Opinion: Finances, Nail in the Coffin for Episcopal Church?

The Episcopal Church has, historically, been known for their rich endowments and deep pockets. No longer.

WASHINGTON (Catholic Online) - Years ago I was visiting with the rector of an Episcopal Church who showed me the stained glass windows in his church.

"Do you know why the people won't leave here?" he said. "See the faces on these saints? These are actually the faces of someone's father, mother, or Uncle Bill. They will stay because their family is preserved in stained glass."

We also know that a lot of people felt connected because a part of their family's financial legacy was endowed to the church.

It is amazing how smug people can get when they know they hold the golden ticket. The Episcopal Church has, historically, been known for their rich endowments and deep pockets. They also felt somewhat insulated from any economic downturn that might come from losing a few people here, a few churches there. The battle over buildings, for instance, is more about real estate than religious services.

In a recent article, David Virtue reports on the fiscal repercussions in The Episcopal Church due to financial issues in our economy. A lot of dioceses and church are getting hit and hit hard. The national church is also being hammered. There are talks of cutbacks, layoffs, and sell-offs. Things are getting tight.

Perhaps the end of the doctrinal hemorrhage will come with the last gasp of the church financially. This is a good time to remember why all this money over the years was entrusted to ECUSA; that people really believed that the doctrine, discipline and worship as received in the Episcopal Church was worth perpetuating.

As a cradle Episcopalian, I know that was the case with the slice of humanity where I was raised. Those who gave the most were the same ones who gasped when the Proposed Book of Common Prayer began to circulate. They groaned when the priesthood was first opened to women. They gave in order to perpetuate the ethos of Episcopalian-ism, not re-invent it.

Those who embrace the "new and improved" Episcopal Church may, in fact, want to perpetuate their legacy. That is true. The problem, however, comes from the fact that this huge money-hungry monster has to be fed daily. This is an organization with big buildings and a bigger bureaucracy.

Time alone will tell whether the remnant that remains will be able to perpetuate the organization. Perhaps, The Episcopal Church, as some have predicted, will cease to exist. Perhaps it will shrink to become an anorexic version of its former self. It may land somewhere in between. No one can really know.

The day is done, however, when enthusiastic orthodox Anglicans will see the church as a legacy they want to endow. There will undoubtedly be a question in the minds of those who remain, asking, "If I like where we are now, how can I be sure even this will remain?" Why invest in a house built on shifting sand, when no one can really know where that structure may end the journey?

The new Anglican Province, now under construction, will be built for lean operation, no doubt. They will, by necessity, remain cautious in the area of stewardship. They also know it will take time to build confidence and trust that they will, in fact, perpetuate the legacy.

It will be interesting to watch what happens next. I doubt we will see the church try to close the back door. They are too confident in their brave new world. But they might stop suing exiting churches and pitch a selling price instead. The New Year could be quite remarkable.

####

Randy Sly is a communications specialist and Associate Editor for Catholic Online. A former Archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church, he has served in full-time Christian ministry for over 30 years. He and his wife Sandy came into the full communion of the Catholic Church three years ago.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'

Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online