Diocese of Quebec faces ‘extinction’

Bishop Drainville (photo: Diocese of Quebec)According to the Anglican Journal, “the Diocese of Quebec is [quoting Bishop Dennis Drainville] ‘teetering on the verge of extinction’ as parish finances continue to collapse and the number of parishioners dwindles.” Bishop Drainville told the House of Bishops meeting in November that he could well be “the last bishop of Quebec” and that “there will be many other dioceses that will fail.” He attributed this to churches that were “unfocused, had difficulty in understanding the call of God,” and clergy who were “unengaged and felt directionless.” Diocesan demographics reflect the malaise. The Journal reports that Bishop Drainville “noted that a vast majority of Quebec congregations (50 of 82) virtually have no children, 35 had parishioners with an average age of 75, and usually had only 8 to 10 people attending Sunday services.”

The diocese, which was founded in 1793, has not paid its assessment to the national church for the past two years.

The former Bishop of Algoma, the Rt. Rev. Ron Ferris, estimates that there are only 125,000 Canadians worshipping on an average Sunday in ACC churches across Canada. The Anglican Church of Canada has publicly reported neither its membership nor Sunday School attendance statistics, nor its baptismal, confirmation, marriage or burial statistics for almost a decade. The last year for which published statistics are available is 2001. It used to release such figures annually.