A sociologist has observed that one sign of a dying organization is that it will try to exercise increasingly tighter control over its shrinking membership.
Average Sunday attendance across the Episcopal church in 2010 was 657,831 in the United States. That compares to 856,579 in 2000 (a 23% decline in only ten years). In contrast the Anglican Church in North America now numbers over 1000 congregations and reported an increase in Average Sunday Attendance of 15% in one year (2010-2011). The ACNA also reported that 13% of its congregations were in the process of planting a church during 2011.
My purpose is not to make much of these statistics other than to observe that all the signs of life seem to be on one side. Meanwhile the Episcopal Church is headed toward a General Convention in Indianapolis next week where it is sure to approve rites for blessing same sex marriages. The main reason this won’t provoke a sizable exodus is that there aren’t that many conservatives left to leave. There is a disagreement not merely over the denomination’s budget but even how the budget should be presented and by whom. Then, for good measure, there is an official “Lament Over the Doctrine of Discovery” being thrown in, complete with prayers by the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies. For the uninitiated, this means repenting for the fact that European settlers came to America.
The “Lament” is being described as:
[blockquote]A prayerful gathering, in a Sacred Circle,
with readings, stories, prayers, songs, reflection,
giving and receiving;
In acknowledgment of and response to the tragic consequences
of the Doctrine of Discovery;[/blockquote]
Just for fun, try Googling the term “Sacred Circle” and notice how many of the results refer to anything even remotely Christian. (Hint: it’s a nice round number, i.e., zero.)
How about a lament for the hunter-gatherers who were displaced/assimilated by paleolithic agriculturalists in Britain six to eight thousand years ago, followed by a lament to the displacement of those paleolithic agriculturists by Goidelic Celts and then the displacement of the Goidelic Celts in Britain by nthe Brythonic Celts, and then a lament for the disruption/destruction of Celtic kingdoms by the conquering Roamns, and then a lament for the conquering/displacement of Romanized Celts by the Germanic hordes, and then a lament for the Plantation of Ireland, and then a lament for the impoverishing and culture destroying Highland Clearances, etc.
And by nthe way, how about a lament for the Native Americans displaced/conquered by the Iroquois (not picking on them solely) in what is now New State and its surrounds, etc.
Where does this impossible turning back of the clock end?
Time marches on and only those who wish to stagnate in bitterness dwell with fixation on the events of the past.
A proper prayer would be for the improvement of the current situation of the Native Americans (whom some of my ancestors fought alongside as Tories during the American Revolution), a provision of reservation lands that are sovreign to the extent that tribal permission is absolutely required for any infringement (such as roads, national defense, etc.), preservation of culture including a return of tribal languages (as in Hebrew in israel) and customs, etc.
The Oneida in Central New York are already using their casino proceeds to buy back large tracts of real estate.