Growth Not Encouraging
Diocesan Press Service. November 2, 1964 [XXVI-19]
Growth statistics of the Episcopal Church since 1961 do not present an encouraging picture, according to a report heard by the House of Deputies and commented upon at a press conference by the Rev. Robert B. Appleyard of Greenwich, Conn.
Canon Appleyard, secretary of the House of Deputies' Committee on the State of the Church, revealed that for the first time since 1930 growth in the communicant membership of the Church has increased this past year at a slower rate than the population: one-tenth of 1% Episcopal Church growth, as compared with a 1.4% growth in the nation's population for the year 1963.
Other telling statistics discussed by Dr. Appleyard were these: 25% of the active Episcopal clergymen are at present engaged in non-parochial ministry; total giving to the Episcopal Church in 1963 was $209,000,000 as compared with $203, 000, 000 in 1962 and $197,000,000 in 1961; and the ratio of beyond-the-parish expenditures to total parish receipts grew in the year 1963 from 12.1% to 13.3%.
These last figures, said the Rev. Mr. Appleyard, represent a small increase, despite the formalization at the 1961 General Convention in Detroit of the Church's goal of 50-50 giving. The hope is that parishes will eventually divide the dollars at their disposal equally between work of their own and outreach beyond local parish efforts.