Pious Westchester

New York's Westchester County, the verdant group of 18 towns and four cities lying north of Manhattan, was last week revealed to be ''the fastest-growing portion of the entire Anglican communion throughout the world." In Manhattan-- popularly supposed to be ungodly although its churchgoers, mostly devout Roman Catholics, devout Jews, are many--the Protestant Episcopal Church has lost 8,584 members since 1910. But in Westchester, reported a committee of Episcopal churchmen and laymen last week, Episcopal churchgoers have increased by 12,223 in the same period, or nearly 100%.

Because Westchester's substantial, commuting Episcopalians do not relish worshiping at "mission stations," run by the New York diocese, the committee recommended that certain of the 14 Westchester missions be made into parishes, self-respecting and locally controlled. Likewise --though none had expressed any desire to --the committee suggested that failing Manhattan parishes be moved to fastest-growing Westchester.

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