Activism Change

Pledges up

Question:

… Y’know (just worrying about your problems because they make a nice break from mine), this is a big worry in the older contingent of my parish too. One thing we have which mitigates it is our family service, which I posted about in another thread. That pulls in lots of younger folks, and some of them even end up attending the more formal service. It’s not perfect–people worry about whether all these new folks are really committed to the church–but it does mean there’s now a mix of ages and attitudes, and a more vibrant community.

Our parish has a similar problem which developed as an unintended consequence of good intentions.  We are a downtown church, and when the youth eduction building was put up, the rector we had then commandeered it to open a daycare for inner city babies during the week.  And it’s a wonderful facility for our own babies. Good idea.  Except now we have no place for the babies when they get to about age 6.  When the kiddies get to that age the parents pick up and move over to some other church for the good of their kids.  They might consider moving back when the kids are out of high school, but by that time (12 years down the road) why would they bother to move? So we’re a dying congregation.  The interim rector correctly stated the problem:  If you don’t tend your lambs, you can’t have a flock. We can’t kick the daycare out.  How would that headline look?  "Calvary Gives Inner City Babies The Boot."  And we don’t have the money to build (again) a youth education building. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Maybe what you should be doing is looking to expand–look beyond the traditional Episcopalians and see who else is out there who isn’t showing up at all. Maybe putting some things in place to attract these folks (who are less likely to be scared off by +Gene) would be interesting and fun. FWIW, my experience is this age group is less interested in formality and much more interested in participation–both in decision-making and doing. The older generation can’t figure us out–their notion of church is you show up on sunday and do what’s happening, and beyond that join a committee or two. Our notion is you (we–the congregation) argue about what to do IN the service, and how to structure it, and what role do we have? And don’t tell us we can be ushers, we want more than that. A do-it-yourself MP might be just the thing. This is disruptive and for some, it’s scary. But hey, it’s the Lord’s work, right?

Maybe us older Episcopalians are tired of changing things.  We did that 30 or 40 years ago, and we’re ready to stop changing.  You may go ahead and change things with my consent and without my participation.  Just don’t be surpprised that I’m not there.  I’ve paid my dues. —  From all sedicion and pryvie conspiracie, from the tyrannye of the Bysshop of Rome,      and al hys detestable enormities, from al false doctryne and heresy, from hardnes of hearte,      and contempte of thy worde and commaundement. Good lord, deliver us. from the Litany, 1549 BCP

Response:

This is disruptive and for some, it’s scary. But hey, it’s the Lord’s work, right? —    Hugh

No doubt that somewhere, somehow it is Lord’s work.  Don’t know if he is laughing or crying as he watches his (nominally) adult children struggle. I’d sure appreciate a clarifying memo directly from Him regarding his expectations.  Soon would be nice. We seem to be at a point where it would be helpful for the Boss to attend a staff meeting and clarify objectives, understandings, company policy, etc.  Too much energy is being dissapated by interdepartmental turf wars and quarells. Too many people contradict each other as they claim to speak for Him.  A direct message from the top would be helpful. It sure would be a help if He’d drop by in person for a chat.

Response:

This is disruptive and for some, it’s scary. But hey, it’s the Lord’s work, right? —      Hugh No doubt that somewhere, somehow it is Lord’s work.  Don’t know if he is laughing or crying as he watches his (nominally) adult children struggle.

To clarify myself, I was particularly talking about the challenge of including multiple generations and points of view in a church and keeping life in the service, here. I wasn’t thinking about our larger issues. I’d sure appreciate a clarifying memo directly from Him regarding his expectations.  Soon would be nice. We seem to be at a point where it would be helpful for the Boss to attend a staff meeting and clarify objectives, understandings, company policy, etc.  Too much energy is being dissapated by interdepartmental turf wars and quarells. Too many people contradict each other as they claim to speak for Him.  A direct message from the top would be helpful.

My children, when I’m helping them with their homework, say, "Why don’t you just TELL me the answer? Why do you keep asking me QUESTIONS?" I think the same thing is going on here. It sure would be a help if He’d drop by in person for a chat.

That’s what prayer is for. I know people who seem to get answers. I mostly get told that I have figure it out for myself.         Hugh — "Thou didst desire man’s free love, that he should follow Thee freely, enticed and taken captive by Thee. In place of the rigid ancient law, man must hereafter with free heart decide for himself what is good and what is evil, having only Thy image before him as his guide."    - Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Response:

We have made some progress since my post below.  Our pledge total now stands within a few dollars of half of last year’s total.

