ECUSA's Financial Shortfall Suggests Widespread Member Disapproval

by Jim Brown
February 20, 2004

(AgapePress) - Donations to the Episcopal Church USA are down this year as local dioceses have withheld or redirected contributions to protest the church's first openly homosexual bishop.

The denomination's executive council has been told that revenues are down more than $3 million since New Hampshire's Bishop Vicki Gene Robinson was confirmed six months ago.

Bruce Mason with the American Anglican Council says last year his group accurately predicted that many dioceses would cut back on their pledges to the national church if Robinson was approved. He believes the financial impact will be much greater than the Episcopal Church is reporting right now.

"We expected there to be a shortfall," Mason says, "so to hear the Episcopal Church announce that it has a three-million-dollar shortfall -- we question whether or not that's all it is, and would argue that it's early in the year. And by the end, we'll just have to wait and see if their projection was correct."

The American Anglican Council spokesman observes that several dioceses have not yet had their annual conventions or decided what they will do financially. But he believes conservative individuals and congregations are "speaking with their pocketbooks," and sending the message that "we disagree with the direction the church has taken; therefore we're not putting our money into the structure that we consider to be a bad investment."

Mason says ECUSA members that are withholding their funds are indicating their belief that the national church has become a bad risk. He says they feel if they give the church their money, "it will be spent unwisely to support a structure that they believe is no longer upholding the historic teachings of the Christian Church and of the Bible."

Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold claims the Episcopal Church's religious and charity missions will not be affected by the revenue shortfall.