The Demise of the Episcopal Church

Prologue

In his blog post "Reversing the Numerical Decline of the Episcopal Church", the Rev. George Clifford makes a prophetic call for turning around the declining membership of the Episcopal Church. Clifford accurately highlights the dismal stats and dim prognosis of TEC (The Episcopal Church) that has become all too familiar rhetoric for those of us Heaven-bent on renewal. He also gives a vision of hope. I commend the post to you. And I want to add my own observations.

Maundy Thursday

We are approaching Maundy Thursday when Jesus forms the community of the Church centered around the Passover, the commemoration of the first and greatest trauma that birthed the People of Israel - namely a story of trial, success, oppression, slavery, revolt, exodus, and rebirth.

We all wish wish to escape this. We want to go from "glory to glory" (II Cor. 3:18, KJV) and we pray "save us from the time of trial" (The Lord's Prayer, contemporary). But I don't think we in TEC will escape, nor should we.

I believe the Way of Resurrection is to be had in the Way of the Cross. I believe suffering and death, when borne in connection with doing God's will, leads to God's active re-creation of us. In terms of the TEC, parishes will decline and close. History, traditions and theologies may be abandoned (at least for a generation or ten). Our image and identity will change. We will lose much. But, in walking the way of the Cross we are also promised much!

Our Time is at Hand

I sometimes play a little mental game. If the house were on fire and I had only a few minutes to grab a few things (and all my family were safe) what would I take? Pictures? My computer? Memorabilia? Jewelry?  I think this is not a mental game for TEC. The house may not be on fire, but it is crumbling. Our time is at hand - not for the glory of worldly success, but for walking with Jesus the way of the Cross.

The house, our house, can no longer stand as it was once built. Parts will crumble. What will be saved? We can lose ourselves in trying to save the house or we can choose the few, most important things to keep. What does Christ call us to hold on to and what does Christ call us to let go of? The Cross looms in front of us.

Jesus faced very similar decisions on Maundy Thursday. His time was at hand. The Cross was looming in front of him. The disciples still didn't understand. What else could he say to get through to them? What else could he do? The house was coming down. There was precious little time. What are the essentials? What can be saved?

The answer we make together in TEC and how we determine that answer will determine our common future. My own recommendation is to follow Jesus' actions at the Last Supper and the Garden of Gethsemane. Whatever we do, I don't think we can take the option to run from the Cross, to escape "decline". If we run we might escape death for the moment, but will we gain the Resurrection? Will we be truly Christian?

For the TEC, it's time to own the Cross, to make Christ's Way, our Way, to be the People of the Cross that God might also make us the People of the Resurrection.