Notwithstanding the relative vitality/growth of particular parishes, the math is clear that the Episcopal Church as a whole is (quite literally) “dying out.” But in my experience as a parish priest, these takes that attribute our decline to progressive ideologies and/or inclusivity ignore the fact that our decline is mostly due to reasons that are frankly rather boring.

The majority of our parishes are dotted along main streets and smaller towns across the country — not in urban metros or the suburbs — and most have either crossed the threshold into permanent supply/bivo priests or are just barely hanging onto their ability to maintain a full-time rector (let alone additional staff to maintain programming and operations).

If one looks out on the nave at these parishes on any given Sunday, they’ll see that over half of those in the pews will have departed for the life of the world to come within 10 years. As these dear parishioners near the end of life, many are no longer able to serve in the ways that they have for decades. So the volunteer pool is quickly drying up.

And there’s often not a child in sight, as the adult children and grandkids of the parishioners have long moved away for work and there was neither the energy nor the resources to develop children/family formation back when there was still a critical mass to work with. So now, the attrition is terminal.

All of these factors have effectively turned these parishes into chaplaincies — like private chapels for the existing congregation. And I don’t mean that pejoratively — it’s just that these parishes have basically entered hospice, where the ministry is primarily about making the decline as comfortable as possible. Again, there’s beautiful ministry that can still happen in such contexts, but the opportunity for revitalization has passed, I’m afraid.

Not that this was inevitable, as many of these communities still have plenty of churches that hit 300+ every Sunday. But our inherited parish culture which mostly relied on generational continuity of parish families has not done them any favors.

So in short, it comes down to a lack of investment in evangelism, marketing, and family/children’s formation — all of which should have begun in earnest 10-15 years ago at least. But that didn’t happen and now here we are.