The future leader of the Episcopal Diocese for the Buffalo region has been on a tour, visiting the many parishes under his watch, meeting with congregation leaders and taking a moment to play any nearby organ.
The Rev. Dr. R. William Franklin is the bishop elect for the Diocese of Western New York. In that role he will act as the chief clergy officer for the area, which covers seven counties and has 63 different parishes. He’ll provide oversight to those congregations and act as the main bridge between church and community.
Franklin’s tour recently took him to St. Matthias Episcopal Church in East Aurora, where he met with parish directors and examined the building’s architecture, showing his general appreciation of church history. During that time, Franklin spoke of his goals when he officially becomes bishop next month, including welcoming a younger generation and providing another supportive voice for the community.
Whatever canned information about their about-to-be consecrated bishop the Western New York diocese has been giving out, it certainly glides entirely over his questionable service as the Episcopal seminary Dean at Yale. One wonders if Western New York convention delegates were ever allowed to know about this before their electing a new bishop.
Given the train wreck that +Garrison is leaving, the diocese may be lucky to even have a new bishop elect. The 2002 through 2009 experience was brutal with Members down 31.8 percent, ASA down 34.2 percent, and Plate & Pledge (adjusted for inflation) down 29.7 percent. I ranked the diocese at 94 of 95 considered. And in 2009, 41 of the 60 churches had ASA of 66 or less and only 8 churches of the 60 had Plate & Pledgee of $150K or more which means that each “rich” church had 6 “poor” churches to help support. And eeven more bleak was the 35.2 percent decline in Marriages and the awful 48.8 percent decline in Infant Baptisms. The most recent number that I have seen puts Buffalo with about 30 percent below the poverty level. And New York State went from 4th highest per capita income in 2007 to 6th in 2009. Franklin+ may well have been the “pick of the litter”. Statmann
Thanks Statmann. Very sad, but oh so predictable in a church led by Katherine Schori and her cronies…