Another challenge on the horizon is demographic in nature. The Diocese of Indianapolis is typical of TEC, (and the other mainlines churches) in that most of our members belong to large parishes, while most of our parishes have fewer than 100 people worshiping on an average Sunday. In some dioceses these parishes need to look for part-time clergy, and a growing number of new priests need to be tentmakers ”“ earning some part of their living in secular work. Clergy are not as mobile as in the past, and often cannot move to new positions unless there is work available for a spouse or partner as well. As this trend continues, dioceses and seminaries will need to collaborate in providing a variety of ways to educate and form all our members for ministries.
TEC has been struggling over forty years to live out our conviction that the mission of the church depends on all our members; as the catechism says, “the ministers of the church are lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons.” Each order of ministry has its designated area of responsibility ”“ but there is a good deal of overlap, which is probably a good thing. Unless we are all working together to proclaim the Good News, to make the kingdom Jesus preached a reality, the mission of the church cannot be fully realized.
We have given a good deal of energy and attention to describing and defining the ministries of bishops and priests ”“ after all, much of our ministry is so public ”“ so ”˜up front’ and visible. We have done less well in acknowledging lay persons as the ”˜front line’ in proclaiming Christ and his kingdom in the world, and deacons as the iconic connection between our worship and our daily lives. It’s a special joy to celebrate the ordination of a deacon at our convention Eucharist, affirming the vital role of deacons among us.
“Our General Convention is among the largest deliberative bodies in the world – second only in the US to the Democratic National Convention. Believe me – there is nothing quite like being in the company of thousands of Episcopalians!”
Nothing like it at all . . . except being at the Democratic National Convention!
–Ordinariate Bound and former registered Democrat
[blockquote]“Our General Convention is among the largest deliberative bodies in the world – second only in the US to the Democratic National Convention. Believe me – there is nothing quite like being in the company of thousands of Episcopalians!â€[/blockquote]
Tee hee.
HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW . . . .
Yes . . . there’s certainly nothing like being at a MoveOn.org Episcopal convention.
It’s the *absolutely best* way to move moderate Episcopalians to conservative — send ’em to the General Convention and there eyes will be opened. As long as they don’t just *LEAVE TEC NOW* they come back much wiser — and much much much more distant.
Seriously. If you want to light a fire under a moderate Episcopalian, get ’em to run for GC deputy and send them on. It’s a guaranteed shift when they return.