wfn.org | Zacchaeus survey studies Episcopalians

[Daphne Mack <dmack@dfms.org>]

For more information contact:
Episcopal News Service
Kathryn McCormick
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212/922-5383
http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/ens

99-086

Zacchaeus survey confirms a Church energy source--its 
congregations 

by Kathryn McCormick

(ENS) What does it mean to be an Episcopalian at the end of 
the second Millennium?

The report of an ambitious survey of church members has 
found that Episcopalians are committed to worship and the 
Anglican tradition that binds them; that many of the church's 
local congregations are characterized by a healthy sense of 
vitality and common mission, and that many congregations share a 
commitment to be inclusive.

At the same time, Episcopalians seem to yearn for more 
support from and a better relationship with the church's diocesan 
and national structures, which, some church members said, have 
not adapted well to the increasing role of laity in the church 
over recent decades.

The report, copies of which were mailed in late June to 
every parish in the Episcopal Church, is an important step in the 
Zacchaeus Project, which was commissioned by the Episcopal Church 
Foundation as a gift to the church to mark the foundation's 50th 
anniversary this year. The research was conducted by Cornerstone, 
a ministry of the foundation.

The project actually began last year with detailed 
interviews of some 2,000 Episcopalians in nine dioceses selected 
to reflect the diversity of the whole church. Parishes churchwide 
are now being asked to discuss the report, which will be the 
focus of a Trinity Institute teleconference in September. More 
churchwide teleconferences will be held through May 2000. 

No definitive conclusions

The Zacchaeus Project "is a work in progress," foundation 
president George Fowlkes said in a letter accompanying the 
report. He emphasized that the report, while presenting the 
answers gathered in many interviews, has drawn no definitive 
conclusions. The project, he said, is an "overall effort to stage 
a national conversation about our life together."

The project was launched with the encouragement and support 
of Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, who noted in a statement, 
"The report bears out what I have observed myself over these last 
months: parishes are healthy and grounded in their worship. Thus 
grounded, we are moving out from our church communities and into 
our neighborhoods to respond to the needs as we find them. Our 
relationship with the Risen Christ has called us into 
relationship with all of God's people."

He also acknowledged, "The report challenges our national 
structures, and indeed diocesan structures, to make plain our 
imperative of supporting the ministry and mission of 
congregations to increase their capacity for ministry by building 
networks and providing resources for education, leadership, and 
faith formation."

The report notes that the Zacchaeus Project was commissioned 
last year, the first year of Griswold's nine-year term as 
presiding bishop and a point at the end of one millennium and the 
beginning of another. The project was named for the biblical 
character, described in Luke 19, who climbed a sycamore tree to 
gain a better look at Jesus.

The research was directed by an Episcopal lay person and 
sociologist, Thomas P. Holland of the University of Georgia, and 
a parish priest and historian, William L. Sachs, rector of St. 
Matthew's Church in Wilton, Connecticut.

Five interviewers spoke with about 2,000 Episcopalians in 
250 individual or focus group meetings representing nearly 5 
percent of Episcopal congregations. Dioceses chosen for the 
research included Central Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, 
Texas, West Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, Nevada and Los Angeles.

In addition to speaking with lay people in those dioceses, 
the interviewers met with focus groups of seminarians, clergy, 
young adults and residents of an Episcopal retirement community.

The interview process focused on lay people in local 
congregations, the report said, explaining that studies of 
Episcopal identity typically have looked at the church through 
the eyes of theologians and bishops, who often mingled their 
ideals of church life with only select references to data drawn 
from actual church life.

The interviewers wanted to hear directly from the vast 
majority of those in the church; its lay members.

Core of Episcopal identity

At the core of Episcopal identity, the report said, are the 
Book of Common Prayer and the liturgy. "Over 95 percent of 
respondents in both independent surveys and interviews agreed 
that the Eucharist, liturgy, and the Prayer Book were central to 
the lives of their congregations," the report emphasized.

"The Episcopal Church has a long history and many rich 
traditions that shape our liturgy," said one parishioner. "That 
is our common ground. Also, it doesn't discourage thinking, 
facing your doubts, and struggling with them. I believe that is a 
major attraction. It certainly has been a major part of my 
growth."

Spiritual growth, and the sense of being on a spiritual 
journey together, were important to many congregants, the report 
said.

"At a time when many Americans define themselves as 
spiritual seekers," it commented, "one of the Episcopal Church's 
attractions may be the extent of its openness to such a quest."

Not everyone agreed. "In a few sites," the report said, 
"participants voiced dismay over the Episcopal Church's tolerance 
for what they saw as too wide a range of views and beliefs. Some 
stances, such as denying the resurrection or advocating 
acceptance of homosexuality, fall outside the boundaries of the 
historic Christian faith, they stress, and Episcopal leadership 
has substituted political correctness for biblical truths."

Whether they feel they are sharing a spiritual journey or 
not, most Episcopalians in local congregations share a "profound 
sense of community [that] exists not for its own sake, and 
certainly not for the sake of institutional loyalty alone. Their 
calling to follow Christ together inspires a sense of shared 
mission," according to the report.

"Connectedness"

"We really listen to one another," said one church member, 
"respect our differences, and come to conclusions much easier 
than I ever expect. We hang in there together and work through 
difficult problems. There's a deep sense of connectedness among 
us."

This "connectedness" is the product of hard work, many 
conceded, but it helped congregations through losses, challenges 
and changes, and often these painful periods served to deepen the 
sense of community.

Further, most respondents see their spiritual growth as 
leading to ministry and outreach, the report stated. From soup 
kitchens to schools to building a clinic in a remote South 
American village, Episcopalians have found many forms of service.

Leadership in these congregations is often seen as a 
responsibility shared by the clergy and the laity--an indication 
to the interviewers that "there has been a decisive shift in the 
Episcopal Church's life over the past half-century," according to 
the report. The place of ordained leaders--many congregants 
praised the work the clergy had done in their congregations--and 
of other bodies such as vestries remains intact, the report said, 
but "a broad and rather informal view of leadership has taken 
hold."

Even as they expressed their enthusiasm about their parish 
life, Episcopalians acknowledged that the demands of the current 
social environment are pressuring laity to increase their skills 
in leadership, pastoral care and mission, and they are looking to 
wider church structures for resources to meet these demands.

Concerned about hierarchy

At this point, many noted their concerns about the 
capability of programs sponsored by diocesan and national offices 
to respond effectively.

One respondent said with despair, "The diocese isn't doing 
anything about outreach, about Christian education, about the 
seminaries, or anything else I can see. And neither are the 
national offices. I'm afraid we're becoming congregationalist in 
our approach, and losing our rich Anglican heritage. But when 
there's nothing going on at the top, who's left to do the work?"

The report added later, however, "Despite obvious 
ambivalence about the church's hierarchy, many of our respondents 
hoped to find ways to draw their locality into better partnership 
with it. The resilience of this hope should be a major source of 
encouragement for the Episcopal Church's professional 
leadership."

Copies of the 61-page report are available from Cornerstone 
at a cost of $5 each. Requests may be made by phone (901) 527-
1450, by fax (901) 523-8952 or by email cstone@mmem.net. The 
report is online at the Episcopal Church Foundation's Web site: 
www.episcopalfoundation.org.

--Kathryn McCormick is associate director of the Office of News 
and Information of the Episcopal Church.