Is the church growing?
We have 18 congregations, including six on the Gulf Coast destroyed by Katrina, that have completed or are in the midst of capital campaigns for expansion. That’s a pretty good sign out of approximately 90 congregations. We are challenged in those parts of the state where the population is decreasing and, of course, the Coast has its own set of concerns. However, I think it is safe to say that the Episcopal Church is very healthy in Mississippi.
Your father and grandfather were bishops. Did you know you would be following that path?
Hardly. Though my experience with the church had been very positive and foundational, I went to college intending to be a teacher and a coach. My old football coach, Bob Tyler, talked me out of that career, and I tested other vocations – civil rights law and politics, in particular, while in college. Something kept being called out of me, I trust by God, that addressed societal reform, but that was far more intimate and personal than politics. After a year and a half working on Capitol Hill, I returned to seminary to complete my training for ordination. Only then did I fully understand that I was being called by God to the ordained ministry.
Q. Is the church growing?
A. The church is healthy
This sounds like avoiding the question. Raw data can be pretty easy to provide. There is always room for interpretation. Obviously the Gulf Coast was seriously damaged and churches will be impacted. In those areas a comparison would be useful (are Baptists and Methodist suffering proportional decline?). IF the House of Bishops is so full of Holy Spirit filled prophets why are they so political in their speaking? The prophets of old were never so reluctant. I believe the statistics are clear: The church is losing members and attendance is down. The people in our churches are older. Facts need to be interpreted, but facts are still facts. I have been amazed at the level of half truths and untruths….