Milind Sojwal:
There are a variety of reasons for the decline in the membership of the ECUSA–some obvious, some unfathomable. But a church that fails to articulate a broader agenda to influence society, national public debates, and the direction of public policy of the nations and the world–is headed towards irrelevance. Jesus did not come to simply zap individuals to eternal salvation-he came to inaugurate God’s Kingdom, here and now, on this earth, today. The Church cannot afford to sit back and avoid controversial issues of the day. It should be leading the charge to help provide a Christian perspective to critical public debates. Christians are to be salt and light, infiltrating the world, projecting the subversive message of the gospel, and challenging traditionally-held beliefs and values in the light of scripture. Disengaging from contentious public policy issues may protect us from the barb of controversy, but will render us impotent and irrelevant. So the Episcopal Church does not have a unified view on the difficult issues of our times–but the Church must at all costs make itself heard in every public policy issue that affects everyone but especially those who have no voice of their own and look to us to play that role.
Shane Scott-Hamblen:
First of all, I do not believe the decline of membership has anything to do with how we engage with public policy issues (whatever that means). I do believe it has more to do with successive generations of people who have less and less exposure to living in Christian community. Our grandparents never missed going to church. Our parents rebelled at being made to go when they were young. Now, we have a whole generation who don’t even seem to know we exist let alone what we say.
Unfortunately, many people seem to think “Christian” means conservative extremism. This unbalanced polarization leaves people to think all Christians are fundamentalist – much the way they have the idea that all Muslims are terrorists.
Personally, I do not like for clergy to get political. We profess that “everyone is welcome” and then ostracize either the Democrat or the Republican agenda, thus alienating half of our congregation. We are called to co-exist. “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb”.
I believe society needs us to take a much higher ground. (Going against my own policy!) to give one example I, personally, am not very proud of how our country reacted to the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Some of it smacked of raw revenge – “an eye for an eye” rather than Christ’s teaching of “turn the other cheek”. Rather than preach “for” or “against” a specific issue, I believe we should preach the principles rather than the particulars.
If we are doing our jobs well then we will have taught the Christian principle of not reacting by revenge when a specific event occurs. We need to work at building up the foundations before things happen. Then, we can apply our principles of forgiveness, non-judgment, and love to anything that comes our way.
Barbara Crafton:
The argument that discussion of public issues has caused our decline in membership seems to me unsupported by the facts: many of the enormous and fast-growing megachurches are extremely active in conservative politics as well. More prosaic issues contribute : the variations in the way parishes count “members” is certainly one of them.
I travel extensively throughout the country, teaching and preaching in many churches. I see that Episcopal churches do grow and flourish if they worship God with joy and devotion and make a difference in the lives of members and the neighborhoods in which they find themselves. This does not happen if they ignore large swaths of the local demographic, whatever it is, nor if they display a siege mentality with regard to people who do not belong. The ones that thrive understand that every sort and condition of person has both needs and gifts for the community, and provide arenas for the ministries of old and young, male and female, all of the either/ors present in the human family.
It is possible to exercise a prophetic ministry while remaining pastorally faithful to the charge to love and serve with equal regard for status or walk of life. A liberal and a conservative ought to find equal welcome in an Episcopal church. In my experience, people are not driven away by
a leader’s taking a stand, but they do leave if they feel they are being manipulated in a political way. If the pastoral relationship is strong, the community can handle considerable diversity in moral understanding and politics.
The first component that binds me to the Episcopal Church is that we expect our members to think, question their beliefs, and discuss their ideas. Social justice and public policy are as important to our life in Christ as theological discourse. Thinking people do not ignore the world around them. But the second component is just as important, the way our ritual expresses the divine mystery of God. Only in the Episcopal Church do I find this union of social activism and mysticism. Isn't that the nature of Christ?
I believe the biggest reason for the overall decline in Episcopal Church membership is due to the decline of the birthrate among its members (and other mainline denominations). Public policy issues are the lived out aspects of our essential Christian faith, and may affect individual parish memberships in some cases, but if the base of your appeal, middle-class Americans, is declining in numbers, it's hard to counter-act at the full denomination level.
