The Episcopal Church saw a decline in membership of some 40,000 people last year, but also saw an increase in average Sunday worship attendance, the Christian Post website reports today (Nov. 11, 2024).
According to numbers released on Nov. 8, the mainline Protestant denomination had a membership of approximately 1,547 million people and 6,754 congregations in 2023.
This marks a decline from 2022, when the denomination reported having 1,584 million members and a slight decrease in the number of congregations, which was 6,789.
It also represents a sharp drop compared to 2010, when the denomination reported that its membership was 1.96 million or a half million more people than last year.
Howqever, for the second consecutive year, the denomination saw a rise in average Sunday worship attendance, with 2023 seeing nearly 411,000 average attendance, while 2022 had 373,000 and 2021 had 312,000.
The rise reflects a gradual recovery from the COVID--19 pandemic, when worship attendance plummeted.
Over the last couple of decades, the Episcopal Church has experienced considerable decline in its membership, driven by multiple factors, including its progressive theological direction.
For example, in 2003, when the denomination ordained its first openly gay bishop, scores of theologically conservative congregartions and a couple of dioceses opted to leave in protest.
Earlier this month, the Rev. Sean Rowe, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, said, "We are one church, one church in Jesus Christ."
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