TEC Diocese of Central Pennsylvania announces Bishop Search process

You can find the webpage there, and the diocesan profile (15 page pdf) here. Of special interest is the Diocesan fast facts page:

Diocesan Baptized membership: 12,645; in 1998, this number was 16,852
Average Sunday attendance: 4,328
Parishes: 66
With clergy full time: 26
With clergy part-time: 30
With supply clergy: 10
Clergy:
Priests: 83 (including parochial, non-parochial, retired, and licensed but not canonically resident)
Deacons: 28 canonically resident, with 17 active
Parish staffing statistics
Fifteen of our parishes share clergy. In 2014, six of our parishes will move from full time clergy to
part-time. About half of our parishes have half-time or quarter-time clergy.
Christian Formation in our parishes
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with my eye upon you.”
Psalm 32:8
Thirty-seven of our parishes offer church school.Twenty-three of our parishes have a mid-week
Eucharist.
Twelve of our parishes reported persons under the age of 16 being confirmed.
In 1998, 52 of our parishes reported having some form of Adult Education; in 2013, 34 did.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * Christian Life / Church Life, Episcopal Church (TEC), Parish Ministry, TEC Bishops, TEC Data, TEC Diocesan Conventions/Diocesan Councils

4 comments on “TEC Diocese of Central Pennsylvania announces Bishop Search process

  1. CSeitz-ACI says:

    This is an extremely emblematic posting. I suspect it represents the situation for roughly 50% of TEC dioceses.

    66 parishes with approximately 65 attendees on average per Sunday.

    This explains why “half of our parishes have half-time or quarter-time clergy.” 15 “share clergy.”

    By my math, that leaves 18 parishes in the entire diocese able to afford a priest.

    This is the new TEC.

    Financially, it is unsustainable. One might hope that the #1 topic in HOB and comparable circles of influence is: how to adjust and simply survive/hold on.

  2. wildfire says:

    Following up on #1, by my calculation, Central Pennsylvania was almost the perfect median diocese as of 2012: there were 48 dioceses with smaller ASAs and 50 with larger. In 2012, C PA’s ASA was 4580. They now show it as 4328, a further loss of 5.5% in 2013. In 2002 it was 6330. They are off 32% since 2002.

    The Gamaliel principle at work.

  3. MichaelA says:

    Statmann would love this.

  4. MichaelA says:

    Tell them Bob Duncan will be available shortly. He is just finishing up a larger assignment, will have time on his hands (although he does have a local gig going as well), and he knows the area!