The National Catholic Reporter reports that the Roman Catholic Church has lost one-third of its members and one in ten Americans (USA) is an ex-Catholic:

The number of people who have left the Catholic church is huge.

We all have heard stories about why people leave. Parents share stories about their children. Academics talk about their students. Everyone has a friend who has left.
While personal experience can be helpful, social science research forces us to look beyond our circle of acquaintances to see what is going on in the whole church.
The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life has put hard numbers on the anecdotal evidence: One out of every 10 Americans is an ex-Catholic. If they were a separate denomination, they would be the third-largest denomination in the United States, after Catholics and Baptists. One of three people who were raised Catholic no longer identifies as Catholic.

Any other institution that lost one-third of its members would want to know why. But the U.S. bishops have never devoted any time at their national meetings to discussing the exodus. Nor have they spent a dime trying to find out why it is happening.
....
The principal reasons given by people who leave the church to become Protestant are that their “spiritual needs were not being met” in the Catholic church (71 percent) and they “found a religion they like more” (70 percent). Eighty-one percent of respondents say they joined their new church because they enjoy the religious service and style of worship of their new faith.
...
Dissatisfaction with how the church deals with spiritual needs and worship services dwarfs any disagreements over specific doctrines. While half of those who became Protestants say they left because they stopped believing in Catholic teaching, specific questions get much lower responses. Only 23 percent said they left because of the church’s teaching on abortion and homosexuality; only 23 percent because of the church’s teaching on divorce; only 21 percent because of the rule that priests cannot marry; only 16 percent because of the church’s teaching on birth control; only 16 percent because of the way the church treats women; only 11 percent because they were unhappy with the teachings on poverty, war and the death penalty.
....
Nor are the people becoming Protestants lazy or lax Christians. In fact, they attend worship services at a higher rate than those who remain Catholic. While 42 percent of Catholics who stay attend services weekly, 63 percent of Catholics who become Protestants go to church every week. That is a 21 percentage-point difference.
....
...almost two-thirds of former Catholics who join a Protestant church join an evangelical church. Catholics who become evangelicals and Catholics who join mainline churches are two very distinct groups.

Read more here.

The Economist:

16 of the 20 African countries which have had detailed surveys of living conditions since 2005 reported falls in their child-mortality rates (this rate is the number of deaths of children under five per 1,000 live births). Twelve had falls of over 4.4% a year, which is the rate of decline that is needed to meet the millennium development goal (MDG) of cutting by two-thirds the child-mortality rate between 1990 and 2015 (see chart). Three countries—Senegal, Rwanda and Kenya—have seen falls of more than 8% a year, almost twice the MDG rate and enough to halve child mortality in about a decade. These three now have the same level of child mortality as India, one of the most successful economies in the world during the past decade.
...
... Jeffrey Sachs, an American economist, recently claimed that a big drop in child mortality in his Millennium Villages Project (a group of African villages that his Earth Institute of Columbia University, New York, is helping) is the result of large increases in aid to villagers. In fact, argues Mr Demombynes, the mortality decline in these villages was no better than in the countries as a whole.

The broad moral of the story is different: aid does not seem to have been the decisive factor in cutting child mortality. No single thing was. But better policies, better government, new technology and other benefits are starting to bear fruit. “This will be startling news for anyone who still thinks Africa is mired in unending poverty and death,” says Mr Clemens. But “that Africa is slipping quickly away.”

While we're on the topic of extreme poverty, see also An absence of optimism plays a large role in keeping people trapped in poverty:

Ms Duflo and her co-authors also found that the beneficiaries’ mental health improved dramatically: the programme had cut the rate of depression sharply. She argues that it provided these extremely poor people with the mental space to think about more than just scraping by. As well as finding more work in existing activities, like agricultural labour, they also started exploring new lines of work. Ms Duflo reckons that an absence of hope had helped keep these people in penury.

May 23, 2012

Dear Deputies and First Alternates,

I write to you for two reasons: to thank you for your support, friendship, prayers, challenges, brilliance and love that has inspired and humbled me during these 6 years and second, to let you know that I do not plan to stand for election as President of the House of Deputies for another term.

The reason I am not seeking re-election is a simple one: I want to spend more time with my family. My husband, Glen, is retired. I want to be with him more. Our amazing son, Justin, lives with us and reminds us every single day, by his very existence, that God is a generous miracle maker. I want to celebrate Justin’s life by being with him every day. I want to bake cakes with my grandchildren and go to all their band concerts, soccer games and school plays. I want to have leisurely phone conversations with my daughters. You get the picture.

