The bishop of the Diocese of Eastern Michigan, Todd Ousley, recently addressed his diocesan convention on November 11 in Gaylord, Michigan, noting that some parishes in his Lower Peninsula diocese are facing economic scarcity and demographic decline:<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin the Diocese of Eastern Michigan, these past ten years have seen a decline in membership and Average Sunday Attendance. We are now 45 congregations on our way very quickly to 43. Annual congregational giving has declined making financial viability increasingly difficult for an increasing number of congregations. Our population continues to decline and Michigan demographics show us growing older while losing our young to opportunities in other parts of the country,\u201d\u009d Ousley reported. \u201cThe reality of our communities and our churches is one that ought make all of us pause.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
The diocese has indeed been hard-hit, losing 28% of members and 36% of attendees from 2005-2015, a rate of decline that surpasses the national denomination. Marriages and baptisms have taken a bigger hit, with the former down 63%, while children\u2019s baptisms were down 47 percent and adult baptisms down 62%.<\/p>\n