Statistics released by the Office of General Convention show domestic membership dropped in 2020 by 61,243 persons to 1,576,702 (-4%) from 1,637,945, while average Sunday attendance, the true indicator of local church health declined 60,232 persons to 458,179 (-12%) from 518,411.
Read moreBut it is not true in every instance. Far from it. President Warren Smith of MinistryWatch in an address to the Evangelical Press Association Annual Conference, recently gave credit to journalists who exposed several individuals and institutions who were systematically and unaccountably violating their ministries. They were doing all of that in the name of power and money, resulting in sexual abuse and much more.
Read more"There is an 800-pound gorilla in the room. A two-ton elephant. A fire-breathing dragon. Everywhere we turn, there it is. As I name it in this Monday meditation, I ask you to hang in with me...Let's ask some healthy questions about the state of our Diocese and the wider Church, and let's listen for what the Holy Spirit might be up to."
Read moreThe Lambeth Conference must not be dominated by sexuality again, said the Primates.
Read moreColin Powell, Secretary of State under George W. Bush said, the higher the church, the closer to God; that was how I saw it. I was following in my father's footsteps, counting the collection and depositing it in the bank; Alma was following in her and my mother's footsteps, working on rummage sales and the altar guild.
Read moreFor those unfamiliar with this common-to-universities phenomenon, it meant that Samford's policy was now to make race a factor in every course and club at the university. But not race per se. It was to be assumed that blacks are now persecuted more than any other race, and that they are to be preferred to other races when choices are made about faculty, staff, and even discussion topics. America was presumed to be systemically racist.
Read moreNotably absent was Episcopal Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. A political event marshalled by Ozanne means that ABC and ABY will not get involved.
Read more"I suppose the gravitational pull will always be towards a structural unity over a theological unity because it is easier to vote on truth that to submit to it" -- WHACK
[Under the Roman Catholic Church] Holy Communion became an elaborate re-sacrifice of Christ on an altar which became known as a "mass," in which bread and wine were thought to become the actual corporeal body and blood of Jesus Christ (transubstantiation). -- WHACK
Read moreIn an article titled, Bishops: Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are! Ozanne argues that silence is a killer.
Taking the "I don't want to rock the boat, so I won't say anything" approach to life only ever emboldens perpetrators and leaves victims undefended and open to abuse, she says.
Read moreReleased in March 2022, the study also found that the global pandemic has negatively impacted participation in organized religion -- or religious activity -- and more people are finding spiritual fulfillment in nature. In addition, while the church has been a place of community and non-judgment, some Americans feel that churches that discuss racism and slavery are acting with the wrong intentions.
Read more