know of two parishes that have lost major parts of their Members. All in all, this diocese looks to be in poorer shape than California. It will be most revealing when one can view the 2009 stats. Statmann
California will lose at least one mission in this year’s statistics. St. Christopher’s in San Lorenzo has been quietly shuttered, and its land put up for sale. This was a fairly vibrant charismatic congregation (and a parish) 20 years ago. The demographics of the neighborhood have changed dramatically, but they were also, shall we say, not treated particularly well by Bishop Swing (who ran out at least one orthodox priest and made sure he was replaced with more liberal clergy). Rumor has it +Andrus made the decision without consulting the congregation or even notifying the vicar.
Thanks, Statmann! That diocese has been in a nosedive for the past 20 years. My former parish in San Jose, which I won’t name because my wife and I still have friends there, has been in severe financial straits for years; every time they need repairs to the building or the heating system, they have to have a fundraiser, and when we left the ASA was somewhere in the neighborhood of 100. The sanctuary was built to accomodate 250.
Meanwhile, two megachurches in town have an ASA of over 2,000! ECR is on a downhill slide, and the toboggan is picking up speed!
No. 2: this is the first I’ve heard (how many years after the event?) that the Robinson issue was driven by a calculus that it would fill the pews and plates. Source, please? Shows how out of touch I am, I guess.
NoVa Scout,
Sorry that I do not have a ready archive of sources to refer you to – other than to suggest you peruse the headlines of TitusOneNine, Stand Firm, Midwest Conservative Journal & Virtue Online articles from 2003. The argument that the Robinson consecration would bolster declining membership (not just among the LGBT community but also among younger generations) was almost ubiquitous among reappraisers at the time. I can also recall numerous HoB/T threads on the topic. Unfortunately I haven’t the time to go back and find specific citations, but those who were actively reading at the time will recall the theme.
Hey folks — for the past 2-3 years, I believe the 815ers set up a means to not allow redirects. There are simple codes that one can program in doing that. For this reason it’s best to link through TinyUrl — so as to fool their coding. This began, by the way, post 2006, and it’s been a source of some amusement for me to note.
From 2002 through 2007 the diocese lost 7 percent of its Members, 15 percent of ASA, and Pledge & Pledge declined about 10 percent in real (inflation adjusted) dollars. Not good, but almost 50 percent of TEC dioceses had worst records for the same years. The diocese has two strong suits: only about 48 percent of its churches have small Plate & Pledge of less than $150,000 and it has not lost any entire parishes. It would serve well as a modal example of the TEC; a slow but steady death trend. If TEC can’t succeed in San Francisco, where can it? Statmann
I thought the Robinson consecration was supposed to make TEc attractive to the LGBT community & result in significant growth. Clearly the bishop of CA is supportive of the LGBT community, so where is the anticipated growth? (sarcasm off.)
Scott — we know they are there as Gene Robinson saw them with his own eyes. So I can only assume that they have invisibility cloaks that they put on when the attendance is counted. (Well — it’s an explanation that makes as much sense as most we are given today!)
No surprises here. I’m more interested in seeing the statistics of the Diocese of El Camino Real, which was my old stomping ground before I sw the Light.
Cennydd: Comparable figures for El Camino Real are Members down 17 percent, ASA down 21 percent, and Plate & Pledge in real dollars down 9 percent. Only 16 dioceses had a worst record for 2002 through 2007. Also, El Camino Real has a higher (59) percentage of small Plate & Pledge churches. I know of two parishes that have lost major parts of their Members. All in all, this diocese looks to be in poorer shape than California. It will be most revealing when one can view the 2009 stats. Statmann
California will lose at least one mission in this year’s statistics. St. Christopher’s in San Lorenzo has been quietly shuttered, and its land put up for sale. This was a fairly vibrant charismatic congregation (and a parish) 20 years ago. The demographics of the neighborhood have changed dramatically, but they were also, shall we say, not treated particularly well by Bishop Swing (who ran out at least one orthodox priest and made sure he was replaced with more liberal clergy). Rumor has it +Andrus made the decision without consulting the congregation or even notifying the vicar.
AAlta Californian: You are quite right. The TEC Chart for St. Christopher (1997 to 2007) is already gone. Statmann
Thanks, Statmann! That diocese has been in a nosedive for the past 20 years. My former parish in San Jose, which I won’t name because my wife and I still have friends there, has been in severe financial straits for years; every time they need repairs to the building or the heating system, they have to have a fundraiser, and when we left the ASA was somewhere in the neighborhood of 100. The sanctuary was built to accomodate 250.
Meanwhile, two megachurches in town have an ASA of over 2,000! ECR is on a downhill slide, and the toboggan is picking up speed!
No. 2: this is the first I’ve heard (how many years after the event?) that the Robinson issue was driven by a calculus that it would fill the pews and plates. Source, please? Shows how out of touch I am, I guess.
As of 8am this morning the link is broken.
NoVa Scout,
Sorry that I do not have a ready archive of sources to refer you to – other than to suggest you peruse the headlines of TitusOneNine, Stand Firm, Midwest Conservative Journal & Virtue Online articles from 2003. The argument that the Robinson consecration would bolster declining membership (not just among the LGBT community but also among younger generations) was almost ubiquitous among reappraisers at the time. I can also recall numerous HoB/T threads on the topic. Unfortunately I haven’t the time to go back and find specific citations, but those who were actively reading at the time will recall the theme.
Hey folks — for the past 2-3 years, I believe the 815ers set up a means to not allow redirects. There are simple codes that one can program in doing that. For this reason it’s best to link through TinyUrl — so as to fool their coding. This began, by the way, post 2006, and it’s been a source of some amusement for me to note.
Here’s the link to the California stats page.
http://tinyurl.com/pa49m6