Recently, however, the effects of an evolving U.S. Episcopal Church played out very differently at an east Portland Episcopal parish. On May 3, The Oregonian featured the story of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, where nearly 100 members left to form St. Matthew’s Anglican Church. Representatives of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church say they no longer feel “respected” by the U.S. Episcopal Church and are not comfortable with its modern interpretations of Scripture.
These arguments are not new: They are the same ones that have been used by breakaway priests and parishioners for 150 years as the Episcopal Church has evolved through slavery, women’s suffrage, civil rights, women’s rights and now the LGBT debate.
The members of the new St. Matthew’s are in a statistical minority; from 2003-08, the Oregon Episcopal diocese lost 2 percent of its baptized members, and the national Episcopal Church lost 9 percent. Researchers say pinning these declines purely on the church’s affirming of LGBT rights is difficult; they say the influence of a growing secular society cannot be ignored.
The St. Matthew’s schism is exactly what [Ted] Berktold worked hard to prevent at St. Mary’s. What follows are excerpts from a May 1 conversation with Berktold and [Bingham] Powell in Eugene.
Oregon did in fact better survive the 2003 through 2008 experience than most dioceses in TEC. (One small correction is that from 2002 through 2008 the diocese lost about 8 (not 2) percent of its Members. By using 2003 as the base year one can claim a much better record for a pre-VGR and post-VGR comparison.) But the future may be a bit more difficult. The diocese is Aging with 234 Infant Baptisms and 326 Burials in 2008. As for Money the diocese had 49 of its 74 churches with Plate & Pledge below $150K in 2008 which means that each “rich” church had 2 “poor” churches to help. Oregon may be youthful and liberal but will they be liberal with their treasure? Statmann
Wow.
How wonderful that this church has made it through the whole TEC gay-sex-is-holy-and-blessed crisis without schism.
[blockquote]This spring, Berktold retired from St. Mary’s, having successfully avoided schism within his parish, and he handed the church to a 28-year-old priest named Bingham Powell.
Walker: The national church lost about 9 percent of its membership from 2003 to 2008. Why did St. Mary’s get stronger?
Berktold: We brought in a new assistant priest [Bingham, who is now head priest] who offered excitement for young families and individuals of all types: gay, lesbian, married, heterosexual, rich, poor. You just feel better knowing there is some future to the church. And just as the sexuality issue didn’t blow this place over, the current economic storm isn’t blowing it over, either.
Walker: Did not choosing sides help keep people in the pews?
Berktold: Oh yes. If I had taken a strong stand of appointing or rejecting or ejecting anyone from the parish it would’ve made a big difference. This is a church that is inclusive despite individual opinions.[/blockquote]
It’s wonderful that the parish is so much “stronger”. And that the new priest has brought “excitement for young families and individuals of all types.”
What’s that you say?
The church did not grow?
Well . . . hey . . . just holding even is significant in these days, in TEC.
What’s that?
You say it lost almost 25% of its membership???? During the years that it was growing “stronger” from 2003 to 2008??????????????????????????????????
Going from . . . [wait for it] . . . [i]a membership of a little over 800 to around 630 in a matter of five years?[/i]
Looks as if the ASA is around the same as in 2003.
Folks — we couldn’t make this stuff up if we tried.
This freak show of pretension and fakery is just intrinsic to TEC revisionist activists’ natures and identity.
People from my generation do not seem to have the same degree of problems and questions around same-sex vestings
What’s the evidence for this? Does he ever visit other churches and compare ages? At the very least, younger Christians do not care enough about the issue to leave their hip churches with young crowds in order to belong to ‘inclusive’ churches with old folks.
RE: “People from my generation do not seem to have the same degree of problems and questions around same-sex vestings . . . ”
Yeh . . . maybe he meant “liberal activists from my generation do not seem to have the same degree of problems and questions . . . ”
; > )