Ouch. Looks like we’ll have to get used to Morning Prayer most of the time as we’ll probably not have full time clergy much longer. Finally going to have a parish meeting to discuss "the issues" (in depth I hope) in a few weeks.  Maybe then we can find a way to keep the parish together that is an acceptable compromise to all.

Good. Pray. Pray pray pray pray. Before, during, after. The parish is quickly becoming a bunch of old people worried that there will not be anyone left when it comes time for their funeral.

Y’know (just worrying about your problems because they make a nice break from mine), this is a big worry in the older contingent of my parish too. One thing we have which mitigates it is our family service, which I posted about in another thread. That pulls in lots of younger folks, and some of them even end up attending the more formal service. It’s not perfect–people worry about whether all these new folks are really committed to the church–but it does mean there’s now a mix of ages and attitudes, and a more vibrant community. Maybe what you should be doing is looking to expand–look beyond the traditional Episcopalians and see who else is out there who isn’t showing up at all. Maybe putting some things in place to attract these folks (who are less likely to be scared off by +Gene) would be interesting and fun. FWIW, my experience is this age group is less interested in formality and much more interested in participation–both in decision-making and doing. The older generation can’t figure us out–their notion of church is you show up on sunday and do what’s happening, and beyond that join a committee or two. Our notion is you (we–the congregation) argue about what to do IN the service, and how to structure it, and what role do we have? And don’t tell us we can be ushers, we want more than that. A do-it-yourself MP might be just the thing. This is disruptive and for some, it’s scary. But hey, it’s the Lord’s work, right? —         Hugh "Thou didst desire man’s free love, that he should follow Thee freely, enticed and taken captive by Thee. In place of the rigid ancient law, man must hereafter with free heart decide for himself what is good and what is evil, having only Thy image before him as his guide."    - Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Response:

Yes, in my parish (in NH) we had one meeting with a member of the search committee that chose Gene. I felt it did more harm than good, mostly because it was conducted as an open bitching session rather than a strucutured forum for discussing the issues. As I’ve said elsewhere, I believe the people who chose and elected Gene are acting out of their sense of what God’s will for us is–but the onus is certainly on them to explain what they’re doing and how they see that as compatible with Christian morality. They probably would not have convinced anyone, but they might at least have shown that they take the underlying issues seriously.

I have a friend in another state who is extremely active in his parish and diocese and has been frothing for years over what he views as a hijacking of the PECUSA by the more liberal-minded of us.  His notion is that extra-parliamentary procedures are being used at the GC to prevent people like him from having a say in the proceedings.  I’ve never been to the GC and cannot give an opinion on it. Frankly I suspect that both sides are guilty of quelling any attempt at real dialogue.  I can’t imagine this guy allowing a liberal to speak uninterrupted at a meeting — he’s much too hot-tempered.  And I can say from experience that my own right-leaning opinions are met with amused silence at my own church. —  From all sedicion and pryvie conspiracie, from the tyrannye of the Bysshop of Rome,      and al hys detestable enormities, from al false doctryne and heresy, from hardnes of hearte,      and contempte of thy worde and commaundement. Good lord, deliver us. from the Litany, 1549 BCP

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Yes, in my parish (in NH) we had one meeting with a member of the search committee that chose Gene. I felt it did more harm than good, mostly because it was conducted as an open bitching session rather than a strucutured forum for discussing the issues. As I’ve said elsewhere, I believe the people who chose and elected Gene are acting out of their sense of what God’s will for us is–but the onus is certainly on them to explain what they’re doing and how they see that as compatible with Christian morality. They probably would not have convinced anyone, but they might at least have shown that they take the underlying issues seriously. I have a friend in another state who is extremely active in his parish and diocese and has been frothing for years over what he views as a hijacking of the PECUSA by the more liberal-minded of us.  His notion is that extra-parliamentary procedures are being used at the GC to prevent people like him from having a say in the proceedings.  I’ve never been to the GC and cannot give an opinion on it. Frankly I suspect that both sides are guilty of quelling any attempt at real dialogue.  I can’t imagine this guy allowing a liberal to speak uninterrupted at a meeting — he’s much too hot-tempered.  And I can say from experience that my own right-leaning opinions are met with amused silence at my own church.

