No saviors for St. John's

From Delaware-

The Cathedral Church of St. John, a grand old granite church at 10 Concord Ave. that was started in Wilmington more than 150 years ago by Alexis Irenee du Pont and others, will close in July.

The decision was announced last Sunday following worship. This week, a letter was mailed to the cathedral's 120 members.

"We have fought long and hard and have done everything possible to continue our worshipping congregation here at St. John's, but reality says it is time to close," wardens Tom Angell and Deborah Layton wrote in the letter.

It's a decision that was not entirely a surprise, in that only special bequests have kept the church going, given that money from the congregation has fallen short each month by several thousand dollars.

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110930/NEWS/109300350/No-saviors-for-St-John-s?odyssey=tab|mostpopular|text|FRONTPAGE

Last congregation of Episcopal church

From Nevada-

Because of economic hard times and an aging, dwindling congregation, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, in old northwest Reno, will hold its final public service on Nov. 14 and close its doors, church officials said.

The church, originally located adjacent to the University of Nevada, Reno campus, has served the community in its current building for 45 years.

"It's been the university's church all those years, but participation has waned," said Deacon Jim McGrew, who is executive assistant to the Nevada's Episcopal bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dan Edwards. "As I understand it, the church has 31 regular, contributing members, and that became unacceptable because we just could not keep it open that way.

"It's too bad because it's a very nice church, and we'll probably sell the building," McGrew said.

The church opened on West Seventh Street Nov. 21, 1965, and will hold a private service Nov. 21. The church moved to West Seventh Street from the university district because of Interstate 80 freeway construction, McGrew said.

The closure of St. Stephen's reflects a nationwide trend of churches grappling with declining memberships and revenue.

More here-

http://www.rgj.com/article/20101017/NEWS/10170355/1321/NEWS/Last-congregation-of-Episcopal-church

St. Mark's church in Yreka to close its doors

From Northern California-

One of the oldest churches in the north state is up for sale, a victim of the recession coupled with an aging and dwindling congregation.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, which has stood at Lane and Fourth streets near downtown Yreka since 1881, will close its doors Jan. 1, church parishioners announced Monday.

Seventy-year-old Harry Shannon, a heartbroken 21-year member of the church, said this week he’s hoping that his beloved church can be saved, but that it appears the closure is a done deal.

“It’s not luck we’re looking for,” he said. “It’s a miracle.”

Shannon said there was a myriad of reasons behind the closing of the church.

The recession, he said, has definitely taken its toll, but the primary reason for the pending closure is due to its lack of members and its failure to attract younger churchgoers to keep it thriving.

More here-

http://www.redding.com/news/2010/oct/16/st-marks-church-to-close-its-doors/

Mary Kenny: Christians are at their best when persecuted, marginalised, disrespected and denied their rights

From Ireland-

In cosy arrangements with power, or social acceptance by the Establishment, churches grow arrogant and complacent

The former Archbishop of Canterbury -- that is, the leader of Anglicans worldwide -- George Carey, with six other senior Church of England bishops, has accused Gordon Brown's government of "persecuting" Christians in Britain.

The main case of contention centres on a "dedicated nurse", Shirley Chaplin, who is taking her local National Health Hospital trust to a tribunal for removing her from patient care. Mrs Chaplin's offence was to wear a crucifix around her neck while nursing. Carey points out that the lady has worn the said crucifix ever since her girlhood Confirmation.

He and his colleagues (the Bishops of Winchester, Chester, Hereford, Blackburn, Litchfield and the former Bishop of Rochester) have concluded that, on a range of issues, Christians in Britain are being discriminated against.

People of other faiths are permitted to wear the emblems of their religions -- the Sikh turban, the Islamic niqab, even the Jewish star of David -- causing no objections. Christians, alone, are asked to remove "offensive" religious symbols.

In addition, say their Lordships, other elements of Christian rights have been constantly eroded. Christian faith schools are to have government-controlled sex education programme foisted on them (although the British government has a lamentable record of lowering young teenage pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases).

More here-

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/mary-kenny-christians-are-at-their-best-when-persecuted-marginalised-disrespected-and-denied-their-rights-2115444.html

Episcopal Church Membership Drops by 3 Percent

From Beliefnet-

Domestic membership in the Episcopal Church dropped by 3 percent in 2008, continuing a decline in which the denomination has lost almost 200,000 American members since 2004, according to Episcopal researchers.

The Episcopal Church now counts slightly more than 2 million members in about 7,000 U.S. parishes. Church leaders say they are pleased, however, that the denomination is growing in its non-domestic dioceses, particularly in Haiti and Latin America, where the church counted about 168,000 members in 470 parishes last year.

Still, the church is "swimming against some difficult cultural tides," Matilda Kistler, who heads a state-of-the-church committee in the denomination's House of Deputies, said in a statement.

"We find ourselves facing a society that is gravitating toward secularism," Kistler said. "We also believe that the church-going segment of the public is aging significantly, though the committee will be seeking more definitive data to ascertain if that is so."

Kistler acknowledged that "internal conflicts within the Episcopal Church have also distracted from the message of hope our clergy and lay leaders seek to share."

In 2003, the church consecrated an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire, setting off a furor among conservative Episcopalians and the global Anglican Communion, which counts the Episcopal Church as its U.S. branch. Four dioceses and dozens of parishes have since left the Episcopal Church, some to join a rival denomination, the Anglican Church in North America.

On Saturday (Dec. 5), Episcopalians in Los Angeles elected a lesbian priest as an assistant bishop, despite pleas from Anglican bishops throughout the world not to elect any more gay bishops. The Rev. Mary Glasspool must still have her election confirmed by a majority of the church's diocesan standing committees and bishops before she is consecrated as a bishop.

http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2009/12/episcopal-church-membership-dr.php