Episcopal Church 2023 Parochial Report data now available

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The Episcopal Church’s newly released 2023 Parochial Report indicates a slowing of congregational closures and a recovery of average Sunday attendance after declines during the COVID-19 pandemic. And while overall membership during the past decade has steadily dropped, the year-to-year rate appears to be stabilizing.

Total income and expenses for The Episcopal Church have steadily increased since 2016, with income exceeding expenses each year, including in 2023. Even so, the impact of inflation means that a dollar in 2019 would cost $1.19 to buy in 2023, which contributes to a slow erosion of churchwide buying power. Stock market gains also skew the ability to analyze current trends and project future income.

These and other facts were shared during a presentation of the report to the Executive Council during its Nov. 7-9 meeting in New Br unswick, New Jersey. The ParochialReport is the oldest, most continuous gathering of data by The Episcopal Church. The data is published on the General Convention website, along with a summary and analysis.

The report offers the following snapshot of The Episcopal Church in 2023:

  • Total congregations: 6,754
  • Total members: 1,547,779
  • Total average Sunday attendance: 410,912
  • Total income: $2.5 billion
  • Total expenses: $2.4 billion
  • Total “plate and pledge” funds: $1.4 billion

New to the report this year is information about the formats in which Episcopalians worshiped in 2023. Nearly all congregations (81%) offered worship in person indoors. Sixty-two percent utilized a hybrid model, allowing participants to worship in person and virtually. About three-quarters of congregations offered at least one virtual worship service, and a third held worship outside at some point during the year.

While average Sunday attendance (ASA) declined sharply during the pandemic, it began to recover in 2021-2022 and continued to improve in 2022-2023. “In fact, the 2023 total ASA is almost exactly where it would be expected to be if following the projected pattern from 2014-2019,” notes an analysis of the data prepared by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. “While the pandemic created an unnatural dip, it did not radically alter the general pattern of ASA decline.”

The report notes that ASA numbers do not include virtual attendees of Sunday services, as there is not yet a standardized way to track such participation.

Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe noted that in addition to the average Sunday attendance, The Episcopal Church is now working to capture different kinds of congregational vitality, including some vibrant urban ministries that haven’t historically been counted in this data.

In another indication of pandemic recovery, the number of congregations reporting significant negative financial impacts from the pandemic declined from about half in 2022 to a third in 2023.

The report notes that since 2019, there appears to be a slowing of congregation closures. Over the past two decades, the mid-2000s (2006-2015) saw the highest rate of closures, largely driven by other significant changes within The Episcopal Church.

Narrative questions were once again included in the data collection during 2023. Respondents were invited to share opportunities and challenges faced by congregations; changes they desire; and examples of how faith communities worked to name, address, and dismantle racial injustice.

Other facts noted during the presentation to Executive Council:

  • Just under 1,000 parishes received diocesan support in 2023, with a median amount of $15,000. Diocesan assessments ranged from voluntary to 25%, with the most common assessment rate being 10% to 15%.
  • In 2023, 44% of congregations had full-time clergy. In 2010, that number was 63%.
  • In 2023, 20% of congregations were served by a priest who was either retired or not active in the Church Pension Fund. A year earlier, that figure was 12%.

In addition to historical congregational data, Episcopalians can view provincial and diocesan trends in these reports on the General Convention website:

  • U.S.-based Fast Facts and Fast Fact Trends
  • Average Attendance by Province and Diocese
  • Baptized Members by Province and Diocese
  • Statistical Totals for The Episcopal Church by Diocese
  • U.S.A. Pledge and Plate Income
  • Average Pledge by Province and Dioceses
  • Financial and Average Sunday Attendance Totals by Diocese

Information about individual congregations and neighborhood demographics is available through an interactive “Explore Your Neighborhood” tool.

The Parochial Report, in accordance with Canon I.6, is developed by the House of Deputies Committee on the State of the Church, authorized by the Executive Council, and overseen by the executive officer of the General Convention. The Parochial Report is part of the General Convention Office’s data collection and analysis work, directed by Interim Executive Officer Molly James and assisted by Data Specialist Iris DiLeonardo.

Questions? Email reports@episcopalchurch.org.