Did You Know about Church Membership?
Did you know that in many parts of the country, church records predate civil records? Because they document vital events, giving birth, marriage, and death information that might otherwise be lost, church records have proven to be a rich resource for genealogical and historical research. Besides providing names and dates, old church records may reveal relationships between people and depict a family's status in the community.
The Episcopal Church uses the annual Parochial Report, one of the most historic and useful practices of our church, to gather this information. Designed by the House of Deputies’ Committee on the State of the Church and approved by the Executive Council of the General Convention, it is an annual insight into the life, ministry, finances, and membership of The Episcopal Church. While the Parochial Report is not the complete portrait of congregational life or vitality, the information our church and others provide is indispensable as we plan for God’s mission.
Over the past 5 years especially, the Parochial Report has seen some significant changes in information gathering. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many churches, including our own, were only meeting virtually. This wreaked havoc on calculating Average Sunday Attendance (ASA). ASA and annual revenue had historically been a strong indicator as to the health of a parish, but the difficulty in calculating attendance from a streamed worship service made the ASA less useful. This brought about adaptations to these indicators, including a deeper look at the demographics of the membership.
For the 2022 Parochial Report, The Episcopal Church began requiring the age range of our active members. They also added an optional question about the ethnicity of our active members. This has made us at Church of the Redeemer reflect on the value of this data, as well. For example, although many of us can literally see the increase in children at Church of the Redeemer, the Parochial Report gives us the data on this increase. This is important information as we are looking to measure the impact of our Vision Statement.
Our new membership database (CoR Portal/CoR App) has significantly helped in this reporting. We have discovered, however, that we are missing some information, mostly dates of birth and baptism, from our members. Thus, we have begun reaching out to some members for those important dates. If you receive such a request, please respond as soon as possible. And do not hesitate to contact the church with any questions or concerns you may have. Rest assured that this information is only shared through the reporting to The Episcopal Church.
Lastly, one helpful hint: When registering for an event or joining a group or class, you may be asked for your date of birth. This is an indication that you are not signed into the CoR Portal or App. The birthdate is used as an indicator to match your name with your record. If you want to avoid having to do this each time, look for the small red print in the top right corner of the form that says Sign In. This will allow you to sign in to your account and make the process of signing up even quicker.
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