The spirit of the Fall House of Bishops meeting in New Orleans was extraordinary. We heard clear statements ”“ not many questions, but clear statements, some of them confronting to be sure ”“ from several guests who are members of the Anglican Consultative Council. For me the presence and ministry of the Archbishop of Canterbury was a blessing. To hear him speak of the situation of his own ministry, and gently to challenge us in ours, is so different from reading about him through the press or even unpacking his own writing.
“Have we been too timid in planning for mission together? Perhaps, yes. The harvest before us is plentiful, sisters and brothers. There is so much more for us to be and do for Christ, especially in supporting mission outreach and evangelism in Connecticut and in the Communion, in witnessing for justice and social change, in supporting spiritual and mission development in our parishes.”
Judging by the statistics, +Smith would be well advised to focus on his home diocese. In ten years, baptized membership has declined from 77,000 to 65,000 and ASA from 24,000 to 20,000. These are not good numbers, yet he makes no mention of them.
http://12.0.101.88/reports/PR_ChartsDemo/exports/ParishRPT_1026200761722PM.pdf
It should also be noted that Connecticut overall has been growing in population:
http://www.censusscope.org/us/s9/chart_popl.html
The u.s. government census site has projections of continued increases in Connecticut’s population going forward also:
http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/projectionsagesex.html
Please. You both insist too much on the limited view that growth can only be defined in one manner. Growth in the DioCT as in the ECUSA/TEC in general is negative but it is growth, guys, for the PB tells us so. Metaphorically growth is acceleration. There is postive acceleration and negative acceleration, but it IS all acceleration. Substitute growth for acceleration, and, voila’, there you have it. It seems to be related to polity………….