After they elected their next bishop Saturday morning, Episcopalians in the Diocese of Kentucky had a short delay in contacting him with the good news.
That was because the Rev. Terry Allen White was busy at the cathedral that he pastors in Kansas City, Mo., serving as master of ceremonies for a ceremony of ordinations of new clergy.
“He’s having a very rich day,” Bishop Ted Gulick, who is retiring later this year, said after delegates elected White on the second ballot from among four nominees.
As TEC dioceses go, Bishop-elect White is getting a good one. Kentucky had a fairly smooth ride during 2002 through 2008 losing only 4 percent of Members and 7 percent of ASA while Plate & Pledge adjusted for inflation actually increased by 2 percent. Using these data I ranked Kentucky at 6 of 95 dioceses considered. The Cathedral in Kansas City did not fare nearly as well with greater losses in Members and ASA and a large loss in adjusted Plate & Pledge. And Kentucky appears fairly well off for the future. For Aging, there were 163 Infant Baptisms and 177 Burials in 2008. And in 2008, 21 of its 36 churches had Plate & Pledge of less than $150K which means that every two “rich” churches had 3 “poor” ones to help. Not too bad given the situation for many other TEC dioceses. Statmann
Statmann, some of that is being hidden. The larger parishes had been encouraged to hold off on reporting losses by a process of having to actually get in touch with people who hadn’t darkened the parish door in years. In fact, the largest parish just cut their official report of membership to nearly 50%. ASA records give a more honest assessment of where things stand.
Fr. Chris Larimer
Anglicans in Louisville