Tuesday, November 13, 2007

TEC Statistical Growth Figures in Overseas Dioceses Questioned

http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=7051

[VirtueOnline] 13 Nov 2007--Colombia, Dominican Republic, Micronesia, and Puerto Rico -- posted growth in membership and average Sunday attendance in 2006, Hadaway said. The seven Latin American and Caribbean dioceses of the Episcopal Church's Province 9 posted a 1,741-person gain in membership in 2006 for a 72,084 total, according to the aggregated Parochial Report data reported by Kirk Hadaway, the Episcopal Church's director of research to the Executive Council.

The problem with this statement by Mr. Hadaway is that he perhaps doesn't understand that these parochial reports are very stilted for the benefit of the church. By this I mean that whereas in the past the constituents of TEC were counted as those who were "communicants in good standing", now it is "all baptized persons". This is a false "statistic", or as Mr. Disraeli is supposed to have stated: "There are lies, damn lies, and statistics."

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