30 March 2009

I'm SO Going To Episco-Hell. (Wherever That Is...)

My Anglican / Episcopal readers my already know that someone seems to have come up with a cunning new plan to stop the bloody freefall steady decline in participation in The Episcopal Church (tm), and make it grow, all at the same time - cook the books. If the way you are counting isn't giving you the desired result, count something else as well:
Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention request the House of Deputies Committee on the State of the Church to consider supplementing the definition of Average Sunday Attendance, so as to maintain the integrity and comparability of attendance statistics while also accounting for the regularly scheduled primary weekly worship services of missional, co-located or emergent congregations that occur on days other than Sundays or Saturdays; and be it further

Resolved, That the House of Deputies Committee on the State of the Church consider adding a quantifiable measure of mission to count the number of people served including, but not limited to, schools, soup kitchens, food pantries, campus ministries other ministries through which the congregation lives out its mission.
So if you walk into an Episcopal Church, you can be considered as having attended that church. Of course, why stop there? We can't be too inclusive, now can we?

3 comments:

mousestalker said...

As near as I can tell, Episco-hell is either Gatlinburg, TN or Branson, MO, depending.

.....CLIFFORD said...

I was thinking Dollywood. I'd bet Bonnie Anderson would spontaneously combust if she ever entered there.

Good to see you back, Matthew.

Tregonsee said...

My parents are interred in the columbarium of my final TEC parish. I stop by 5 night a year for various private commemorations. I guess under the new rules, that should add at me to the ASA.