The difficulty is when a person gets just enough "Christianity" to inoculate him or her against the real thing...

A few years ago, the CofE produced a paper called "The Mission-Shaped Church" which segmented the broad category of "unchurched" into some more useful sub-groups.

I don't recall all the deliniations offhand, but they used "unchurched" to refer only to those who were strictly unchurched - ie, had not had any meaningful connection to the Church at any point beyond, perhaps, a vague memory that Granny used to be CofE. These people were actually easier to reach out to than two of the other categories which were both referred to as "dechurched."

I don't recall the labels for the two sub-subsets, but the one group of dechurched were those who had rather wandered off. They had stopped coming for one reason or another and had essentially "gotten out of the habit."

The hardest group to reach, however, were the other subsegment of dechurched - those who had left because of some slight, hurt or injury, be it real or perceived. These people were, to one degree or another, hostile to the Church.

I found this segmentation more meaningful than the overbroad use of "unchurched" to refer to everyone who isn't there regardless of the reason.

Malcolm French+

Within the Protestant community, people who typically attend a mainline church were nearly twice as likely as those who attend non-mainline Protestant congregations to be unchurched (26% versus 16%, respectively). Also, church size was related to attendance patterns: 24% of the people who attend small churches were unchurched, compared to 15% who usually go to a mid-sized congregation, and just 5% of those who affiliate with a large church (defined as attracting 500 or more adults on an average weekend).

I suspect a significant overlap between these two facts: Mainline congregations are smaller and therefore, you're less likely to be able to attend anonymously. A big seeker service? If you're into that kind of thing, you can be in and out w/o anyone hassling you to "Volunteer for _____"!

OCICBW . . . and playing devil's advocate: those "non-Mainline services" are genuinely more attractive (to their adherents) AND that "non-Mainline" theology may be more about "Turn or Burn" if you don't come to church regularly!

JC Fisher

I think that the "big church" having "less unchurched" is an interesting statistic, and possibly one worth exploring. I suspect our immediate inclination is to think that they are neo-conservative "mega-churches," but we may not be right.
As someone fairly far left in the spectrum, I note that I have almost always gravitated to "bigger" churches. Right now, we hop over many closer Episcopal churches to go 30 miles into town to the Cathedral. There were many reasons: better music and liturgy, a more diverse congregation, overall more "liberal" and tolerant attitudes in the urban setting, possibly others reasons too, though. Restauranteurs have often noted a synergy of numbers. A certain number of persons per unit of space has an effect on perception of the place itself. I wonder if our present state of moderate to large plants with small numbers might create more of a "dead and dying" perception to the attendees? Maybe we should think about this when we try to decide whether to keep tiny struggling churches going on their own? Might a "union" of three smaller churches have a better chance to survive and grow than keeping the (painful to let go of) smaller churches struggling on?

When I lived in NYC I found a lovely, small Episcopal church near my home that I attended faithfully (in the Bronx).

It had a warm, gifted priest, a diverse congregation, mostly well-healed, and several important outreach efforts and was a well-maintained, historical structure. I was able to attend there for years as a fairly anonymous worshipper during the early service and that suited my needs at the time.

There was another, much larger church, equally close, that I attended on a few occasions. It has a leaking ceiling, suffered from years of structural neglect, and often I would be one of maybe half a dozen worshippers. The priest seemed to be completely defeated but determined. No anonymity here! Yet they also had a vibrant social outreach in the very, very poor neighborhood in which they were located. I always felt completely overwhelmed by the needs of the building but also drawn to participate in keeping the place alive so I went back, again and again.

Now I live in a very conservative small city in Florida. There are 5 parishes here. I have tried each and feel at home in none.

The overwhelming push to accept the conservative viewpoint in sermons and community participation, the rapid attempts to assimilate me into the choir and various committees and meetings when I didn’t know a single person there, and the lack of diversity and exclusiveness made me very uncomfortable. The priests are all very traditional, domineering, and they brook no dissent, so I am now unchurched.

I hope to move to a place where I can find another church home in the next year or two where I can become part of the family in a slower, more realistic way. Until then I will remain a cyber member of TEC.

Priscilla's comments sound like my sister-in-law, for years a member of St. Peter's, Westchester Square, in the Bronx, NYC. Now she and her husband live in the Diocese of Central Florida. The local Episcopal Church is homophobic and ultra conservative so she attends the Methodist Church with her husband. Her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter who live nearby, all Episcopalians from NYC, are also totally turned off by Howe's conservative diocese.

It leaves one wondering how many have been turned away by their fellow Episcopalians who define themselves by whom they hate rather than by those whom they love.

Y'know, when I read stories about dioceses like Central Florida, I can't help but think of showing up at the diocesan offices and saying "Would you, Your Grace, consider beginning an Episcopal parish, in addition to all the other Fundagelical stuff you've got going on here?" A bishop has no right to UNCHURCH the Episcopalians in his (and it's almost certainly "his") diocese!

JC Fisher