| 
Letters,
11—18 May 2003
About
this 'Letters Page' idea
Dear
Editors, Sounds like a good idea—it is pleasing to to
able to access in one place so much Anglican news, opinion,
etc. from
around the world. It would be good to gain the insights and
opinions of 'average' Anglicans from around the world. Keep
up the good
work.
Trevor
Australia
The
REALLY Big Clerical Directory
Would
it be possible to list, or begin collecting, the clergy of the
various provinces in one directory? A rather
daunting task, I know, but it would be of great help in
connecting with our
sisters and brothers who have moved to different parts of the
Anglican Communion. Thank you for all of your hard work!
The Reverend Shawn Williams
USA
As
volunteers whose time is utterly consumed by Anglicans Online,
we, uh, couldn't take this on. We doodled on a tablecloth
and estimated how many people x how many
hours it would take just to create this directory, much less
maintain
it, and, not surprisingly, it was a really big number. We'll hand
this off to the Anglican Communion Office.
About
our Vacancies Centre
Our posting
of a position open for Assistant to Rector and School
Chaplain produced excellent results. We had many replies
and are currently interviewing the finalists for the position...THANK
YOU!
The
Reverend Vincent Scotto
Church of the Good Shepherd
Punta Gorda, Florida, USA
 Pay
per view
I
find it dreadful that the TIMES of London and now, apparently,
the INDEPENDENT will be charging 'foreign' readers online. Perhaps
something can be worked out to allow us foreigners to access
these very worthwhile web sites.
Phillip Ayers
USA
We
find it dreadful, too, but we're not optimistic about the
situation reversing itself.
The
ABC and his non-fan mail
There
may be another side to the Rowan Williams hate-mail story. It's
not difficult to be impressed by his learning,
wisdom and spirituality. But now we see that this gifted,
God-filled
man is also a vulnerable human being, hurt and frightened
by those who would persecute him, and humble enough to
admit it.
There is a parallel here for Christians that doesn't need
spelling out. Most Anglicans, I'd guess, can hardly believe
their luck.
Stephen Heard
United Kingdom
Blush
Thank you so much for Anglicans Online—it is an amazing service
to the Anglican Communion and to the whole of Christianity. I look
forward to checking the site every Monday. Long may you be able to
continue it.
Jennifer Jones
United Kingdom
Article 18 redivivus
Our
front-page letter of 6 April included our take on Article
18 of the 39 Articles. Recently we published
a counterpoint to our position. This email refers to both.
I
am not sure either the original letter (on Article XXXIX) or
the counterpoint get to the heart of the actual article
in question.
Surely we do not believe that adhering to any sect, Christianity
included, is really the basis for anyone's salvation. The article
simply says that Jesus himself is that basis, which scripture
says as well. It is only weird and bad news when we hear that observation
as
'everyone must KNOW and acknowledge the truth of this in this life'
in order to be saved.
I
was reading F D Maurice the other day, partly in celebration
of Barbara Wolf's life, and noticed how carefully nuanced
are his nearly universalist assumptions, which happen also
to be
the apostle
Paul's. If all men are damaged by the sin of 'one man - Adam'
and Jesus' death and resurrection un-did that damage and brought
life
to 'all', well, then, it did.
The
good news is good if the proclamation is simply to proclaim that
life which begins now and never ends has already begun,
that we can have freedom in this life from the burden of
crippling sin. As Tolkien has Sam say at a critical moment
in The Lord
of the Rings, 'All sad stories are becoming untrue.' We
are 'saved' from this 'present eveil age' now,
if we enter the universal kingdom of God deliberately,
by baptism, by faithful obedience, dance the story and
sing
and eat and
drink with thanksgiving, but the end of the story is not
now.
It
is unthinkable for Paul, or Maurice, (or me) to imagine that
the sin of Adam however it is construed finally
overbalances
the redemption of Jesus and cancels its effectiveness except
for those who see and know and rejoice in it now. Any
individual's salvation
is predicated on the salvation of the whole creation, not
the other way round, or so implies Paul...
Cathy Cox
USA
|
