For the past 25 years, the Rev. Charles R. Wilson of Arvada, Colo., has been analyzing statistical patterns and trends of the Episcopal Church. Fr. Wilson, who operates CRW Management Services, doesn't believe those reports that the church is going down the tubes, and in his recently published Trends Update, which analyzes statistics from 1983 to 1995, he refutes some myths. Here are a few examples:

1. Congregations have severely cut back on their support of the dioceses; thus the dioceses can no longer support the national church as they once did.

Actually, Fr. Wilson reports, congregational support of the diocese has been increasing every year, and at a rate that is far ahead of inflation. "The cutback in support of the general church program is rooted in diocesan, not parochial, priorities," he said.

2. People are leaving the Episcopal Church in droves.

Using average Sunday attendance as his basis, rather than baptized membership, Fr. Wilson's findings indicate that average Sunday attendance has increased by 22 percent over 21 years. For the past 10 years, it has remained steady at about 1.1 million. Those numbers are based on the four Sundays included on the church's parochial report form, and include Easter Day,

"Baptized membership is not a very good indicator of much," Fr. Wilson said. "Average Sunday attendance is a much better gauge of the energy in the church."

Just for the record, the Trends Update reports "the down trend in baptized membership appears to have bottomed out in 1989 (2.43 million). Since then it has been creeping back up."

3. The money is drying up.

Statistics provided by Fr. Wilson indicate plate and pledge receipts have increased 88 percent over the past 12 years, and total operating revenues were up 84 percent during the same period. And what about inflation?, you ask. The author claims these figures are better than 30 points ahead of inflation for those 12 years.

Trends Update also reports per member giving is highest in dioceses in the Southeast and South Central U.S., and lowest in the Northeast. It also lists the average clergy salary (stipend and housing) in 1995 was more than $47,000, an increase of 80 percent in 12 years.

The numbers, and other statistics in Fr. Wilson's report, are hopeful, but not yet cause for celebration. Many will point out that the number of communicants has dropped steadily during those 12 years, and that the baptized membership figures probably were inflated before they began to drop. There are reasons to be optimistic, but let's wait until after the next two General Conventions before proclaiming the church as healthy.

David Kalvelage, editor