We who are many are one body, for we all share the one bread.

3. Sisters and brothers, we are the body of Christ. By one Spirit we were baptized into one body. Keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Amen. We are bound by the love of Christ. We who are many are one body, for we all share the one bread.

4. How we enter the world…

5. St. Christopher’s By-The-Sea St. Andrew’s Good Shepherd All Saints’ St. Bartholomew’s Reconciliation St. Mark’s The Episcopal Community in Corpus Christi By one Spirit we were baptized into one body.

7. Good Shepherd George West McMullen Live Oak St. Peter’s Rockport St. Michael’s Lake Corpus Christi Aransas Our Saviour Aransas Pass San Patricio Advent Alice Trinity-By-The-Sea Port Aransas Nueces All Saints’ Good Shepherd Reconciliation St. Andrew’s, Calallen St. Bartholomew’s St. Christopher’s-By-The-Sea, Portland St. Mark’s Duval Jim Wells Epiphany Kingsville Kleberg Jim Hogg St. James Hebbronville Churches in the Southern Convocation We who are many are one body, for we all share the one bread.

8. 13 10 22 90 Congregations 27,000 Members 60 Counties 69,000 Sq Miles 8 11 15 11 Churches in the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas

9. World Mission 2011

10. 37 70 62 NW Texas Ft Worth Dallas NW Texas 155 90 Texas West Texas Episcopal Churches in Texas Dioceses

11. Western Kansas Kansas West Missouri NW Texas Oklahoma Arkansas Rio Grande Ft. Worth Dallas Western Louisiana Texas West Texas Episcopal Dioceses in Province VII

12. The 9 Provinces of the Episcopal Church

13. Over $25 Million in 2010 for: Alleviating Hunger Improving Food Supply Creating Economic Opportunities Strengthening Communities Promoting Health Fighting Disease Responding to Disasters Rebuilding Communities

14. Governance in the Episcopal Church Flow of governance from parishes to the National Episcopal Church

16. Who are these Episcopalians? All Saints’ Diocese of West Texas Members / Attendance Income Members / Attendance Income (X 1,000) 425 average 300 average Baptized Members 200 average 111 average Worship Attendance $475,000 average $244,000 average Plate / Pledge

17. Where are our churches? 52% in small towns / 40% in large cities / 8% rural Most founded before 1901 / only 3% since 1993 Median worship space seats 170 persons

18. Episcopal Worship Characteristics Over ½ have <70 persons attending worship Only 3% have >350 persons attending worship Median attendance in 2009 was 66, down from 72 in 2006 and 77 in 2003 62% offer two or more services / 38% only one Those with one service are <1/3 full • Most churches often or always feature: • Eucharist (99%) - Organ music (91%) • Kneeling (80%) - Choir (72%) • Congregations were most likely to say their worship is: • Filled with God’s presence (36%) • Joyful (34%) - Reverent (25%) • Congregations were least likely to say their worship is: • Thought-provoking (23%) • Inspirational (17%) - Innovative (4%)

19. Congregation Age Characteristics • US population is comparatively young – 70% under the age of 50 • Episcopal Church population is older – only 44% under 50 years old

20. Overall, the Episcopal Church, like most mainstream churches, is declining in membership But many Episcopal congregations are reversing this trend by attracting new members Few Episcopal churches actively recruit members - 20% say “quite a bit” - 40% say “some” Churches actively involved in new member recruitment are more likely to grow in attendance Most frequently used methods of visitor contact - Mail (60%) - Phone (48%) - Email (39%) - Sending materials (38%) - Personal visit (33%) 91% of churches say they conduct special events or programs to attract people from community, though some do it infrequently. Congregations that don’t focus on attracting new members tend to decline in attendance. If All Saints’ is declining in attendance, what does this say about us?.

21. How do Episcopal congregations view themselves? Want to grow Celebrate Episcopal heritage Like a close-knit family Hold strong beliefs and values Want to be racially & culturally inclusive Spiritually vital and alive Clear mission and purpose Working for social justice Willing to change to meet new challenges “Moral beacon” in the community Not that different from other congregations

22. What does it mean to be Episcopalian? Most say they are “moderate”, or “somewhat “ liberal or conservative Few say they are very liberal or very conservative Conservative congregations are much more likely to experience serious conflict over gay ordinations than liberal ones • Among parishes reporting growth: • Very liberal (38%) • Somewhat liberal (32%) • Very conservative (30%) Being Episcopalian means holding in tension the fact that we are evangelical, catholic and liberal and moving together as one body in Christ.

