According to a press release from the Anglican Church in North America,
"The Anglican Church in North America has 614 congregations in 20 dioceses. More than 200 other congregations are ministry partners with the Anglican Church, including the congregations of The Anglican Mission. The Anglican Church represents more than 100,000 Christians in North America."
This is down by 200 from the more than 800 previously reported, although the number of persons continues at roughly the same 100,000. It would seem that the numbers include those in "ministry partners" groups as well as congregations fully part of ACNA. I am unclear just who, in addition to the Anglican Mission in America churches are ministry partners.
It would appear that the decision by AMiA to withdraw from full membership in ACNA means a a reduction of about one quarter of the congregations of ACNA. With thirty bishops (one for every 3,333 persons) and 614 congregations (one for every 163 persons) ACNA is relying on the effort to find new congregations and people reaching well beyond the world of dissatisfied Anglicans who have been part of The Episcopal Church.
The future of ACNA is now not about being a home for the so called Anglican homeless, but being a church that attracts new never-before Anglicans. They are becoming, in other words, a denomination of their own among those in the cafeteria offerings of North American religions.
6/15/2010
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Is it true the Venables/Southern Cones RECIFE BRAZIL and BOLIVIA came in to hide from the ACC? Is it true that CANA is rethinking it´s thievery in Virginia and imagining themselves as a CORE? It seems to me that all of this dodging and weaving may be unimportant to the courts, at least until the ACC and Rowan Williams provides cover for border crosssing and outright stealing done by excluding bigots at Church...nice! The whole mess is airbrushed to appear religious when in fact it´s more like back lot sets at Universal Studios tour.
ReplyDeleteRemember the admonition of Gamaliel.
ReplyDeletePax
They appear to be very confused about what their numbers are.
ReplyDeleteThis contradictory report;
http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/new_anglican_church_faces_fiscal_challenges/
Archbishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, who leads the ACNA, said Tuesday (June 8) that membership grew from 703 congregations to 811 during the last year, a step toward fulfilling his mission to plant 1,000 new churches within the first five years.
Meeting those goals, however, will mean surmounting financial challenges. The church’s $1.36 million budget, approved by the ACNA’s Provincial Council Tuesday, counts on a new initiative to raise $500,000 within the next six months. If the fundraising comes up short, projects central to establishing the young church’s identity may stall.
I expect nothing less than snide, arrogant comments from everyone at this blog, including the author. If you truly want to have a discussion on "numbers" and "ASA" than by no means should you look at your own leadership to be forthright and honest. All those "tec" members who haven't been in church for decades who are still counted amongst the "faithful" on tec-club rosters. (I do not refer to you as a "church"...more "liberal social club to discuss whatever social injustice is in fashion for the week) My local tec-club in town still counts half the people that did themselves a favor and left 4 years ago. How fitting...and now we have tec-blog after tec-blog berating the ACNA and their numbers. Laughable at best. You keep up the revisionist theology...you keep up nursing on the tit of Spong and his misguided ilk...you keep your gutting of Scripture...keep your endowments and your property...keep up your pro-abortion "justice"...
ReplyDeleteYou people (and yes I did say "you people") are the reason I will never set foot in church again. "All are welcome"...but only if you will buy our spin.
TEC is really alone among the American denominations for transparency with respect to statistics re ASA, membership, and giving. Part of the reason for that is the leadership of TEC has determined that keeping track of those numbers is important and that transparency is important.
ReplyDeleteThat same kind of transparency with respect to numbers does not seem to be shared by ACNA. While the numbers of churches is specific, the numbers concerning ASA, membership, etc., are not nearly as specific as the numbers reported by TEC.
The rub is this: the ACNA folks' celebration of their growing numbers--e.g., so many churches, so many members--rings rather hollow when ACNA is not as transparent about their numbers as TEC is.
Anonymous, I think Mark was intending to be generous when he said that ACNA was intending to become a denomination and not just "a home for the Anglican homeless."
They had better be, as should TEC. There aren't enough Anglicans, Episcopalians, and former members of both to sustain either denomination.