despite a drive two years ago to modernize their service

It’s hard for me to believe that anyone still thinks that “modernizing” avails to vivify a moribund congregation.

The statistics for the “merging into” church, St Barnabas is here:

http://tinyurl.com/dxz267

Attendance has been absolutely fixed since 2003. A statistical miracle! Interesting that membership and pledges are fluctuating. I guess the ushers haven’t been doing their jobs with their clickers.

The most telling quote: “Both St. Mary’s and St. Barnabas lack a priest.” Look for St. Barnabas closing in the near future as well.

The rule of church mergers: 1+1 < 2, and often times 1 + 1 approaches 1.

Does St. Barnabas really only have about 175 attending Mass each week out of a membership of about 850, as that chart would appear to indicate?  Having only 20% of your membership in church on Sundays seems a little low.

Kevin, if you look at the numbers, ASA hasn’t changed since 2003, and membership was the same number in 2003 and 2004 and then the same from 2005 to 2007. Hardly, passes the sniff test. The congregation supposedly has ~100 pledging units. I am pretty sure that ASA and pledging units are usually about the same.

Although I am now a Catholic priest, in my days as an Episcopalian I served as curate to the great rector of St. Barnabas, Fr. Howard Olsen.  He was there for some thirty-five years, and had built the parish up from a tiny “village church” into the largest parish in the Diocese of Rhode Island.  During my years there (1978-1981) we regularly presented confirmation classes of seventy-five or eighty candidates. There were four services each Sunday, and the place was abuzz with a wonderful sense of service to the surrounding community.  Fr. Olsen was a traditional “no-nonsense” Yankee, and most of what I know about how to be a good priest was learned during my time with him at St. Barnabas.  When he retired, there was a series of weak rectors (including at least one woman), and the parish slid downhill pretty quickly.

Before he died, and as he saw this happening, he used to visit me at my parish in Texas.  I always reminded him that his great work wasn’t cancelled out—the lives God changed through his ministry continued on, and he took some comfort in that.  But it is sad to look at what can happen to what was a marvellous parish.

I still refer to Fr. Olsen as the “grandfather” of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church, the parish I was privileged to found some twenty-five years ago.  His influence is still felt on much of what we do here.

FrPhillips - what a wonderful reminder that the Lord works through people like Fr. Olsen - that institutional structures can come and go, but it is our relationship with Christ and, through Him, with others that God’s grace is shown and His work is done.

Very sad, but it will not be a unique one in the diocese, I fear.  I know of at least one other parish in RI that has come close to shutting down, and probably will have to either close or merge some time soon (it is also without clergy).

robroy, I can’t speak for other congregations but my own has pledging units that are at least half, if not less, the ASA number. This is partly due to an unwillingness of some to pledge given what’s happening in the denomination. I attend an orthodox parish in a revisionist diocese, for some context.

Rhode island has been a rather peaceful diocese during the turmoil of 2002 through 2007. It has lost Members and ASa but not whole parishes. Warrick is a good example of this. In 2007 there were 4 parishes in Warrick. Not one of them had Plate & Pledge of $150,000 although St Barnabas was close. This merger makes sense as it MIGHT provide Plate & Pledge of about $200,000 (although robroy above may well be right). There is also All Saints with only $50,000 and St Mark with $100,000 which would appear to make them excellent merger material. This is the same story again: parishes with low Plate & Pledge provide a quiet life for the bishop but little hope for the future.    Statmann

Fr. Phillips,
Isn’t Our Lady of the Atonement the Anglican Use parish in SA?

Yes, teatime, that’s correct.

While I was still at St. Barnabas, the assumption was that I would stay and carry on the work Fr. Olsen had been doing for so many years, and it was upsetting to him when I explained to him that my conscience was leading me elsewhere.  However, we were able to maintain a wonderful friendship, and he visited us at Our Lady of the Atonement often, until it was no longer possible for him to travel.  Even though our liturgical use is nearly identical to what he used at St. Barnabas, he was always respectful of the fact that we were unable to share in Holy Communion when he visited; however, I always invited him to celebrate privately, using his beloved 1928 Prayer Book (I always kept an altar copy here for his use), and I would serve for him.  I know that meant a lot to him, and it was my small expression of gratitude for the time I was with him at St. Barnabas.