Episcopal Church dropped 6% in ASA in 2013 over 2012

Church edges closer to dropping below 2 million membership mark

Departure of Diocese of South Carolina left TEC with plummeting numbers

By David W. Virtue with Mary Ann Mueller

www.virtueonline.org

Oct. 4, 2014

The Episcopal Church dropped six percent in domestic Average Sunday

Attendance from 2012 to 2013, with every diocese except one experiencing

decline. Only Western North Carolina saw a slight uptick in membership

(72); ASA (44); and pledging ($282,000).

Based on bar graph calculations, overall domestic ASA figures in 2012

(including South Carolina) were 640,142. Approximate figures for 2013

are 611,575 -- a drop of 28,567 (without South Carolina which did not

report its figures). With figures obtained from the Diocese of South

Carolina (Anglican), the ASA drop would be 38,498 bringing the TEC's

overall ASA down to 601,664 - a six percent drop in the domestic ASA

figure.

Through death and departure to other denominations, The Episcopal Church

lost nearly 550 Episcopalians each week of the year. That's the

equivalent of 408 parishes closing in one year, though most of the loss

was localized to South Carolina.

TEC's domestic membership, excluding TEC's 10 foreign dioceses, was

1,894,181 in 2012. In 2013 that figure was down to 1,862,294, a

preliminary drop of 31,887. Adding in South Carolina's anticipated

loses, TEC's church-wide membership, including the foreign dioceses,

would drop to 2,011,378 or a drop of more than one thousand a week --

55,332 -- from 2,066,710 in 2012. Parochial reports from the foreign

dioceses will be released later this month.

The domestic membership dropped below two million in 2010. If TEC

continues to lose membership at its current rate, the church-wide

membership, including foreign dioceses, will drop below the two million

mark by 2015.

SOUTH CAROLINA

The DIOofSC (Episcopal) 2012 membership was 29,236.

The 2013 membership numbers, following the split in the diocese,

reflects a drop of the 23,445 members that Bishop Mark Lawrence took

with him, leaving 5,791 behind in TECinSC.

ASA in the DIOofSC (Episcopal) in 2013 was 12,371.

The 2013 ASA figures reflect a drop of 9,931 -- the number Bishop

Lawrence took with him, leaving 2,440 behind in TECinSC.

DIOofSC 2012 Plate & pledge was $27.9 million.

In 2013 Bishop Lawrence took in $22.6 million leaving $5.3 million in

TECinSC.

If one adds the DIOofSC's $22.6 million to TEC's $15.2 million, the

National Church would have had a $37.8 million income increase over

2012.

If one adds the DIOofSC membership of 23,445 to the 31,887 loss, it

would show a domestic membership drop of 55,332 or a 3% drop.

If one adds the DIOofSC ASA of 9,931 to the 28,567 loss, it would show a

domestic ASA drop of 38,498 or a 6% drop.

Overall, Bishop Lawrence took 81% of the diocese with him leaving 19%

behind.

TEC PLATE & PLEDGE

In 2013, 57 dioceses reported an increase in Plate & Pledge, an increase

of $15,224,974 or 1.1%

This is the second year in a row that TEC has shown an increase in Plate

& Pledge.

2012: also showed domestic dioceses increasing their P&P of $15,878,404

or 1.2%, although the figures will be skewed because South Carolina is

not included.

NOTE: Information for this story was garnered from graphs which could

show a 1-3 percent differential from the final figures.

Overall, the Episcopal Church continued to decline in membership and

Average Sunday Attendance. The uptick in income might indicate a "dead

cat bounce" situation. In finance, a dead cat bounce is a small, brief

recovery in the price of a declining stock. It is derived from the idea

that "even a dead cat will bounce if it falls from a great height"; the

phrase, which originated on Wall Street, is also popularly applied to

any case where a subject experiences a brief resurgence during or

following a severe decline.

END