The latest (print edition) condev newsletter is now available. If you would like a copy, email me.
In the newsletter, I promised some additional factoids from Understanding Episcopal Congregations:Results From the 2000 Faith Communities Today Survey – published by the national condev office. Here they are.
Participants and Members
+ The percentages of congregations reporting that most, nearly all, or all of their adult participants:
are married: 45%
are college graduates: 41%
are female: 29%
are age 60 or older: 18%
live very near the church: 15%
live in households with more than $75,000 annual incomes: 13%
live in households with less than $20,000 annual incomes: 2%
+ Counting everyone involved in congregational life, including both members and non-members (however irregular their participation), yields a median estimate of 200 persons per congregation.
+ The median estimate of regular adult participants is 100, while the median number of regular participants under age 18 is 25.
+ Most (89%) Episcopal congregations are at least 70% white/European American. Another 2.5% of Episcopal congregations are predominantly African American or Black. In 7% of Episcopal churches no racial/ethnic group predominates. These churches can be considered multi-racial.
For the entire document, click here
Tis the season of full churches and people singing familiar carols. How can we greet newcomers and occasional church-goers in ways that will invite them back at less culturally-supportive times?
A few suggestions:
1. Make sure your Christmas services are absolutely the best they can be. This is truly a time to "pay the rent" with attention to a well-prepared sermon, practiced music, and liturgical rehearsals.
2. Welcome people during the announcements with genuine enthusiasm -- and no attempts of humor about people's attendance (I have heard stories of clergy saying something like "And welcome back to you folks we last saw at Easter." This is NOT a good idea!)
3. For all the changes we've seen, Christmas remains one of the most "traditional" times in America. Whatever you might think, "Silent Night" and other classic Christmas hymns and carols are still very appropriate. Save the "cutting edge" for another occasion.
4. Be centered. Christians, both lay and clergy, who regularly attend to and support the ministry of the church need to be spiritually centered at this time of year to be open and responsive to the questions and concerns of spiritual seekers.
5. Proclaim the Good News that God became human in Jesus Christ. Tell that Good News in your own words, through your own life, through your own experiences. Spiritual seekers are not looking to be "convinced;" they are looking for an introduction to the God who dwells in God's people.
Christmas Blessings!
Michael
When I recently visited Venice for the first time, I soon realized why people say the city itself is the star: all the individual components need the others to make Venice the unique place it is. But there is (at least ) one exception to this, and that is San Marco. The cathedral is a binary to the city itself -- and perhaps its sun. And it's not just the architecture...
Already in awe of the building, we went to the principal mass at St. Mark's, and were impressed by two immediate observations. First of all was the attention to welcoming visitors: a polyglot nun greeting us before the liturgy, friendly ushers, logical service leaflets (including one in English), and an obvious attention to planning, detail, and reverence.
The second observation was that visitors far outnumbered Venetian worshippers. Why? I leave that to Italian condev specialists, but the reason so many tourists turned worshippers seemed to be that we wanted to worship: we were bringing our spiritual lives on our vacations, and a holy place like San Marco was the only choice for Sunday. That day, other tourists continued to crowd the aisles in an unending parade under the mosaics; but I was blessed that the Church made a place for Christians from afar who wanted to roll up the blinds and join the chorus of angels, and archangels, and even the occasional Venetian.
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The following press release from the Anglican Communion News Service indicates that Christmas attendance might be better than last year -- but that ot will still be only about one tenth of the membership of the Church of England:
Four people out of every 10 (more than
39%) are likely to attend a church this Christmas with more than 2.6
million attending Church of England churches and cathedrals on
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, according to research released by the Church of England and English Heritage.
A national opinion poll, carried out by Opinion Research Business (ORB)
on behalf of the Church of England and English Heritage in October
2003, found that 39% of adults in Britain attended a church or other place of
worship over the Christmas period last year. A previous survey,
conducted by ORB in 2001, found a level of 33% for Christmas 2000.
Church attendance figures released by the Church of England show that
2.6 million people attended churches on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
2002, the same number as in 2001. These are among the first figures to
emerge from the collection of 2002 data. More detailed statistics will
be published in the New Year.
The Rt Revd Richard Chartres, Bishop of London and Chairman of the
Church Heritage Forum, commented, "Two messages emerge from this
research. A surprising number of people are involved, occasionally if
not regularly, in Christian worship especially over Christmas.
Secondly, church buildings have an important place in local affections, with an
impact on cultural and community life which extends far beyond the
worshipping congregation."
The ORB poll also discovered that, while more than 8 in 10 adults in
Britain (83%) regard their local church as a place of worship, nearly 6
in 10 (59%) think of it as a local landmark and more than 5 in 10 (53%)
regard it as an historic place. More than 6 in 10 (63%) said they would
be concerned if their local church or chapel were no longer to be
there.
Many, the poll revealed, are happy to consider a variety of uses for
their local churches and chapels. Three-quarters (75%) agreed churches
should also be used for activities other than worship and two-thirds
(68%) said they should be social meeting places. When asked how local
churches and chapels were funded, 23% thought central taxation and
national government was involved. This figure increased to 4 in 10
(42%) when people were asked how they thought local churches and chapels
should be funded.
Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said, "For many
individuals and congregations, the spiritual significance of our
churches is beyond measure, but their historical and architectural
importance is also immense. In particular, English parish churches make
a unique and special contribution to European civilisation.
"Along with ecclesiastical buildings of all denominations, they often
stand at the centre of village and inner city life, providing a sort of
"social glue" for local communities. This survey shows just how special
they are and how much they are loved and valued, even by those who
consider themselves non-Christian."
More than 4 out of 5 adults in Britain, 86%, visited a church or place
of worship over the last year, according to the ORB poll. These
included 89% of Christians responding to the poll, 75% of those of other faiths
and 80% of those with no religion.
Almost 1 in 5 (17%) said they had attended a concert or theatrical
performance in their place of worship in the last year; 13% said they
were "walking past and felt the need to go in", while nearly 1 in 5
(19%) visited to find a quiet space: 12% in 2001. Non-churchgoers value
the quiet space with 1 in 10 (9%) giving that as a reason to visit.
Among city centre and inner city dwellers, the figure rises to 28% and
24% respectively.
The church continues to have an important place in people's lives. The
Church of England's churches and cathedrals provided more than 443,200
rites of passage in 2002 including 158,100 baptisms and thanksgivings,
60,800 marriages and blessings of civil marriages and 224,300 funerals.
Attendance levels at marriages and funerals are not recorded.