In our search committee meetings, when we hit a particularly hot issue, we developed a practice of going round the table–everyone got to say their say, no one else could interrupt until it was their turn. We just kept going around the table until everyone wound down. It sometimes took a while, but in the end everyone felt like they had been heard. —         Hugh "Thou didst desire man’s free love, that he should follow Thee freely, enticed and taken captive by Thee. In place of the rigid ancient law, man must hereafter with free heart decide for himself what is good and what is evil, having only Thy image before him as his guide."    - Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Our situations have some interesting parallels.  We lost our Rectors a couple of years ago.  It was time for them to move on to bigger and better opportunities.  We just finished the search process and had brought on a new Rector who’s specialty was parish growth at the first of this year. Momentum was starting to build and good things were happening.  That has all changed now.  A real tough hand for the new Rector to deal with — I doubt he’ll stay much longer. Are you getting vibes from him about this? Seems hard to commit yourself to a parish and get so totally thrown off by what’s happening elsewhere in the country. I’d think he’d be looking for ways to pull through the tough times and support in doing so. Have you as a parish sat down and asked yourselves where you go from here, and what you can do to recover the sense of possibility you had not so long ago?

We had one all-parish meeting that was more of a vent and get things on the table type of affair than a problem solving exercise. It was pretty clear at that meeting that the large majority of the parish was fed up with the national church.  I think he/we has resisted any additional meetings for fear of letting more worms out of the can. The Bishop had a meeting at this end of the Dicoese that ended up polarising things even worse than they were.  For a kind and gentle soul, our Bishop seems to have developed a real knack for hacking folks off ’round these parts. The stain on our Priest is getting pretty obvious. He is supporting the position of our Bishop and the ECUSA on this and personally catching some flak for that.  I am not sure if his defense is out of duty or personal conviction however.  Sometimes I think he is working off of someone else’s talking points. Looking at where the budget is likely to be next year makes any full-time paid clergy look like a doubtful proposition.  He’s a bright guy, I am sure he can figure it out. He has painted himself into a bit of a corner in arguing that the Bible should be interpruted in light of our changing social norms when talking about recent events.  When talking about stewardship, he argues for a pretty darn literal interprutation of the Book.

Response:

We had one all-parish meeting that was more of a vent and get things on the table type of affair than a problem solving exercise. It was pretty clear at that meeting that the large majority of the parish was fed up with the national church.  I think he/we has resisted any additional meetings for fear of letting more worms out of the can. The Bishop had a meeting at this end of the Dicoese that ended up polarising things even worse than they were.  For a kind and gentle soul, our Bishop seems to have developed a real knack for hacking folks off ’round these parts.

Yes, in my parish (in NH) we had one meeting with a member of the search committee that chose Gene. I felt it did more harm than good, mostly because it was conducted as an open bitching session rather than a strucutured forum for discussing the issues. As I’ve said elsewhere, I believe the people who chose and elected Gene are acting out of their sense of what God’s will for us is–but the onus is certainly on them to explain what they’re doing and how they see that as compatible with Christian morality. They probably would not have convinced anyone, but they might at least have shown that they take the underlying issues seriously. I’m sorry that things are so difficult in your parish and that your rector is having such a hard time with it. FWIW, my attitude is that the harvest is still heavy and the laborers are still few, and the sooner we get back to work the sooner we’ll work our way back to a common sense of purpose. It’s Advent this Sunday. Let’s all relax a bit and let our liturgy remind us of what’s timeless in our Church. That’s what it’s there for, after all. —         Hugh "Thou didst desire man’s free love, that he should follow Thee freely, enticed and taken captive by Thee. In place of the rigid ancient law, man must hereafter with free heart decide for himself what is good and what is evil, having only Thy image before him as his guide."    - Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Response:

I have a friend in another state who is extremely active in his parish and diocese and has been frothing for years over what he views as a hijacking of the PECUSA by the more liberal-minded of us.  His notion is that extra-parliamentary procedures are being used at the GC to prevent people like him from having a say in the proceedings.  I’ve never been to the GC and cannot give an opinion on it.

Going by reports from a friend of mine who was at GC (first clergy alternate from a nearby state), his notions are way off the mark. Priscilla

Response:

Going by reports from a friend of mine who was at GC (first clergy alternate from a nearby state), his notions are way off the mark.