Put a dozen Episcopalians in a room and you'll get at least 13 opinions.
Church statements on public policy issues are bound to please some and offend others, and I've found myself at times in agreement and at times in disagreement with TEC's positions. What I have appreciated most is that the church has helped me form my views on public policy by challenging me to think more deeply about how my relationship with God shapes my relationship with my neighbor.
What interests me most is how we create a climate of conversation in our churches where important issues that affect our common life can be discussed respectfully, especially when there is disagreement. I appreciate it when our bishops and other leaders speak out on an issue that is timely. I also think we often fail to do the education that needs to go along with that, or we resort to resolutions (at diocesan or church-wide conventions) that simply assuage our conscience but don't lead us to action. We vote yea or nay and think we've done our job.
As for those who think speaking out will turn some people off: You're absolutely right! I am thoroughly embarrassed by the public witness of many churches that is thinly-veiled bigotry and highly partisan rhetoric. If there is anything that has brought about a decline in church membership across the board, it's that. I'm reminded of a video of on-the-street interviews where people were asked what they thought of Jesus: Love him! But then what they thought of Christians: Let's just say…not so much.
May I suggest the question is ill-formed as an either/or? For of course, our engagement with public policy issues could be both causative of our decline and nonetheless a matter of gospel faithfulness.
But there is a theological point to be made.
We are called both to charity and to truth. The latter requires our saying-it-as-we-see-it on social issues. The former requires that we understand others' views on their best terms, and demonstrate that we do so. How many people have left our church because of flat-footed sermons in which the gospel was presented as requiring our support for policy X (fill in your favorite policy)? If those folks had been able to hear their own (differing) practical conclusions stated in a charitable, positive, and sympathetic manner, they would have felt our church was giving them room to continue to participate and be involved in ongoing conversation.
I suspect that our decline has much to do with our failure to love.
I submit that the decline in TEC and other mainline churches is closely related to the manner of our engagement with public policy issues, rather than to the fact that we engage with them. I have attended TEC churches for more than 70 years, and been a priest for 46. A few years after my ordination I began to see a change in the manner of our engagement towards a much more political, and nearly always left/liberal and statist, alignment. The biographies in HWHM for example stress socialist beliefs of about a dozen entries, but none seem to represent more conservative/libertarian thought (Edmund Burke might be worth considering an an orthodox Christian representative of that school).
Certainly there are many reasons for decline; but its coincidence with the rise of this approach in our church and the others which share in this decline leads me to believe that there is a real connection.
Topic 2
I agree with others here that the current apparent decline in church membership is not focused upon The Episcopal Church — ALL mainline denominations are experiencing this decline, and we do ourselves a disservice if we elect to see this as 'an Episcopal Church problem.' As to public policy issues, one of my heroes has long been Dom Helder Camara, the former Roman Catholic Archbishop of Recife (Brazil), who coined the phrase: "When I feed the poor, they call me a saint, but when I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist!" If that is not a fundamental statement of Christian values — and the unfortunate response society makes to it — then I don't know what is! May our church never fail to address the social issues and injustices of our own day.
"Not by works, but by faith."
Not being an Episcopalian, I probably have no right to comment here. However, a very dear friend of mine is a member of the EC and I thought that you all could benefit from an outsider's viewpoint. Full disclosure: I am a member of a non-denominational, evangelical church. Although I was raised in the Methodist tradition, I fell away in my youth and only fully came to Christ late in life. When I did, I attended several churches in order to find the church family that most closely spoke to my heart. So here are my comments about my Episcopal brothers in Christ:
1. The EC most closely resembles the Catholic Church. Not where you want to be. Brand identification hurts you.
2. In view of #1, above, the EC retains most of the physical attributes of the CC. Younger people of faith, or those seeking same, see vestments, robes, clerical collars, chalices, sacramental vessels, ritualized worship, etc., as either irrelevant relics or outright barriers between themselves and Jesus. Imagine that Jesus returns next Sunday and the first place he walks into is your church. Will he see mere ritual and reliance upon 'The Law'?
