Canada: House of Bishops told: Anglicans in steep decline
Sue Careless

A retired business consultant warned the Canadian House of Bishops, “Your church is in crisis. It can’t be business as usual.”

Keith McKerracher, the creator of Participaction, told the Canadian House of Bishops recently that membership in the Anglican Church of Canada has been in “steep decline” and that this decline is “accelerating.”

McKerracher noted there had been a 52 percent decline in the parish rolls in the 40-year-period between 1961 and 2001. Attendance figures for the United, Presbyterian and Lutheran churches also plunged but “In the race to the bottom, we’re leading.” The Pentecostals reported phenomenal growth, while the Baptists had a modest decline.

In 1961 there were 1,358,459 Anglicans on parish rolls but in 2001 only 641,845. In the decade 1981-1991 there had been a sharp drop of 13 percent. As serous as this was, during 1991-2001 there was an alarming 20 percent decline. In the 2001 census, 2,035,500 Canadians claimed Anglican affiliation but most never entered an Anglican church.

The rest: The Anglican Planet