[Magdalen] "Failing" parishes--Canada vs. USA

[Jay Weigel]

I don't know how long Beckford Parish in VA (Woodstock and Mt. Jackson) has
been yoked. There are a number of Lutheran and Methodist parishes
hereabouts that are yoked also. It wasn't uncommon among the Methodists in
TN either, but then, it never has been with them, where it was called
"circuit riding" or a "circuit" and lay people picked up the slack.

On Mon, Nov 23, 2015 at 9:04 PM, Raewynne Whiteley <raewynne1 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Re yoking parishes, my observation is that it is doomed to failure, because
> it tends to prioritize building over ministry - they keep the buildings and
> the administrative structures, but expect a single priest to serve 2 or
> more parishes, and in most cases parishioners expect to get everything they
> had before for half the money.  Which is a recipe for burnout for the
> priest, and doesn't encourage the parish to be realistic about their life
> and ministry.
>
> On Sun, Nov 22, 2015 at 9:37 AM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Clarissa's prayer request led me to wonder about the varying position of
> > TEC vs. the Anglican Church in Canada regarding what are considered
> > "failing" parishes. Marion's recent experience, too, has made me wonder.
> I
> > realize it varies from diocese to diocese, but ISTM that the Canadian
> > church, at least in these instances, is behaving far more like the RCC in
> > abruptly closing these churches or pretty much setting them up to fail
> (in
> > the case of Marion's) rather than encouraging them along or "yoking"
> them.
> >
> > Am I seeing things correctly, or is this a misperception?
> >
>