© 1996 by Louie Crew. Use freely but only if you fully credit him as your source. You must also send to him a copy of any publication outside of cyberspace: Louie Crew, Box 30, Newark, NJ 07101.See a more recent report of 1996 totals--LC
In bringing Bishop Walter Righter to trial as a heretic, the Episcopal Church is biting the hand that feeds it.
The two sides in this case are not equal in terms of their financial contributions to the church. Twenty-five diocesan bishops consented to the presentment (indictment) that brought Bishop Righter to trial. Another 25 diocesans have signed a "Statement of Koinonia", stating their support of the ordination of lesbians and gays. Together each group comprises a quarter of the diocesans, but these bishops oversee dioceses who that differ greatly in what they give to the national church:
| 1993 Communicants | % | 1995 to ECUSA | Of Total Budget | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presenters | 343,063 | 22% | $4,178,705 | 16% |
| Koinonia | 486,357 | 31% | $7,603,491 | 30% |
Dioceses overseen by bishops who support Bishop Righter's position pay almost twice as much to the cost of running ECUSA as do dioceses overseen by bishops trying to kick Bishop Righter out:
Those who support Koinonia pay 30¢ of every dollar that goes to run ECUSA, compared with only 16¢ paid by those who formally began the process to remove Bishop Righter.
Note the irony of the names of two principals in the case, Bishop Righter vs. Bishop Want Land. Bishop Wantland oversees Eau Claire (the western part of Wisconsin), the sixth smallest diocese and the sixth smallest contributor to ECUSA's budget. The Diocese of Newark, where Bishop Righter served as an assistant at the time of his alleged heresy, has 14 times the communicants Eau Clare has and contributes 16 times as much money:
| 1993 Communicants | Out of 100 | $ to ECUSA | Out of 100 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eau Claire | 1,978 | 95th | $35,296 | 95th |
| Newark | 27,006 | 16th | $548,100 | 11th |
| NAM | 4,249 |
|---|---|
| RG | 18,000 |
| Q | 29,762 |
| ND | 32,000 |
| NMi | 32,096 |
| Eau | 35,296 |
| WKS | 41,000 |
| EO | 43,200 |
| UT | 53,589 |
| MT | 54,400 |
| 343,592 |
But these same ten dioceses who give the least money to the church supply more than their share of the diocesan bishops bringing Bishop Righter to trial:
Note that the 10 dioceses who give the most money did not have a single diocesan bishop to join in the effort to drive Bishop Righter from the House.
Similarly, the ten dioceses who give the most money supply more than their share of those bishops supporting Koinonia:
| NJ | 559,681 |
|---|---|
| At | 567,725 |
| SwF | 573,500 |
| Los | 642,498 |
| PA | 663,430 |
| VA | 675,627 |
| NC | 681,789 |
| MA | 750,000 |
| CT | 904,200 |
| NY | 1,098,300 |
| 7,116,750 |
Nor do most Episcoplians who have studied the issue agree with the presenters. My colleague Kim Byham reminds us of the O'Kelley Whitaker Report:
In 1993, the Episcopal Church undertook the most massive dialogue on the issue of human sexuality in American history. Perhaps 30,000 people took part in the parish discussions of this topic. As many as 1128 congregations and slightly more than 77% of the dioceses participated in these dialogues. 18,219 of these participants completed extensive questionnaires on their opinions. The results, announced in 1994, were quite striking:
Examining the results demographically yields additional information:
In no way do I endorse allowing money to control spiritual issues, whether a quean's mite or a bishop's mitre. In "A Time for Candor"I have written about the spirituality of giving and the spiritual danger of using one's offering to control the Church. Such gifts are not to God, who asks for us to give freely and cheerfully.
For that reason, I am disturbed that several organizations such as Episcopalians United have called on persons in the pews to vote with their check books. The Diocese of Pittsburgh and the Diocese of Central Florida have formally threatened to withdraw funds if the trial verdict does not go to their poihnt of view. The Diocese of Texas moved also took formal steps in the direction punishing the national leadership with its diocesan giving plan, under Bishop Benitez, who retired a few days after signing the consent for the presentment. If the church is to stoop to money battles, it is important to know the facts about church stewardship.
You may also want to look at my essay "Quean Lutibelle's Book of Numbers"--on the disproportional legislative power ECUSA invests in the smaller dioceses. If we are to discern God's spirit in such an arrangement, we must clearly ask whether any voters vote in accord with good news or in accord with unexamined prejudice. I hope these manuscripts help us as we seek the answer to that question.
The 1995 Episcopal Church Annual is my source for data on diocesan communicants. The General Convention Office (via the Treasurer's Office) is the source for my data on the budget.
Visit my ECUSA pages and my home page. Send e-mail to me as: lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
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