3. I commend your stand on welcoming homosexuals. However, you will pay (have paid) a price for any efforts seen as "promoting" their agenda, cause, or whatever label you wish to attach. You have given attention to the homosexual issue way out of proportion to their numbers (approx 3% of the general population). That makes the EC seen as uber-liberal or much worse: Politically Correct.
4. IMHO, every church should have as its mission to develop devoted followers of Jesus who will advance his Kingdom by spreading the Good News and helping to heal broken lives, all for His glory. If you concentrate on this mission and less on what the editors and columnists at the NY Times may think of you, you will reap the anticipated harvest.
5. Unless you are already doing this, incorporated some contemporary Christian music into your services. Yes, I know, the means guitars and drums, but this will bring life into your congregations. However, first explain this to your older members as many will not like it. The temptation is to split the difference and have one traditional service and one contemporary service. This is a real dilemma for all churches. Avoid this if you can because you run the risk of those who attend one service seeing themselves as 'better' Christians than the other.
6. This will hurt but it must be said. Your church is dying. What you do in the next few years will determine whether you have a spiritual resurrection, or go past the point of no return. What is baptism? Symbolically, it is a watery grave in which the old man or woman is buried and the new man or woman arises. EC members, you know in your hearts that something must be buried. Wouldn't a resurrected church body be worth it? I pray that the Lord guides you to that end.
By way of summary and conclusion, pretend that the EC is a First Century church and that you have just received a letter from Paul containing his blessings and great concerns about your church. Now, with as much honesty and humility as you can bear, you go write that letter.
Churches and other houses of worship are also community organizations. I believe discussions of matters of public policy are appropriate for churches to encourage among their parishioners – including framing and encouraging the debate. It is not appropriate for churches and other houses of worship to take positions, as institutions, regarding public policy issues because churches are their members who rarely have a unaimous view and rarely develop clearly stated majority views. Church leaders – clergy and lay – should certainly speak out, as community leaders, on public policy issues about which they are concerned – but they only speak for themselves. The excellent recent paper on environmental issues by our Bishops is a fine example.
Three factors contributing to membership decline
1. Growth of consumer-driven approach to church membership. ( i will attend the church that provides what I want/need now, e.g. youth and church school; mother's weekday gathering; meaningful adult ed, etc. ). Our current episcopal church does not understand church shopper demands very well.
2. The church's engagement with social issues is so routinely politically correct, it is actually pretty boring. While I agree with (and as a priest have led much of what I think is PC, I would prefer a xhurch community that embodies more diversity of thought.
3. In the US, the parish model, for a denomination in whcich most parishes have fewer than 200 active members, is not econimically sustainable. We need a new model that relies less on priests and buildings, and more on small gatherings, community and community-raised presiders at the eucharist.
I don't think our view on political or social issues has anything to do with the decline…in fact I think that it's a draw. I think we need to relax and make some of the services a little more " warm". The music a little more simple. The mega churches draw people in with a big push toward the love of God and loving God in return. Jesus is their focus as it is ours, but their delivery is something that we might want to take a serious look at. They are growing and if we aren't, then we need to know what it is that they are doing and try to incorporate some of that enthusiasm into out liturgy.
At the risk of being labeled a nut, I think we need to look at the activities of groups such as the Institute for Religion and Democracy which is a very well funded group devoted to undermining mainline Protestant churches. If you advance search Google "attacks mainline Protestant churches not Santorum" you will find many essays on the deliberate undermining of mainline Protestant churches because of their liberal stands, such as sheltering the homeless.
What I do find lacking is activism. My parish does all the good stuff… feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, baptize the children of same sex couples, etc. But heaven forbid anyone make the connections between those activities and the politics which make them necessary or exceptional. That the missing piece… an awareness of what is happening in the world to make these activities necessary. I think we need to put the politics back in the churches.
Being an avid facebook participant, and reading the virulent anti-republican rhetoric, I have often asked whether or not a Republican would be welcome in our churches. Would your church welcome a Mitt Romney supporter?
Why not? We have them already.
Wayne great point !! I am a republican and I no longer feel welcome in the church . My sons pre K principle even asked me " why do you come to church here " your political views are not welcome here . I was shocked by the statement . And very sad !! That being said I love the church and it's teaching but I dislike the intolerance !
