Marie Manor was a “cradle” Episcopalian. The Scottsdale woman was born into an Episcopal family, but she said today’s Episcopal Church is not the one she was raised in, that it has moved away from historical truths about the authority of Holy Scripture and the divinity of Christ. So, she and her family have defected.
They are part of about 175 who left en masse from Christ Church of the Ascension Episcopal Church in Paradise Valley and last month started Christ Church Anglican, which now meets in a rented church building in Phoenix. They formed their first vestry, or 12-member church board, Tuesday night.
They represent about 40 percent of the average weekly attendance of about 420 at the historic Paradise Valley church where the late U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater had donated the land for the church, regularly worshipped and where his remains are buried, said Jane Allred, who handles the new church’s communications. Bishop Kirk Smith, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, disputes those numbers, saying it was a “small group of about 75 people out of a 1,000-member parish” who left in what he calls a “drastic step.”
Allred sticks to her numbers and said other Episcopalians from Phoenix and Scottsdale churches, plus some Lutherans and Catholics, have joined since their first service on Oct. 7.
The 2.1 million-member mainline denomination has seen a wave of departures for Anglican communities, citing actions by the House of Bishops to allow gay Episcopal bishops and same-sex union blessings. They say the American church contrasts with other parts of the global Anglican Communion, where, they say, tradition and adherence to Scripture remain strong. The Episcopal Church has experienced a 9 percent loss in membership since 1996.
The Diocese is not as big as the bishop suggests. ASA is maybe 10,000 at best. Further, Arizona has been one of the fastest growing states for well over a decade or two now with the Diocese losing membership most of this decade.
[blockquote] By [the bishop’s] count, it is no more than 300 joining Anglican groups. “That is 1 percent (of 30,000 members), we are not talking about a major loss of people.†[/blockquote]
All is wellâ„¢. Move along. Nothing to see here.
“Merely a flesh wound, come back and fight you coward” The Black Knight in Quest for the Holy Grail.
No doubt the bish is counting Barry as a regular attender since he hasn’t moved in decades! This is the “normative” way to count members, isn’t it? And Bishop Smith also doesn’t know who moved from the teaching of the Anglican Communion, it would seem. But such parochialism is normative in the HOB. So is the math.
What amazes me is the dismissive attitude of the National Church
in saying that it is a “tiny minority”. It sounds like this Bishop is
turning the parable of the good shepherd on it’s head. The 99
sheep are safe, so forget the one that is “lost” since it is only
a small minority. Does it ever occur to these folk to ask why
these people feel compelled to leave? Inquiring minds would
like to know.
Wonderful, A. McIntosh! Who cares about the one sheep? There are 99 left. Who cares about the one sheep? There are 98 left. Who cares about the one sheep? There are 97 left. Who cares about the one sheep? There are 96 left….
The actual numerical statistics are now available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/research.htm
Here is the diocesan statistics (or loss of sheep):
Year ASA % drop
2001 10954
2002 10604 3.300641267
2003 10575 0.274231678
2004 10170 3.982300885
2005 9958 2.128941555
2006 9677 2.903792498
N.B. 1 – Bp Kirk Smith has been in office since 2004.
N.B. 2 – Arizona’s population is exploding. It has increased by 20.2%, April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006. This is in comparison to only a 6% growth of the U.S. overall in the same time period.
Bp Kirk Smith – Feed my sheep. Don’t be so cavalier about the loss of one or two.