Synod 2015 It’s About the World BISHOP’S CHARGE - PART I

Where We Are The Past Two Years  Bishop Moxley Retired  Episcopal Ministry Task Force report  Diocesan Council decides: One Bishop

Where We Are SafeR Church

Where We Are  Youth and Family Ministry  Generation to Generation Fund  Added to Budget 2015  Hiring now in process

Where We Are  We are in the midst of a variety of Cultural, Economic and demographic changes.

Where We Are  “Those changes and others are making Nova Scotia weaker and more dependent economically. If we are to halt the slide, we must change — and quickly — the way we finance our standard of living. We are at a crossroads. The world is changing. We must change too or face the consequences. The only certainty is that the status quo is not an option.”

Where We Are Table of Diocesan Statistics (ACoC Year Book) Number of members72,01433,177 Number of parishes Number of congregations Number of clergy Number of Layreaders Baptisms 1, Confirmations 1, Marriages Funerals 1,

Where We Are In the past 15 years, 47 churches have been deconsecrated - average 3/year

Where We Are Table of Population (Statistics Canada) Canadian pop. 25,608,00035,540, % Nova Scotia pop. 863, , % PEI population 126, , % Total NS & PEI pop 990,006 1,088,951

Where We Are Ageing demographic Percentage of the population 65 years and older (2014 Statistics Canada) Canada15.7% Nova Scotia18.3% Prince Edward Island17.9%

Where We Are Median Age Canada Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island

The Place of Church in Canada (Pew Research) Regular Church attendance Canada 43%27% Regular Church attendance Atl Canada 57%31% No Religious affiliation (Atlantic Canada) 3% 16%

Where We Are Forum Research 2012 Survey  2/3 of Canadians consider themselves “Spiritual”  1/2 of Canadians consider themselves “Religious”  1/4 of those who claim no religion also believe in God