By tomorrow, you will receive information on the process for electing a President and Vice President while we are in Indianapolis.

I have been honored beyond measure to lead this house, and gratified to observe the many ways in which Deputies and Alternates serve and lead God’s Church, both when General Convention is in session and when it is not. Your voices resonate not only within the great representative diversity of General Convention, but also in our communities and in commissions during the triennium, in vestries, and in the leadership roles you hold in our congregations, dioceses and provinces. In my 21 years in the House, and my two terms as your president, I have been reminded again and again of our forebears’ wisdom in creating a system of governance that honors the simple theological truth that the Holy Spirit blows where she will, and that to discern God’s purposes, we must listen to the voices of all of the baptized.

Please know that I will serve the House of Deputies as President at full capacity until the “gavel goes down” on July 12 in Indianapolis.

Peace and blessings,
Bonnie Anderson, D.D.
President, The House of Deputies

Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with those who take counsel in General Convention for the renewal and mission of your Church. Teach us in all things to seek first your honor and glory. Guide us to perceive what is right, and grant us both the courage to pursue it and the grace to accomplish it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Book of Common Prayer

Henry D. W. Burt, secretary of the Diocese of Virginia writes with the latest news from the property settlement front:

Over the last few weeks you have received word of a cascade of settlements the Diocese of Virginia and the Episcopal Church have made with six of the seven CANA congregations that remained in the property litigation. In each case, the CANA congregation agreed to return the church property, including personal property and Episcopal funds due the Diocese of Virginia, and to withdraw their appeals. We have sought to be as generous as we can be with these congregations, particularly with regard to items necessary in the very short-term for them to continue in their ministries.

With disappointment, I report to you that we have been unable to reach a final settlement with the CANA congregation now known as the Falls Church Anglican. Their leadership has made it clear that they plan to pursue their appeal before the Supreme Court of Virginia unless the Diocese (with the Episcopal Church’s approval) pays them a significant sum of money; we both are unwilling to do so. As a result, we expect the Falls Church Anglican to file their petition for appeal at the end of this month, asking the Supreme Court of Virginia to hear their case. We must file a responsive brief three weeks later, and the Court will issue its decision on whether to take the case at some point this fall. We remain strongly confident in our legal position.

Despite the Falls Church Anglican’s decision to appeal, we were able to reach other key side agreements with real and positive consequences for the people affected. The 50-year-old Falls Church Day School, which serves over 200 children, has returned to the oversight of the Falls Church Episcopal without disruption and will remain open for the long term. Also, the Diocese is leasing the rectory to the rector of the Falls Church Anglican for up to a year at a fair rent, allowing him time to relocate. Finally, Bishop Johnston has given the Rev. Cathy Tibbetts, priest-in-charge of the Falls Church Episcopal, authority to respond generously to requests for weddings and funerals in the Falls Church by members of the Falls Church Anglican.

If you ask most people who's the theologian in a local congregation, they're more likely than not going to point to the ordained clergy. But that's just not the whole story according to an article by Mark Gorman posted in the Duke Divinity School Magazine.

Congregational musicians, because of their shared leadership of worship with the clergy, have a responsibility for practical daily theology of most worshiping groups. Making decisions about which hymns to choose, which anthems to pair to specific biblical texts can have as much impact in how those texts are understood by the congregation as anything the preacher says from the pulpit.

And that means that congregations will have to make sure that their musicians have the resources and training they need to accomplish that work.

"In most churches, the musicians are not world-class performers but volunteers or part-time workers, often overworked and underappreciated. In many cases, they are not even affiliated with the denomination of the church they are serving—or are not Christians at all. It would seem unreasonable or unrealistic to add ‘musical theologian’ to their duties, or to ask that before each service they consider how their musical decisions contribute to the theological formation of the congregation.

This line of thought misses the point. Musicians, whether or not they are aware of it, are shaping congregations theologically through their music. Congregations, even if they don’t explicitly know it, are formed theologically by the music of their worship services, just as they are formed by the sermon, the prayers, and the sacraments. Vibrant worship, therefore, requires that both church musicians and the congregations they serve become more sensitive to the theological work of music.

This might mean that a congregation, for example, would pay for its musicians to receive additional training in playing for worship services, or even in theology. While formal seminary study is one way to do this, many groups offer such training. The American Guild of Organists has regular continuing education opportunities. Hampton University offers a one-week workshop each summer for organists and choir directors, as does Westminster Choir College. Arcus also recommends denominational groups, like the Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts, which offer a broad variety of materials. "

Read the full article here.

