To all Via Media and related groups:

from Erin Ennis

I have read with interest of your plans to meet in Atlanta this week. I am
fortunate to be a member of the Diocese of Washington, where our bishop and
our parishes have been very supportive of the Convention¹s decisions of last
summer. As such, no Via Media group appears to have formed in our Diocese.

Nevertheless, I have followed the activities of the Network of Anglican
Communion Dioceses and Parishes and the American Anglican Council since the
convention, particularly their web postings of their members. On Friday,
March 19, NACDP launched a revised website that no longer lists the
signatories to its call to action. Until Thursday, March 18, however, I
regularly updated a tracking of the bishops, priests, deacons and parishes
that signed the statement.

I am attaching the analysis that I have been able to throw together based on
the data I have compiled, in the hopes that it might be useful to you in
your work. Please note that the NACDP website allowed laity to sign its
statement as well. I did NOT track those names, only the church officials
who signed the document. Additionally, the NACDP website listed only the
names of the priests and deacons, but not the parishes they were affiliated
with. I searched the Red Book and the other services that ECUSA has
available on its website to determine to the best of my ability which
parishes and, therefore, dioceses the individuals and churches were resident
in. The AAC website maintains a list of parishes that have affiliated
themselves with the organization, which I have similarly determined the
appropriate dioceses for.

I have not had an opportunity to have someone double check my calculations.
I also recognize that these two groups - NACDP and AAC - are not definitive
lists of the dissenting parishes and priests in the Episcopal Church. I do
believe, however, that they provide a means to quantify the arguments of
both assenters and dissenters.

For instance, Via Media groups have made the argument that they represent
the silent majority within ECUSA. While I cannot provide the data to
confirm this assertion, I believe that my analysis shows the complimentary
argument, based on the participation rates in the thirteen dioceses whose
bishops are members of the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and
Parishes. Based on my calculations:

* 15 of the 42 NACDP Member Parishes are from those 13 dioceses -- 36% of
the total member parishes;
* 118 of the 289 NACDP Member Priests and Deacons are from those 13 dioceses
-- 41% of the total member priests and deacons;
* 126 of the 298 AAC Member parishes are from those 13 dioceses -- 42% of
the total member parishes;
* The rest of the member parishes and priests are from the remaining 86
dioceses of ECUSA, with only three having over 2% of the remainder of the
AAC¹s membership: Southern Virginia, Texas and Virginia (4%, 4%, and 5%
respectively);
* When the three additional dioceses added in, the percent participation
increases as follows:
- 16 of the 42 NACDP member parishes are from those 16 dioceses -- 38% of
the total;
- 134 of the 289 NACDP member priests and deacons are from those 16
dioceses -- 46% of the total;
- 163 of the 298 AAC member parishes are from those 16 dioceses -- 55% of
the total

Thus, almost half of the NACDP and AAC¹s membership are concentrated in 16
dioceses of ECUSA in 9 states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, New York,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Washington.

I am attaching the work that I have done, in the event that someone has the
time and the inclination to double check my work. I am also attaching a
press contact list that I have culled from the stories that have been
published nationwide since the first NACDP meeting last year, in the event
that your meeting in Atlanta produces a press release that you want to get
out to interested media.

Good luck with your work this week. You will have all of our thoughts and
prayers on your side.

Sincerely,

Erin Ennis
elennis@earthlink.net