Engaging with 'public policy' is not the same as dealing with 'politics', in my view. If by public policy we mean feeding and clothing the hungry and the poor, visiting the imprisoned, seeking justice, striving for peace, and working to respect the dignity of every human being, well the answer must be a resounding 'Of course!'. And when these aspects of mission cross over into the explicitly political, there may be conflict and disagreement. But that should not keep us from engaging in doing the work. And if it takes some political campaigning to get this work of the gospel accomplished, then we should be all for it. Would Jesus have it any other way?
I believe the Episcopal Church in NY has become too political. I do not subscribe to a majority of the views they put forward. I have heard a high level of discontent about this expressed in my local parish. As a result, I avoid any engagement with the Episcopal church in New York and I do not support it financially in any way. All of my efforts are directed to my local parish in Westchester which is apolitical. I would be delighted if the church would drop its political campaigning, which is divisive. We need messages that engender Christian unity. The Episcopal Diocese has failed in this.
Amen !!
You will notice that while our membership has dropped, it has also become much older. The great loss has been in families searching for Christian education and religious upbringing. In my community, two churches, both non-denominational, both Bible-based, have attracted the younger family demographic at the expense of the four Epsicopal parishes in my town. We have run surveys and focus groups of our parish on this topic and the answer, among young families, has been resounding: discomfort with the Church's extreme views on sexuality. This has been an unfortunate result, on many levels, but broadly, if the Church had gone about its business quiety, without making headlines, without breaching the via Media, we would be in a much stronger place. Essentially, keeping politics our of the church is very important. The "product" that young families are looking for is sound religious (ie. Bible-based) education. I believe that cuts across all Christian faiths. We should go back to our roots and ask priests to focus on preaching the Gospel rather than focus on social justice. Just one parent's opinion….
Well, I appreciate all of the comments and the good work that our clergy do through our great Church. I think that the long-term decline in membership of the Episcopal church has to do with two things, 1-as one of the moderators pointed out, a less intense focus on faith in daily life in general in American society. 2-the positions that the Episcopal Church has taken on sexuality, which, in the context of this blog, is a political issue. (ie. the church has made a huge effort in making it a religious issue…God help us.) Having just completed a rector search, we were privy to the financials of over 30 churches. The drop-off in membership and most importantly pledging units and amounts post-Gene Robinson was stunning and played out time and time again. The decision was much more controversial than most people understand it to be.
Maybe if we substitue the phrase "…our expression of the Gospel" with
"…what would Jesus have said?", maybe this question would reveal obvious answers.
It is an on going debate whether church should engage in matters of state, or church mind its "business" of spiritual aspects of the worshiping community it is engaged with. Well, the church has its root in the polity so it cannot be deaf and blind of the public affairs, so to say about the social challenges and economic hardships the community may go through, the church may echo it it but not be succumb to it.. But at the same time church is not just a sociological arm to keep on banging what it comes across in the society, and one may find answer in the Bible that Jesus was a great liberator and so lets part of the emancipatory movements. Church has much more to do it has its prophetic voice, at the same time be part of transformation through the christological truth of Jesus life, and believe in the great eschoton of the time with great hope.
The present day church attendance is dwindling and faith community being indifferent to church has many reasons, one is that church has lost its witness in the society, The second is that it has to be relevant to the time and make more conscious changes to move with the time. Spirituality has been replaced with ritualism, and sacredness with professionalism , and godliness and theology with scientific advancement and materialism. Capitalism is the song of the community and wealth its watchword so where is God and church in it, God dwells in needy places and with needy community, and not as a replacement at time of need.
We need strong leadership (and investment and staffing) on evangelism, stewardship and Christian education/formation. Without reaching out and inviting people in, without attending better to the cultivation of time/talent/treasure, without educating and deepening, we get the obvious decline we have structured ourselves for. Our policy stances are fine. And have nothing to do with my first point.