Looking for resources to teach about General Convention in advance of its meeting this summer? The Diocese of Texas has put out a helpful six minute video (see below) perfect for a Sunday forum and the Episcopal Church Foundation's Vital Practices blog has made the following books and online resources available:

Learn About General Convention Graphic Booklet

'What Is General Convention?' (Audio Slideshow)

How Resolutions Move Through General Convention"

You can find them all here.

The Episcopal Diocese of Lexington (in Kentucky) has released the Search Committee's list of five nominees to serve as the seventh bishop of the diocese.

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Christ Church in Winnetka Illinois has a few fashion tips for people looking to dress properly for church this coming Sunday...

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Yesterday the Church of England's House of Bishops released their draft legislation on the next steps to ordaining women priests to the episcopate in England. There's been a great deal of comment overnight. Not much of it has been favorable.

Women and the Church released this statement

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As the Episcopal Church and other denominations have taken positions of that support the full inclusion of LGBT Christians and marriage equality, those in support of that position point out that the ritual law of the Old Testament was suspended after the resurrection, and arguing that Levitical prohibitions are still in force for some things and not others doesn't make a lot of sense.

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The Rev. Gary Hall, rector of Christ Church, Cranbrook recently taught a course on the problem of evil at Cranbrook School, Mitt Romney's old stomping grounds. Here is what he concluded:

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Thinking Anglicans has the press release from the Church of England. The core--which, to be honest is beyond my interpretive capabilities is here:

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One of the great pleasures of working on the video we posted last week from the gathering that the Chicago Consultation held in partnership with the Ujamaa Centre of the University of KwaZulu Natal in October was the opportunity to interview several of the participants in the consultation at length. I especially enjoyed talking with the Rev. Mote Magomba, director of the Amani Christian Training Centre in Iringa, Tanzania. The story of his change of heart on LGBT issues was the highlight of the video. Here, you can hear him speak about it at greater length.

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"A More True Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society: Toward a Missional Polity for The Episcopal Church," an essay by the Rev. Dwight Zscheile published in the Journal of Religious Leadership in 2006 has been receiving renewed attention as the church turns its attention to restructuring its governance and administration. Why not read it and tell us what you think.

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"On call" baptism.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori dropped this phrase in video taped remarks on the issue of Communion without Baptism, and frequent Cafe commenter Jonathan Grieser picked it up. He writes:

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Interesting news out of Germany-- the Catholic Archbishop of Berlin has reportedly come out in favor of treating those in long-term homosexual relationships equal to those in heterosexual relationships.

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"I am a Christian, and I am in favor of gay marriage," writes law professor Mark Osler on CNN's Belief Blog. "The reason I am for gay marriage is because of my faith."

Osler, who worships at St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Edina, Minn., goes on to say:

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A new BBC News poll shows that people in England overwhelming support Queen Elizabeth II's role as "Defender of the Faith" and wish to see her continue to serve as head of the Church of England. From Alex Strangwayes-Booth of BBC News:

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Graduates of Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Florida, paid homage Saturday to Dale Regan, head of the school who was murdered in her office in March.

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Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori believes that the sacraments of communion and baptism should not be separated. At a townhall meeting in North Carolina a few months ago, she said, "If we're aware that there are people coming to the table who have not been baptized, it's time to do something.

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Miranda Threlfall-Holmes writes that legislation allowing women to be ordained as bishops must not compromise the authority of bishops. In The Guardian at Comment is free:

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CBS News is reporting that the NAACP has voted to support marriage equality:

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) backed a resolution on Saturday in support of "marriage equality."

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In the meantime blog compares Guy Kawasaki's 10 things you can learn from Apple™ Stores and church.

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MORE UPDATES below
UPDATE: Photo of bishop elect from Twitter. Statement from Diocese of New Hampshire.

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N.T. Wright and other scholars think our concept of heaven is all wrong. The Bible does not support some heavenly afterlife but a renewed life on earth. Huffington Post reports:

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UPDATE: video now available:

The Washington National Cathedral will host a live webcast featuring a discussion about mission with Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, and former Archbishop of Southern Africa, Desmond Tutu.

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Kelvin Holdsworth, Provost of St, Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow, says that it is important for the American Episcopal Church to formally say "no" to all of the Anglican Covenant even though the issue appears to be dead in the Church of England. He says that there are subtle, but equally destructive aspects of the sections not dealing with discipline.

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Associated Press reports:

The mother of a 14-year-old boy says a cellphone video depicting her son struggling to stand on two broken legs is proof that her son was harmed while attending a Kansas military school and supports claims in a federal lawsuit that the school encouraged a culture of abuse.

