Good news from the (green) Blue Book

In its report to the upcoming General Convention of the Episcopal Church, the House of Deputies has compiled statistics on attendance and giving in each diocese for the period between 2000 and 2004, the latest year for which data is available. The figures are compiled from reports submitted annually by each congregation.

The Diocese of Fort Worth is in Province Seven, a 12-diocese area that includes all of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and New Mexico, as well as parts of Louisiana and Missouri. While the Episcopal Church as a whole and most dioceses in the Province have experienced losses in membership and numbers of communicants in good standing over the four-year period, the Diocese of Fort Worth has grown, and its rate of growth is greater than any other in the Province:

Change in baptized members, 2000-2004
Diocese of Fort Worth +4.6%
Province Seven average -1.0%
Episcopal Church in the U.S. -3.5%

Change in communicants in good standing, 2000-2004
Diocese of Fort Worth +5.5%
Province Seven average -1.6%
Episcopal Church in the U.S.-2.3%

In addition, “plate and pledge” income figures are up in the Diocese of Fort Worth for the same period, outpacing those for the Province and the Episcopal Church as a whole.

Change in plate and pledge, 2000-2004
Diocese of Fort Worth +19.6%
Province Seven subtotal +13.2%
Episcopal Church in the U.S. +11.8%