Iâ??m doing a little math, and the consequences are troubling.
My own Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) just released its annual statistics, showing a rate of decline that would be truly amazing if it were at all unexpected. Between 2012 and 2013, the denominationâ??s membership fell by 1.4 percent, to 1.87 million, while Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) fell by 2.6 percent. Those percentages may not sound like much, until you realize that these are figures for a single year, and they closely echo the percentage drops for several preceding years. (I discussed these broader trends at this site back in 2012). The report received a â??nothing specialâ? headline at Episcopal Cafe, â??Rate of decline in Sunday attendance little changed from recent years.â?
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