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Many cities in the U.S. grew quickly, covering a lot of space in short time, which makes the experience of isolation and disconnection. This is an experience common to both large cities and spread out suburbs. Some churches in the Las Vegas have joined with local groups to build a sense of connection and to find community based solutions.

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown wants to declare that three Episcopal priests, who were received from the Catholic Church, are lay people.

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Bonnie Anderson, President of the House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church, writes about the Violence Against Women Act which is now up for renewal in Congress.

The Episcopal Church has gone on record, along with many other religious groups and leaders, as being opposed to the changes to VAWA as proposed in the House bill.

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Reluctant Xian says that there are five things that Christians should never say. This is not like George Carlin's classic comedy routine, through, because these never get bleeped.

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Some history to absorb before restructuring and budgeting at General Convention. Diana Butler Bass talks about her new book, Christianity After Religion, at All Saints Church, Pasadena, CA:

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The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee, Bishop of Chicago, on the NATO Summit:

Ascension Day 2012
Dear Friends:

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Noreen Malone reports on the new "occupiers" of the Trinity Wall Street space in the New York online:

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There has been much conversation recently on the future of seminaries.

Katherine M Douglass and Jason Bruner, doctoral candidates at Princeton Theological Seminary, write in The Chronicle of Higher Education:

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It's befuddling - to me, at least - that The Christian Post, in having had the same amount of time to look over resolutions proposed for Indianapolis this summer as everyone else, has decided to highlight resolution C040, which promotes "open table" by eliminating Canon I.17.7, the requirement of baptism as necessary for reception of Holy Communion.

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Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori today issued a pastoral letter.

On May 7, Jefferts Schori joined other religious voices in repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery at the 11th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). The theme for the UNPFII meeting is “The Doctrine of Discovery: its enduring impact on indigenous peoples and the right to redress for past conquests (articles 28 and 37 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples).” In 2009, General Convention repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery.

The text of the letter follows.

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In the Dallas Morning News' blog on religion, theologians from all over Texas consider the question of marriage equality and of how and whether the church should shift when the culture does - or if it's the other way around - or both - or something else entirely.

Fort Worth's Katie Sherrod takes a reasoned swing at the question.

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The L.A. Times reports on Bike Week L.A.:

... dozens of cyclists rode to Good Samaritan Hospital for the ninth annual Blessing of the Bicycles. A rabbi talked about living green. A nun spoke of guardian angels. And the Rev. Jerry Anderson, an Episcopal priest and hospital chaplain, sprinkled holy water on bikers and their bikes.

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LifeWay Christian Resources - a product of the Southern Baptist Convention - recently polled 2,144 Americans using an online instrument. They were asked, "Do you believe homosexuality is a sin?"

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Sharing communion without first baptizing a person is a small but common practice in the Episcopal Church right now. There's been a great deal of discussion on the question here on the Episcopal Café over the past few years.

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The Church of Ireland met in General Synod last week. Last year, Dean Tom Gordon entered into a civil partnership with his long time partner and in so doing created a crisis in the Irish Anglican church. After attempts by the bishops to reiterate the traditional opposition to marriage equality in the church as part of a temporizing compromise, a push by the progressive voices to oppose that plan has highlighted the disagreement within the church.

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One of the reports submitted to General Convention this year analyzes the interest in the Episcopal Church in revising the 1982 Hymnal. The task of doing the research was passed to the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, and they've posted their long report on the Church Pension Group website. (See update below for more information regarding the report itself.)

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Bishop Stacy Sauls, chief operating officer of the Episcopal Church, sent the following e-mail to the church's staff yesterday in the employee newsletter. In it he discusses the role of the Church Center staff:

Not Being Overcome by Fear

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I lack the theological and historical chops to assess Eric Berkowitz's claim that the Catholic Church celebrated same-sex unions between men in medieval times, or to distinguish his claims from those of the late historian John Boswell. But I would be delighted to hear from commenters who can give us a sense of whether Berkowitz is saying anything new or significant. He writes:

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From the Chicago Consultation:

In October, some 25 Anglican leaders from across Africa gathered with more than a dozen Episcopalians from the United States for a consultation on issues of justice and human sexuality.

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Gretta writes in Salon:

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Andrew Sullivan has an excellent round up of reaction focusing on the religious aspects of President Obama's historic endorsement of marriage equality.

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Odyssey Networks wraps up last week's religion news. Like many media outlets, they give the Catholic League more visibility that it deserves.

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