Yes, well, it’s best to take his pronouncements with a grain of salt. He is … passionate … about his positions. —  From all sedicion and pryvie conspiracie, from the tyrannye of the Bysshop of Rome,      and al hys detestable enormities, from al false doctryne and heresy, from hardnes of hearte,      and contempte of thy worde and commaundement. Good lord, deliver us. from the Litany, 1549 BCP

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Our situations have some interesting parallels.  We lost our Rectors a couple of years ago.  It was time for them to move on to bigger and better opportunities.  We just finished the search process and had brought on a new Rector who’s specialty was parish growth at the first of this year. Momentum was starting to build and good things were happening.  That has all changed now.  A real tough hand for the new Rector to deal with — I doubt he’ll stay much longer. Our deal was that he’d take below market compensation for a few years until the parish grew to a point where we could offer a more competative package.  Since that looks very unlikely in this brave new world, I suspect he’ll find a new home in the ECUSA.  He’s a gifted preacher so will find a new situation easily.  We, on the other hand, don’t fit the mold as far as the politics of the national organization goes. We may not have a home there.  Don’t know if there is a home for us a parish, we may just scatter and be assimilated by other denominations. Which is all the sadder because, as you say above, stripping the political correctness and polititcal activism away from the ECUSA, there is so much that is good and valuable in what used the be the Anglican presence in the US. The whole "way of being" of the Episcopal church is so appropriate for an increasingly unchurched segment of our society.  That segment is one that, if it hears The Word, and believes The Word, and lives The Word, can make more of positive change in the larger society than all the fringe protest movements ever will.

Note in passing: I was unchurched until I found, in ECUSA, a church which didn’t demonize me as an abomination and second-class human being. I’m sorry about your situation, but there are plenty of other people (like me) who have found new life because of this. I really wish conservatives could understand this, but, sadly, I don’t think they ever will. L – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Perhaps the ECUSA leadership could form EPAC (Episcopal Poltitical Action Committee) and leave the Church stuff to a new organization.

Response:

We have made some progress since my post below.  Our pledge total now stands within a few dollars of half of last year’s total. Looks like we’ll have to get used to Morning Prayer most of the time as we’ll probably not have full time clergy much longer. Finally going to have a parish meeting to discuss "the issues" (in depth I hope) in a few weeks.  Maybe then we can find a way to keep the parish together that is an acceptable compromise to all. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Don’t know the detailed breakdown, but our pledge total is down by almost 60% from last year at this time. Number of pledge cards returned is down but don’t know how much.  A number of generous pledgers have left earlier in the year.  No new memebers.  Attendance down.  Rough road ahead. Real rough. The parish is quickly becoming a bunch of old people worried that there will not be anyone left when it comes time for their funeral.

Response:

Our situations have some interesting parallels.  We lost our Rectors a couple of years ago.  It was time for them to move on to bigger and better opportunities.  We just finished the search process and had brought on a new Rector who’s specialty was parish growth at the first of this year. Momentum was starting to build and good things were happening.  That has all changed now.  A real tough hand for the new Rector to deal with — I doubt he’ll stay much longer.

Are you getting vibes from him about this? Seems hard to commit yourself to a parish and get so totally thrown off by what’s happening elsewhere in the country. I’d think he’d be looking for ways to pull through the tough times and support in doing so. Have you as a parish sat down and asked yourselves where you go from here, and what you can do to recover the sense of possibility you had not so long ago? —         Hugh "Thou didst desire man’s free love, that he should follow Thee freely, enticed and taken captive by Thee. In place of the rigid ancient law, man must hereafter with free heart decide for himself what is good and what is evil, having only Thy image before him as his guide."    - Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Response:

