From the American Anglican Council:
Beloved in Christ,
Some banks, large and small, have gotten into a great deal of trouble during the last year and a half with uncollectible loans and assets that have steeply declined in value. In short, their books don't balance, and people's money is at risk. Fortunately for most bank customers, their accounts are FDIC insured, and when a bank fails, another absorbs it, and the customer's accounts remain relatively safe.
When it comes to churches, another institution that people trust, the same safety isn't always present. Banks hold our money, and if they lose it we can work to gain more, whereas churches deal with our soul, and if we lose that, we can't pick up another at the shopping mall.
As an example, the Episcopal Church (TEC) has vastly overstated their membership strength, withheld the really bad financial news, degraded their theology, lost membership, and their members' souls are in peril. A few orthodox dioceses hold out as exceptions, but in most of TEC the misinformation attempts to hide the interior collapse of what was once a theologically sound and growing denomination. The message used to be about Jesus Christ, Holy Scripture and transformed lives, but now that has morphed into theological diversity and openness to reinterpretation of Scripture, and because Jesus Christ is no longer considered essential to salvation, it puts members' souls at risk eternally.
In a newly authorized advertising campaign, TEC begins by saying, "As Episcopalians, we are followers of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit," and this sounds spot-on Christologically. What they don't say is that while they believe this is true for them, if you have another way to God, through Buddha, or Allah, or various other deities, and it works for you, that is fine. All roads lead to the same place. They believe this, but they usually don't advertise it publicly. In contrast, Jesus himself said that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and none come unto the Father except through Him.
In stories from around the country, things are not going well for TEC. The last figures we have found for TEC average Sunday attendance were 795,000, although with additional recent departures we suspect it is now lower. The attendance would translate into approximately 1.59 million in membership, yet TEC uses various figures around 2.3 million. What is the real membership total for TEC? More like 1.5 million on the generous side, what with the departures and closures. Speaking of closures, a recent article by David Virtue covers the scope of TEC's internal collapse. The Episcopal Diocese of Maine's Bishop Stephen T. Lane has said that a number of his congregations face "literal bankruptcy." This translates to large decreases in program and mission for the diocesan office itself, yet the bishop had time earlier this year to lobby the state legislature for passage of same-sex marriage. A referendum by the state's voters turned this down, much to the bishop's disappointment.
Virtue also reports that from the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts has come word that church building closures are now a common theme, and that they have had to close the church camp because they can't afford it any more.
Virtue reports that the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York has run into financial trouble. The bishop, Michael Garrison, could recently have sold the St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church building to the departing Anglican congregation, but instead chose to keep the building and pour money into funding a new congregation loyal to him. He has run out of money and has had to close the church plant and prepare to sell the building.
Other church closings are occurring around the United States, but read the Virtue article for the full story. The reality is that theological controversy is splitting and dividing churches all over North America, and it is not limited to the Episcopal Church. A close companion to TEC, sharing intercommunion and interchangeability of clergy, is the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). This body is only a few years behind TEC in the rapid plunge into chaos, but, befitting their Scandinavian background, they have tried to be more measured in the process. Nevertheless, at their recent meeting in Minneapolis (site of the 2003 Episcopal Church debacle where the election of a gay bishop was approved) the Lutherans approved steps to authorize homosexual clergy to pastor congregations. This was hotly contested, and the orthodox portion of the Lutheran body began to organize for what they thought might be a departure in a year or so. Mom and Pop Lutheran in the pew thought otherwise, and under some pressure, the conservative group, calling itself CORE, is now preparing for fairly immediate action.
Although some Lutheran sources have advised us that in the ELCA the property belongs to the local congregation as long as it stays within the Lutheran family, the departure of significant numbers of congregations from ELCA, taking their property with them to a new Lutheran Synod, might well prompt the ELCA to invent the hierarchy claim and purport to have a "Svenson Canon," that says people can leave but buildings remain behind. Time will tell, but we wish the Lutheran CORE group the best in their new journey of faith, and pray that they can indeed take their property with them.
Blessings and peace in Christ Jesus,
The Rt. Rev. David C. Anderson, Sr.
President and CEO, American Anglican Council
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