Monday, February 01, 2010
Disinformation corrected
The Former Anglican blog, that calls itself The Anglo-Catholic for no apparent reason, has "reported" that our readership is dwindling. How nice to know they care. In fact, our regular readership is at an all-time high, and has been since the whole Anglicanorum Coetibus news hit. Using a combination of "page views" and "visits" I see that a third to almost half our readers scroll down the whole front page to the second, indicating that these readers check in less frequently, perhaps weekly. On Feb. 1, we had about one thousand page views, 993 to be exact. Knowing how many people read the whole weekly offering is impossible to tell, but it appears to be in the thousands. So, we thank the young man in Orlando for his concern, but it seems we are doing just fine.
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12 comments:
Surely the blogosphere has found a new nadir in the intemperate tirade of the "Former Anglican" blog. To set the record straight, contrary to Mr Campbell's allegations, nothing has appeared on Anglican Continuum that may truthfully be called "anti-Catholic." Fr Hart has expressed at least once a week his admiration for Pope Benedict XVI as a theologian and as a pastor. Many other contemporary RC writers and thinkers are regularly quoted here with praise. But to read the rantings of FA, one might think that AC was the internet edition of Chick Publications. This is one more exhibition of Orlando's disdain for the truth.
While FA expresses concern for the size of readership enjoyed by AC, we might note that FA receives comments only from a handful of true believers, the "coterie of the convinced." No other viewpoint ever finds expression there--surely the mark of a tiny readership.
AC, on the other hand, attracts and publishes comments from numerous perspectives, even my own.
LKW
Fr. Wells:
Out of curiosity I took my monthly look at the Former Anglican. To correct all the false statements by Mr. Campbell we would have to give a good deal of space to the project. How he got so much so wrong is truly staggering.
I especially liked the comment that the ACC had 'only about 2,000 communicants' - this just days after the most recent Trinitarian reported 3,250 in Congo received [from the TAC] into the ACC, and three new missions established in South Africa.
Tom McHenry+
veriword - 'protelst'
The size of the readership of this blog is among the best news that I have had in some time. It is worth a Te deum all on its own. The only thing which puzzles me is the idea that some might only visit weekly. I am a daily visitor and one who frequently goes back to re-read much earlier postings simply because of their excellence.
I confess that I do miss Ed and Sandra and wish that they would return. But I am quite content to make do with the good Fathers Kirby and Hart although I would like to see more of Canon Nalls. Plus, I am no secret of my admiration for Father Wells and Canon Hollister. Please keep it up.
The above probably makes me a groupie, but I have always been addicted to excellence.
It was unwise of Former Anglican to bring up the matter of church statistics. The reports distributed at the recent ACC Provincial Synod in Richmond showed a domestic membership of about 3,500 baptized, with a world-wide membership of approximately 20,000-- BEFORE the recent accession in the Congo. This seems a realistic estimate. The ACC has refrained from boastful claims of stupendous membership. The TAC, however, at various times has claimed a worldwide following of numbers as high as 700,000. A recent article on VOL quotes Hepworth's secretary as stating the US membership is in the neighbohood of 2,000. That seems more realistic.
But the numbers game is not helpful to either ACC or TAC.
LKW
I also thought it interesting the ad hominem remark about Fr Hart made on the "other blog" about episcopi vagantes... Considering that one of the major contributors to it, is himself a former Roman Deacon, then episcopi vagantes priest - ordained twice and later consecrated as an episcopi vagante?! A fact recently attested to by the second (conditional) ordaining bishop whom the chap wrote to informing him that Rome considers his Orders valid; having presumably submitted his case for acceptance in an Ordinariate that doesn't yet exist?!
Whatever transition happens in that organization isn't going to be pretty, it seems to me, once the laity are actually involved.