Louis, Why the politics of sexual orientation seem to break on liberal/conservative fault lines I don’t know.  Perhaps it is because many of the early gay activists seemed to be drawn from the creative communities where liberal politics were the norm? Once a few visable activists were identified as gay and liberal, the conservatives probably felt obliged to assume their role in the dance of political division,  Kind of a, "If they’re for it, I guess we’re against it" reaction.  Don’t know here, just guessing. As a fairly conservative parish, it may surprise you to know that we have, and have had, homosexuals as members.  No one makes a big deal of it.  We tend to interact with each other as individuals rather than as labels.  Someone that lives loudly as a label probably wouldn’t fit in comfortably. A few years before I joined, we had a gay man as a member that died of AIDs in the care of the parish. His family had cut him off when he came out.  The parish gathered around and supported him until the disease claimed him. If I have my oral history correct, there was some strain during that time. They say we lost a few members over the events.  Sounds like there was a mix of simple fear of the disease in the early years of the epidemic, and a very few folks being (in today’s language) anti-gay. I’d like to flatter my parish and think that you could have found your new life here. I don’t know of anything here that would have prevented it. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Note in passing: I was unchurched until I found, in ECUSA, a church which didn’t demonize me as an abomination and second-class human being. I’m sorry about your situation, but there are plenty of other people (like me) who have found new life because of this. I really wish conservatives could understand this, but, sadly, I don’t think they ever will. L Perhaps the ECUSA leadership could form EPAC (Episcopal Poltitical Action Committee) and leave the Church stuff to a new organization.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Early results from the Every Member Canvas, here in a NH parish: 23 familes lowered their pledge, 62 raised it. The rest about the same. —      Hugh "Thou didst desire man’s free love, that he should follow Thee freely, enticed and taken captive by Thee. In place of the rigid ancient law, man must hereafter with free heart decide for himself what is good and what is evil, having only Thy image before him as his guide."    - Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Don’t know the detailed breakdown, but our pledge total is down by almost 60% from last year at this time. Number of pledge cards returned is down but don’t know how much.  A number of generous pledgers have left earlier in the year.  No new memebers.  Attendance down.  Rough road ahead. Real rough. The parish is quickly becoming a bunch of old people worried that there will not be anyone left when it comes time for their funeral. Then I’ll tell you the same thing I told +Gene Robinson: the best cure for malaise is to get up off your butts and do something worthwhile. What can you do in your parish that will make people excited about their church again? —    Hugh "Thou didst desire man’s free love, that he should follow Thee freely, enticed and taken captive by Thee. In place of the rigid ancient law, man must hereafter with free heart decide for himself what is good and what is evil, having only Thy image before him as his guide."    - Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Actually, our membership was growing and our income was well ahead of budget this year until the GC. After that, income dropped by 25% per week and attendance has been dwindeling.  No formal protests, no organized resistance to the national events.  Just kind of a quiet dignified Anglican kind of death I think. But, as a rural parish in a fairly conservative part of the world we are expendable.  We understand that now.  Our church has left/is leaving us.  We were just slow to recognize it.  People like us, and places like ours don’t matter — not to important people living important lives in important places who do what makes them feel important.  Perhaps the Anglican Communion will still take us if we survive long enough for the dust to settle.  Perhaps we will just scatter like the dust in the winds of change. We’ll find our way. The path is unclear at the moment but we’ll find one. With most of the parish over 70 years old, it is a little much to ask them to carry this heavy water and to get off their butts.  They should be drawing interest in the form of comfort and support in their last years on their lifelong contribution to the Church.  Someone looted their spiritual 401K’s and left them with precious little.  I am sure it was for a good cause however.

Response:

…  No formal protests, no organized resistance to the national events…

That’s what I suspect is happening in our parish.  We had the misfortune to lose our rector two years ago in a VERY unpleasant episode (the vestry requested the bishop remove the rector), and were just getting back on our feet when the uproar at the GC hit the newstands.  Budget is down AGAIN, and we will be a long time recovering from all this. And we’re a downtown church in a major metropolitan area. What bothers me is that the PECUSA still has a great deal to offer, certainly much more than Rome or the SBC, to name just two.  But all this bad press is scaring off converts and driving out the oldtimers. These are tough times. —  From all sedicion and pryvie conspiracie, from the tyrannye of the Bysshop of Rome,      and al hys detestable enormities, from al false doctryne and heresy, from hardnes of hearte,      and contempte of thy worde and commaundement. Good lord, deliver us. from the Litany, 1549 BCP

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – …  No formal protests, no organized resistance to the national events… That’s what I suspect is happening in our parish.  We had the misfortune to lose our rector two years ago in a VERY unpleasant episode (the vestry requested the bishop remove the rector), and were just getting back on our feet when the uproar at the GC hit the newstands.  Budget is down AGAIN, and we will be a long time recovering from all this. And we’re a downtown church in a major metropolitan area. What bothers me is that the PECUSA still has a great deal to offer, certainly much more than Rome or the SBC, to name just two.  But all this bad press is scaring off converts and driving out the oldtimers. These are tough times. —  From all sedicion and pryvie conspiracie, from the tyrannye of the Bysshop of Rome,      and al hys detestable enormities, from al false doctryne and heresy, from hardnes of hearte,      and contempte of thy worde and commaundement. Good lord, deliver us. from the Litany, 1549 BCP