24. What is the Anglican Communion? • An international association of autonomous national and regional churches, not a governing body. • 85 million Christians in 44 world churches in full communion with the Church of England. • Traces heritage to the beginnings of Christianity and structure to founding of the Church of England • Archbishop of Canterbury is the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion • Only one Church in any country can be considered in full communion with the Church of England • The Episcopal Church is the American member of the Anglican Communion. • Anglican Primates meet regularly to deal with issues affecting the worldwide communion • The full Anglican Communion convenes every 10 years in a Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, - presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury. - strives to express the “mind of the Communion” on the issues of the day. - resolutions are non-binding on its members.

25. The 44 Member Churches of the Anglican Communion

26. The Anglican Communion • The 44 Member Churches • 34 Provinces • 4 United Churches • 6 Other Churches

27. The Anglican Covenant What is it? A covenant of unity that seeks to hold the Anglican Communion together organically in the face of increasing fragmentation.  An opportunity to choose between intensifying our worldwide relationships in affection or commitment, or allowing splits to develop further and irrevocably.  Not a document of doctrinal specifications, requiring overall uniformity in worship and practice. Not a contract. A covenant modeled after family and kinship relationships and mutually agreed norms of behavior which seek to benefit everyone.

28. The Anglican Covenant What’s in it? The four sections of the covenant cover the themes of belief, mission, church and relational consequences.  The content of the covenant strives to maintain a delicate balance of communion with autonomy and accountability. The language of the covenant seeks the middle way, the via media,so there is opposition from those who feel it places too much restriction on innovation and local autonomy, as well as from those who feel it is not restrictive enough.

29. The Anglican Covenant Why are we having this debate? When the Church of England separated from Rome in the 16th century, the argument over scriptural authority vs. papal authority set up two conflicting principles which continue today: (1) Interpretation of scripture is up to the individual, not the church, and (2) Because all Christians submit to the Bible, there should be no disagreement. Richard Hooker’s Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity gave the church a way to navigate through these issues by his argument that authority in the church comes through scripture, tradition and reason. But all those remain open to individual interpretation, and so disagreements among member churches have continued. The continued growth of the Anglican Communion, especially over the past 100 years, has led to a sea change in the racial and cultural makeup of the communion. Issues like the ordination of women and gays and same-sex marriage create few problems for some churches and huge ones for others, especially in the Global South churches. The 2003 election of openly-gay Eugene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire, was the flash point for the current controversy and has led to the proposed Anglican Covenant.

30. The Anglican Covenant Who decides if it’s adopted and what happens if it fails? In the Episcopal Church, delegates to the 2012 General Convention will vote, both in the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies (clergy and lay), on whether to approve it. Approval must be by both houses. Similar votes will be taken by the remaining churches in the Anglican Communion during 2011 and 2012. Some churches, including Mexico, Myanmar, the West Indies, Ireland and SE Asia have already approved it or passed favorable resolutions, while the church in the Philippines has rejected it. The Episcopal Church, Australia, Church of England, Japan, New Zealand , Scotland, Southern Africa and Canada have not yet decided and will vote in their synods and conventions during 2012. Failure to adopt will likely lead to a weakened and fragmented Anglican Communion and to more emphasis on local autonomy by the constituent churches, tending more toward the congregational model. It could either result in an agreement to disagree or in a complete schism in the communion.

31. The Anglican Covenant How is the Episcopal Church likely to vote? No one knows at this time. DOWT bishops support it and Bishop Lillibridge was instrumental in framing it, but many dioceses around the country have already passed resolutions rejecting it. Opponents claim the covenant is profoundly “unanglican” because by trying to accommodate the Global South churches many dioceses feel they would be losing their local autonomy, their ability to respond to the needs of a local population, which, they claim, is the essence of Anglicanism. Supporters claim that the evolution of the Anglican Communion since the 16th century is evidence of its “Anglicanism” and that keeping the worldwide communion intact is the most important thing. 2012 will be a pivotal year in the life of the Episcopal Church as well as in the future of the Anglican Communion.

32. It all starts here… We who are many are one body, for we all share the one bread.