ST. LOUIS -- The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) claims its membership losses appear to be leveling off, with more than 2.5 million baptized members reported for 2001 -- nearly 14,000 less than 2000. The report was an improvement from the previous year when the denomination lost 28,000 baptized members between 1999 and 2000.

Congregations reported members gave a total of $1.2 billion in 2001, more than $12 million less than 2000. It is the fourth year that member giving topped $1 billion, according to the Synod's Office of Rosters and Statistics.

"We hope that the revised reporting form that congregations first used last year resulted in more accurate statistical reporting than before," said John O'Hara, a research analyst for the Synod's Department of Research Services.

"And we really can't start seeing trends in reporting until we look at results from the third year that congregations used the revised form, and that would be a year from now," O'Hara said.

Sixty-nine percent of the denomination's 6,150 congregations participated in the survey.

Among statistics that rose last year are:

• 8,497 men on the clergy roster (up 240); and
• 21,658 non-members enrolled in weekday classes (up 1,361).

Included in numbers that fell from 2000 are:

• 156.8 -- the average weekly worship attendance per congregation (down 10);
• 5,623 Sunday schools (down 35);
• 492,751 enrolled in Sunday schools (down 12,939);
• 4,546 weekday religion classes (down 332);
• 192,744 enrolled in weekday classes (down 7,958);
• 4,119 vacation Bible schools (down 78);
• 32,606 children baptized (down 1,259);
• 24,534 children/teen-agers confirmed (down 788);
• 19,964 adults confirmed (down 1,782); and
• 40,947 members gained from the outside (down 549).