wfn.org | ELCA Membership Declined Slightly in 2000

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

July 20, 2001

ELCA MEMBERSHIP DECLINED SLIGHTLY IN 2000
01-198-LA*

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- With a total of 5,125,919 baptized members in
10,816 congregations, the membership in congregations of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) declined slightly last year,
decreasing in 2000 about one half of one percent.  That figure
represented a reduction of 23,749 baptized members from 5,149,668 in
1999, according to the Rev. Lowell G. Almen, secretary of the ELCA.
     Confirmed membership in 2000 for ELCA congregations remained
nearly steady at 3,810,785, down 14,443 from 1999.
     Communing and contributing membership, indicators of active
participation, increased for the first time in the past five years to
2,480,329 in 2000 compared with 2,457,252 in 1999, an increase of
23,077, almost one percent.
     The number of ELCA congregations decreased by 35 to 10,816 in
2000, from 10,851 in 1999, largely as a result of the disbanding of
small congregations, said Almen.
     The average number of people at worship each week, which is an
indicator of participation by members in the life of congregations,
remained level in 2000.  There were 1,567,139 or 30.57 percent of all
baptized members attending worship each week.  Over the past 11 years,
average worship attendance has fluctuated slightly between 30 and 31
percent.
     All accession categories were down in 2000 compared to 1999.
There were 2,536 fewer baptisms of children -- 78,069 in 2000, down from
80,605 in 1999.  There were 248 fewer baptisms of people over the age of
16 -- 8,168 in 2000, down 248 from 8,416 in 1999.
     Affirmations of faith totaled 63,819 -- down 172 in 2000 from
1999.  Transfers between ELCA congregations totaled 79,718 -- down 5,452
from 85,170 in 1999.  Transfers from other Lutheran congregations were
down 930 to 17,024 in 2000.  Accessions from other non-Lutheran
congregations were down 966 -- from 21,400 in 1999 to 20,434 in 2000.
     There were 50,333 deaths in 2000 -- 1,188 fewer than in 1999 --
and about the same number of transfers to non-Lutheran congregations --
15,959 in 1999 compared to 15,945 in 2000.
     In 2000 there was less loss to roll cleaning, with 180,146 members
removed due to inactivity compared to 187,543 in 1999.
     The decline in the number of baptisms of children over the past 11
years continued in 2000.  From 1998 to 1999 the decrease was 619.  From
1999 to 2000 the decrease was 2,536, down from 80,605 in 1999 to 78,069
in 2000.  The decline in baptisms of children reflects the slowed birth
rate in the population in general.
     The number of unconfirmed children partaking of the sacrament of
Holy Communion continued to grow in 2000 to 281,171 -- up from 280,265
in 1999.
     The number of youth confirmed in 2000 was practically the same as
the number confirmed in 1999.  The number of confirmations reported for
2000 was 58,780 -- down 220 youth from the number reported for 1999.
     The average number of baptized members per congregation decreased
in 2000 by two people to 477 members, and the average confirmed
membership decreased by one person in 2000 at 355.  In 2000, the average
number for communing and contributing members per congregation was 232.
     For 2000, 2.49 percent of ELCA baptized members were African
American, Black, Asian, Pacific Islander, Latino, American Indian, or
Alaska Native people.  For 1999, the percentage of the total ELCA
membership of people of color or whose primary language was other than
English was 2.42 percent.
     African American or Black membership increased to 52,558, up
1,724; Asian and Pacific Islander membership, 22,465, down 104; Latino
membership, 37,540, up 2,226; and American Indian and Alaska Native
membership, 7,440, up 89.  Another 10,587 members declared their race or
ethnic heritage as "other."

* The Rev. Lowell G. Almen is secretary of the ELCA.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html