Our situations have some interesting parallels.  We lost our Rectors a couple of years ago.  It was time for them to move on to bigger and better opportunities.  We just finished the search process and had brought on a new Rector who’s specialty was parish growth at the first of this year. Momentum was starting to build and good things were happening.  That has all changed now.  A real tough hand for the new Rector to deal with — I doubt he’ll stay much longer. Our deal was that he’d take below market compensation for a few years until the parish grew to a point where we could offer a more competative package.  Since that looks very unlikely in this brave new world, I suspect he’ll find a new home in the ECUSA.  He’s a gifted preacher so will find a new situation easily.  We, on the other hand, don’t fit the mold as far as the politics of the national organization goes. We may not have a home there.  Don’t know if there is a home for us a parish, we may just scatter and be assimilated by other denominations. Which is all the sadder because, as you say above, stripping the political correctness and polititcal activism away from the ECUSA, there is so much that is good and valuable in what used the be the Anglican presence in the US. The whole "way of being" of the Episcopal church is so appropriate for an increasingly unchurched segment of our society.  That segment is one that, if it hears The Word, and believes The Word, and lives The Word, can make more of positive change in the larger society than all the fringe protest movements ever will. Perhaps the ECUSA leadership could form EPAC (Episcopal Poltitical Action Committee) and leave the Church stuff to a new organization.

Response:

Early results from the Every Member Canvas, here in a NH parish: 23 familes lowered their pledge, 62 raised it. The rest about the same. —         Hugh "Thou didst desire man’s free love, that he should follow Thee freely, enticed and taken captive by Thee. In place of the rigid ancient law, man must hereafter with free heart decide for himself what is good and what is evil, having only Thy image before him as his guide."    - Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Response:

Early results from the Every Member Canvas, here in a NH parish: 23 familes lowered their pledge, 62 raised it. The rest about the same.

How do those compare with the past few years?  The economy’s not bouncing back yet, and that might just account for some reductions in pledges. Priscilla

Response:

Early results from the Every Member Canvas, here in a NH parish: 23 familes lowered their pledge, 62 raised it. The rest about the same. How do those compare with the past few years?  The economy’s not bouncing back yet, and that might just account for some reductions in pledges. Priscilla

Right, anybody’s guess. I know some people are still hurting. I know some people are hurting and raised their pledges anyway. And, of course, some people left and aren’t in the count. —         Hugh "Thou didst desire man’s free love, that he should follow Thee freely, enticed and taken captive by Thee. In place of the rigid ancient law, man must hereafter with free heart decide for himself what is good and what is evil, having only Thy image before him as his guide."    - Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Response:

Early results from the Every Member Canvas, here in a NH parish: 23 familes lowered their pledge, 62 raised it. The rest about the same. —    Hugh "Thou didst desire man’s free love, that he should follow Thee freely, enticed and taken captive by Thee. In place of the rigid ancient law, man must hereafter with free heart decide for himself what is good and what is evil, having only Thy image before him as his guide."    - Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Don’t know the detailed breakdown, but our pledge total is down by almost 60% from last year at this time. Number of pledge cards returned is down but don’t know how much.  A number of generous pledgers have left earlier in the year.  No new memebers.  Attendance down.  Rough road ahead. Real rough. The parish is quickly becoming a bunch of old people worried that there will not be anyone left when it comes time for their funeral.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Early results from the Every Member Canvas, here in a NH parish: 23 familes lowered their pledge, 62 raised it. The rest about the same. —      Hugh "Thou didst desire man’s free love, that he should follow Thee freely, enticed and taken captive by Thee. In place of the rigid ancient law, man must hereafter with free heart decide for himself what is good and what is evil, having only Thy image before him as his guide."    - Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Don’t know the detailed breakdown, but our pledge total is down by almost 60% from last year at this time. Number of pledge cards returned is down but don’t know how much.  A number of generous pledgers have left earlier in the year.  No new memebers.  Attendance down.  Rough road ahead. Real rough. The parish is quickly becoming a bunch of old people worried that there will not be anyone left when it comes time for their funeral.

Then I’ll tell you the same thing I told +Gene Robinson: the best cure for malaise is to get up off your butts and do something worthwhile. What can you do in your parish that will make people excited about their church again? —         Hugh "Thou didst desire man’s free love, that he should follow Thee freely, enticed and taken captive by Thee. In place of the rigid ancient law, man must hereafter with free heart decide for himself what is good and what is evil, having only Thy image before him as his guide."    - Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Response:

Filed under: Activism Politics

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