Becoming Roman Catholic means four immediate concerns for a parish:
a) the dissolution of the Vestry (which means, incidentally, that Mr. Campbell won't be any sort of Warden, for example).
b) the transfer of property to the Bishop (or, one supposes, the Ordinary).
c) No bicameral system of Synod. That is, there isn't lay representation in the House of Deputies. It's all clergy all the time from here on out.
d) One assumes a shift from a salary-based system to a stipendiary system. That is, the parish no longer pays the priest's salary directly. (St. Anne's might presently offer its priest $35k a year, but St. Dunstan's offers $28k, or what have you.) Which is to say, the lay folk don't have a means of leashing or rewarding their priest financially according to successful ministry, growth, &c., nor do they have the means of attracting more clergy.
In other words, the folks who are going to get screwed aren't especially going to be the clergy, but the lay people whom the clergy have sworn to serve.
How many folks are aware of these facts? Most of the goings on here are inside baseball, but my points affect the laity in a very real, concrete sense.
I know many people who visit The Continuum including several who have begun to do so only recently. They do not post comments but they've told me that they value the postings and the comments.I am glad that Fr.Wells pointed out the wildly exaggerated membership claims made by some in the TAC.Whatever their real numbers are they are shrinking as many of their people,especially the Laity, are very dissatisfied with the TAC's College of Bishops.The ACC is stable and committed to classical Anglicanism and it is attracting many in the TAC and other places.It is also encouraging to see the ACC,the APCK and the UECNA moving toward each other. I hope to see us united in the not too distant future.My parish has disaffiliated from the TAC but we still have many dear friends who,at least for now, remain there.We love them and keep them in our prayers along with all those who wish to preserve and grow the faithful Anglican remnant.I too would like to see Ed and Sandra back but if they feel that they cannot return perhaps someone else from the Continuing Church could be encouraged to take their place.I think Fr.Chandler Holder-Jones SSC of the APA would be an excellent candidate.I am grateful to all who contribute to this blog but must say that I'm especially impressed by Fr.Hart's postings and the comments of Fathers Wells,Hollister
and 'Canon Tallis'.I liked the contributions of Fr.Nalls too and hope he'll participate a little bit more often.
Gentlemen,
whilst at times I haven't agreed with everything posted here ... Although with the benefit of hindsight I can see that what I have disagreed with has been very little. Whereas what I have learnt anew, or been reminded of about our great Anglican Catholic heritage having slipped from my mind has been considerable. Despite having what some have mistaken for perhaps an "Anglo Papalist" appearance, I thank God for calling me to be an Anglican Catholic and I thank God for the calibre of the contributors to this blog who continue to tackle some extremely important issues and deal with some difficult questions.
Thank you
+DM
About ACC membership:
We have over 20,000 in the Sudan alone.
We are in five figures, I am told, in the Second Province (India), which does not appear in our figures. Call that 10,000.
We are now in four figures in Congo, Rwanda, South Africa, New Granada, and the U.S.
There are some hundreds in Kenya and Haiti and some in the U.K. and Australia.
I would guess that our membership worldwide is over 50,000, which is almost certainly larger than the TAC's membership.
I try to avoid the who's bigger stuff; but, they (the Orlando squad) won't leave it alone. The Mormons have us both outnumbered, but that hardly gives them credibility.
The ACC/OP also has a presence in The Dominion Of Canada.The only Canadian parish,so far,is The Church Of The Resurrection in Walkerville Ont.(www.cotrbcp.ca). The web site needs some work but it shows that the ACC is respected and is welcoming home traditional Anglicans around the world.Please pray for Resurrection Parish,the parishes and individuals in the TAC's Canadian Province who do not wish to submit to Rome and the traditionalists who remain in the Canterbury Communion.Canada had millions of Anglicans in the good old days but now the percentage of Canadians who identify themselves as Anglican is vastly reduced. There are still enough traditional Anglicans in Canada to have an impact upon our nation but we are divided.Sadly the misadventure embarked upon by the TAC's leadership has made a difficult situation worse.PS. please pray for the TAC's leadership too that they may abandon their present course and work for real reunion in the Church of GOD.
Shaughn makes good points about the laity in the TAC. I'm sure that many parishes in even the worst ECUSA dioceses have been able to survive because the laity could choose to ignore what's going on outside their church doors. TAC won't have that luxury.
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