CIRCLING THE DRAIN

from Midwest Conservative Journal by The Editor

The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri held its convention last weekend and Bishop George Wayne Smith wanted attendees to know just how gosh-darned spiffy Episcopal matters are around here:

"The work of mission becomes all the more crucial for a Church like the Episcopal Church, which continues its numerical decline. Over the last decade, our Church has lost 16 percent in Sunday worshipers. In the one year from 2007-8 average Sunday attendance declined 3.1% among domestic dioceses. These are not happy numbers. In that same one-year period the Diocese of Missouri showed a .4 % increase in Sunday worship, which continues the same pattern of radical stability this Diocese has seen for the past decade."

Less than 1%, huh? George, you and I both know that that’s a rounding error, buddy. But what’s the reason for the decline? It’s not about Robbie, insists George.

"I think it is important to say numbers like these out loud, and to do so without blame or scorn. Finding fault is not my purpose; telling the truth is. There are underlying reasons for the decline and they may be other than the supposed reasons—for example less to do with a gay bishop and more to do with the increasingly rapid secularization of American culture. More to do with the small number of babies Episcopalian parents tend to have. But I find that telling the truth about our Church’s decline takes away anxiety."

Mrs. Schori has already famously remarked that Episcopal moms don’t squirt them out as often as the Catholics do. But if “secularization” were a factor, wouldn’t other churches show similar freefalls?

What about those kids who do manage to make out of the womb, eventually decide that the Episcopal Organization has nothing to tell them and join other churches? Does that play a role at all? And then there’s the whole money issue.

"Another matter of numbers must be named, and that is the financial reality affecting people throughout this diocese. Clergy and laity tell me about lay-offs and underemployment, job transfers and job losses. These are pastoral and fiscal realities everywhere in this diocese. Parishes suffer economically whenever people lose jobs and parishes with investment income have seen that income diminish dramatically. Such has been the case for the Diocese of Missouri and our investments. Parish giving has mostly been meeting the anticipated marks—which is not to say that every parish has met the full assessment. But giving this year at least has been close to historic trends. The drop in investment income, however, has taken its toll. And in light of these realities Council has drafted a responsible budget to propose to you. I do not call it a balanced budget for two reasons. On the revenue side there is the realistic projection that the income from parish assessments will be underfunded, and on the expense side there are obligations and possibilities that will not be met—including the the fact of not funding a senior position on my staff. And so I balk at calling this a balanced budget. But even with all the pain involved, it is at least a responsible budget. I remain convinced that we have all the resources, human and financial, to do what God calls us to do. We will have to arrange our work differently than we have in recent years—but the greatest wealth of this diocese lies in the 14,000 Episcopalians living in the eastern half of the state. As we move ahead we will need to tap this human resource more closely."

Meaning: a lot of you are going to have to do a lot more volunteering a lot more often. Moving on, General Convention was a lot of fun without all those damned fundies around.

"The spirit of the General Convention was by far the most pacific of the three I have attended. Most of the the bishops and deputies tried finding ways to move toward one another, despite ongoing disagreement."

Which there wasn’t any of.

"The tensions around the counter-balancing issues of the Anglican Communion and human sexuality did not resolve, nor is such resolution likely in the near term. Even so, my sense was of most people trying to move toward one another."

Are there any conservatives left in this diocese? If there are, I’ve got two words for you and both of them are neener.

"You should know that I remain committed to the Church’s full inclusion of the faithful gay men and lesbians among us, maintaining all the while the greatest degree of communion possible. It is no easy matter. And timing is everything, as far as I can tell. These issues do not always want to balance. I know that for many in the Diocese of Missouri the tension around these matters becomes too painful at times; it does also for me. I am, however, now mostly at peace with this tension, trusting that the Church remains in God’s hands."

I’m sure you are, George. I’m sure it keeps you up at night now and then. George Wayne Smith, if you need him.