Briefly, why are conservative churches called 'conservative?" Because they openly support conservative public policy. These churches now seem to be growing. Therefore, involvement in public policy doesn't seem to be the issue. Instead it may be time to remember our evangelical heritage. It was the evengelicals of the early nineteeth century who first spoke of the abolition of slavery, women's rights, and child welfare. Why, because they took the Bible very seriously, and they did change our society. Today our views on public policy are also based on the reading of the Bible, we can never stress that enough. Let's not.
At the risk of sounding Clintonian right out of the gate: it all depends on what your definition of "political" is.
Since we're Christians, let's start with Jesus. It's arguable that what got him the death penalty was the perception of the powers-that-be that he had stopped preaching and started meddling in politics–even though he made it clear to his followers that he wasn't interested in being a political Messiah. You simply can't bring good news to the oppressed, bind up the broken-hearted, proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, et. al., without running afoul of someone's cherished ideology, especially in an Empire, then or now. If we're "doing it right," we are going to find ourselves with the same dilemma, and risk death, too: most likely figurative, but sometimes literal, which may be what TEC is experiencing at present. The trick is to make Jesus the lodestar for this task rather than any lesser guiding principle or person, whether saint or sinner–a kind of GPS (God's Positioning System), if you will pardon the analogy. (And do watch for the occasional "recalculating" of your route.)
I agree with our moderators that the decline in the church is not linked to the engagement of the church in "public policy." Pussy footing around issues of social justice turns off the younger generation, at least in our diocese. However, I can understand the dangers (to number of pledging units) of having a priest articulate political views from the pulpit. But if he or she preaches the Gospel, how can we avoid care for the sick, poor, imprisoned? As Milind says above, Jesus was not shy about articulating his objection to the politics of his day, when they went against beliefs. I just finished year two, New Testament, of EFM. Conflicting messages, perhaps! "Render unto Caesar…" but also veiled and scathing criticism of the Roman Empire in Revelations.
I agree that Jesus was not shy about addressing politics and politicians. But he had the divine advantage of being able to read hearts and even minds. As none of us have those attributes, I believe we should be very slow to climb the pulpit and point a bony finger at the other party and shout "Wrong!"
The positions that the Episcopal Church takes on major social issues is what i am most proud of so far as its leadership. I always feels as if the Church is ahead of the pack in expressing the culmination of social justice issues that are often not yet fully integrated into the social ethos of the community. Additionally, my personal feeling is that the Church's position gives strength to those who may agree but feel overwhelmed in the face of what they may perceive to be social disapproval of a forward thinking concept of fairness and justice that is not yet woven into a lack of "startle" in public perception. I would also state that the Church debates over such issues seem to be open to many different viewpoints without a sense of finger pointing but with a concept of consideration of many points of view as valid and worthy of respect.
I feel the stance the church takes on social issues is what is killing our church . The fact that we backed obamacare made me crazy !! How do u back the destruction of religious freedom ? My family is a good example of the problem with the church . After the change to liberal theology from biblical teaching my family left the church . They all became Roman Catholics or evangelicals . I still like the church but I am getting tired of the big liberal slant the church has taken . being a conservative republican I no longer feel at home in the episcopal church . the church says all are welcome , but like most liberal institutions they are very welcoming just as long as you agree with them . I am actually very sad about it . the church has a great history and tradition
Comprehensive inclusion of all seekers of Christ is a reality in the Episcopal Church, rather than a disregarded New Testament parable!
I think our problem is actually summarized by our tag line: The Episcopal Church Welcomes You! We are waiting to welcome people — and people are no longer coming to us (or anyone else). We need a new tag line: The Episcopal Church INVITES You! A significant number of people who do not attend church say they would come to church IF "someone they know" invites them. Churches that are growing (Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons, Independents, etc) are good at inviting their family and friends to church. We aren't….so we need to learn how to be an inviting church.
Oh yes….and a (if not THE) primary barrier to church growth is conflict. Public policy stands might contribute to that…but what we can model is how to value diversity and love each other because of, as well as, in spite of our differences. If we can learn that and invite others into it, we'll grow again. If, on the other hand, we spend our days fighting with each other and rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic (restructure, rearrange budgets, engage in power struggles), we'll keep dying.
It's our choice. Fight and shuffle money, structure and power or really be the church and invite others to join us in a joyful community of love.