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U.S. membership in the United Methodist Church fell to 7.77 million in 2008—its biggest one-year percentage drop (1.01 percent) since 1974.

Giving was down as well in that first year of the recession as the largest mainline denomination received only 89 percent, or $126.3 million, of what was budgeted for domestic and foreign missions. Average worship attendance was down 1.83 percent for that year, officials told the United Methodist News Service.

The United Methodist Church is withholding funds from two of its seminaries until they submit updated financial reports, and one campus—Claremont School of Theology in southern California—will also have to defend its proposed reconfiguration into a multireligious university.

In the meantime, officials at both Claremont and at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, say they are seeking to find sources to cover about $350,000 in operating costs over the five months before July 1.