Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania

Evangelism and Church Growth
At the 2007 Diocesan Assembly, His Grace,
Bishop Tikhon appointed a Task Force on Missions for the Diocese of Eastern
Pennsylvania. The first meeting of this Task Force met at St. John the Baptist
Church in Edwardsville on January 24, 2008. A second meeting was held at Holy
Apostles Mission in Mechanicsburg on Thursday, February 21.
At both meetings, His Grace offered a vision for the Diocese in terms of both
establishing new missions and revitalizing older parishes that have seen
decline in recent years. He emphasized that the purpose of the Task Force
was to encourage the involvement of the entire diocese: deaneries, parishes
and individuals, both clergy and faithful, in the work of spreading the Gospel
of Christ.
Since any spiritual growth in the Church must begin with self-examination, it
was decided to send a short Parish Life Survey to all the parishes of the
Diocese in order to lay the groundwork for further work in the areas of
mission and evangelism. The Survey was a simple one, looking at the basic
demographics and finances of our parishes.
The following article is offered as a preliminary evaluation of the results of
the Parish Life Survey. It is both an honest look at the present state of our
diocesan parishes as a whole, and a call for all of us to re-evaluate our
approach to missions, evangelization and stewardship. The Church is the
whole of our life, not simply a part of it, and we must be prepared to offer
ourselves to Christ with our whole being.
CHURCH GROWTH AND HEALTH: A
CHALLENGE TO OUR DIOCESE
LET’S TALK DOLLARS!
Consider two figures: $63.46 and $13.57.
What’s special about these numbers? The first — $63.46—represents
an average weekly tithe (10%) based on the median annual
income for Pennsylvania residents: $33,000 according to census figures.
The second — $13.57 – represents the average weekly offering
of parishioners to our diocesan parishes, based on responses to
our 2008 parish life survey.
The difference between these two figures – the average weekly
tithe less the average weekly offering – is $49.89. This represents the
vast difference between the ideal of Christian financial stewardship
that assumes tithing, and the current reality of our diocesan parishes.
Now imagine if you and every other parishioner in your parish
increased your offering by $49.89 a week! In a parish of 70 adults,
this could potentially generate nearly $182,000 in added income to
your parish! If this would happen, would your parish be lacking for
8 Alive in Christ www.doepa.org
Missions Taskforce
Members
V. Rev. Daniel Kovalak
V. Rev. Michael Hatrak
V. Rev. Vladimir Fetcho
V. Rev. John Udics
V. Rev. Dionysius Swencki
V. Rev. David Mahaffey
Rev. David Cowan
Rev. Nicholas Solak
Rev. Timothy Hasenecz
Rev. Timothy Hojnicki
Rev. Stephen Vernak
A man can be harmed by
another only through the
causes of the passions
which lie within himself.
It is for this reason that
God, the Creator of all
and Doctor of men’s
souls, who alone has
accurate knowledge of
the soul’s wounds, does
not tell us to forsake the
company of men; He tells
us to root out the causes
of evil within us and to
recognize that the soul’s
health is achieved not by
a man’s separating
himself from his fellows,
but by his living the
ascetic life in the company
of holy men.
St. John Cassian