The staggeringly in-depth conservative Anglican website TitusOneNine has an interesting take by a reader named Karen B. dissecting a New York Times report about the escalating Episcopal Church warfare in Connecticut. To read the original Stacey Stowe news story, click here. To dig into Karen B.'s critique, click here.
As always, this wrestling match is linked to the Bible and sex outside of marriage. However, Karen is interested in how newspapers can actually bias a story with a highly nuanced, or uninformed, use of statistics.
Here is the Stowe paragraph that sent Karen to the web for some interesting research and statistics.
The Vassar College Episcopal chaplain, the Rev. Susan McCone, is now the priest in charge of St. John's, a church with fewer than 200 members. A retired priest from western Massachusetts has been leading Sunday services. . . .
Seems innocent enough. But wait: What is the percentage of Episcopal parishes that average fewer than 80 to 100 in worship?