The state will be the shining star of the Anglican Communion today when the Rev. Ian T. Douglas is consecrated the 15th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.
Douglas sits on the Anglican Consultative Council, which represents Anglicans worldwide, so he is well known outside the Episcopal Church. He asked a friend, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, to be the preacher today.
Douglas, formerly professor of world mission at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., said his connections will benefit the diocese, and vice versa.
“I’m not afraid to call in favors around the world to help us in Connecticut,” he said recently. “I have a pretty good Rolodex that I would hope to utilize.”
The new bishop is certainly getting a fiscal gem. May well position him for future PB. The diocese had the rather typical 2002 through 2008 experience with Members down 11 percent, ASA down 18 percent, and Plate & Pledge adjusted for inflation down 6 percent. Using these data I ranked the diocese at 51 out of 95 considered. But I think that they are relatively in better shape for the future. Connecticut was the richest State in the USA in per capita income in 2008. Aging is not too bad with 891 Infant Baptisms and 967 Burials in 2008. Parish size looks good with only 63 of 171 churches with ASA of 70 or less. Also in 2008, 87 of the 171 had Plate & Pledge of $150K or more which means that each “rich” church had only one “poor” church to help. And at this time the ACNA has only 5 churches in the entire State. Statmann
What sort of favors do you suppose he’ll be able to call in from around the globe?
What a crassly secular couple of sentences we have here from Ian Douglas. Just like a climbing corporate executive with his sights set higher.
And for a little window into his [i]pretensions[/i], we have this amusing line: “Douglas said he chose them [as consecrators] because they are diverse in race, sex and theology, and so represent “the catholicity of the church.â€
Indeed — if only he could have thrown in an Incan virgin sacrificer and perhaps one or two other representatives of “the catholicity of the church” the ceremony might have been even more, like, you know, “catholic.”
Because that’s what Douglas is all about, guys, just in case you hadn’t noticed — “catholicity.”
; > )
Some caution is needed when characterizing a religious leader’s comments based on what a secular newspaper reports. It’s very clear from the lead that the editor who wrote the piece was quite impressed by the luminaries in attendance — enough so as to frame the story in terms of “look how important Connecticut is today!” rather than on the spiritual and religious impact of consecrating a bishop.
I don’t know anything about +Douglas and I was an editor for many years — the tone of this piece surprised me as it ignored the religious/spiritual aspects. That can’t be pinned entirely on +Douglas. Frankly, it seems to me, by the tone, that +Douglas or +Tutu could have elucidated points of Christian doctrine and tradition beautifully and it wouldn’t have gotten much of a mention, if any at all.