Earlier, I posted a note titled whither the Network?
Now, The Rev. Canon Daryl Fenton, Chief Operating Officer of the Anglican Communion Network has written this article entitled Who is “in” the Network?. Here’s his explanation of numbers, emphasis added:
… By our latest figures, the Anglican Communion Network has 828 affiliated parishes.
To arrive at that number, we are counting the parishes of the nine affiliated Network dioceses of Albany, Central Florida, Dallas, Fort Worth, Pittsburgh, Quincy, San Joaquin, Springfield, and South Carolina. (Rio Grande took a number of steps towards affiliation, but had not finalized its status when its bishop resigned to join the Roman Catholic Church.) We do not count the parishes in each of those dioceses who have asked to be removed from the Network’s database. For instance, that means that we don’t include the five parishes in the diocese of San Joaquin that have clearly thrown their lot in with The Episcopal Church.
To speak very frankly, we don’t expect all of these dioceses to maintain their Network affiliation indefinitely. However, we are not in the business of kicking people out. Affiliated parishes and dioceses can change their status as they wish, and we honor their decisions.
We are also counting the 105 parishes under the pastoral care of the Anglican provinces of Kenya, Uganda and the Southern Cone. These parishes, and the bishops that oversee them, look to the Network to provide their connection to Common Cause, as well as to other orthodox Anglicans, whatever their jurisdiction. With them, the Network’s system of convocations continues to operate. There are currently 136 parishes primarily connected to Network convocations. The vast majority of these remain within The Episcopal Church.
A smaller group of Network parishes have also decided to come under the jurisdictional authority of our Common Cause Partners. These include the Convocation of Anglicans in North America or the Reformed Episcopal Church. We are happy for these parishes to maintain their relationship with us…
I interpret this to mean that the 828 total includes all the CANA and REC parishes.
See the CANA figures here (62 at 20 March.)
Am I right in understanding that if a parish is in a Network affiliated diocese, that parish is counted as a Network parish unless its members have specifically requested NOT to be included in the database? Also, what about individual congregants? There may be the occasional person in one of those parishes who does not agree. I also note the less than accurate: “We are faithful to what the Episcopal Church has, at its best, always been: evangelical, catholic and charismatic.” TEC has not always been evangelical, at least not as that term is usually meant in these discussions, and… Read more »
Also, despite what Canon Fenton says, it does very much matter how many parishes they count…because they keep asserting that they represent some kind of “silent majority” in the Episcopal Church that is being shouted down by a liberal leadership. Unless they can point to something that proves this, that argument falls apart.
Oh, and counting the REC parishes, who left the TEC fold many decades ago, indicates that perhaps the argument really doesn’t hold much water.
‘However, we are not in the business of kicking people out. Affiliated parishes and dioceses can change their status as they wish, and we honor their decisions.'(Quote)
I thought kicking out was exactly what they are about !
Otherwise what is their point for existing ?
Canon Fenton is playing with numbers.