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Week
of 1 June
What makes a
church an Anglican church?
The following
three letters all refer to our front-page letter published on 1
June 2003.
• THANK
YOU FOR YOUR EDITORIAL
of 1 June. As someone who was sponsored for
ordination by the church you mentioned, it
was wonderful to read about how well it is
doing. It was even more wonderful to read
the words that I  have
said over and over again: issues of women's
ordination, sexuality, etc.. are not commonly
at the forefront of our minds when we gather
for worship on Sunday mornings.
For
most congregations, I suspect, the hot-button
issues of the day take a back seat to the
normal challenges of congregational life ---
from lavabo bowls to lavatories, from that
annoying person three rows back on the right
to who might be the right person to teach
Sunday School, and other nitty-gritty issues.
While occasionally I lament that folks are
(literally) so parochial, it is good to remember
that 95% of what is done or passed at General
Convention will likely never come up in conversation
at the parish level. Sometimes when one looks
at the forest, one misses the beauty of a
single tree, much less a single branch.
The
Revd Tom Sramek, Jr.
St Alban's
Albany, Oregon USA
frtom@peak.org
• IN
YOUR PIECE THIS WEEK,
you refer to Sunday being "The Sunday after
Ascension" rather than "Trinity Sunday." However,
my BCP lists Trinity Sunday as being the first
Sunday after Pentecost, since between Ascension
Day and Pentecost, we have not yet received
the Holy Spirit. I am curious now, though,
whether this "in between" Sunday did formerly
have a name of its own.
Although,
the point of your article is these details
are not what make us an Anglican Church, arguing
over them certainly seems to be an Anglican
trait!
Peace
and blessings, Heather
Heather
Mina
St Aidan's
Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
• HI,
JUST THOUGHT I'D LET YOU KNOW
that yesterday in the Anglican Communion Cycle
of Prayer we were asked to pray concerning
'communications and media' and so you and
your excellent website got a specific mention.
Also,
about the query you wanted to ask your Rector
as to why the handwashing occurs after the
collection instead of (what would appear more
appropriate) before the preparation of the
elements - I have always understood that it
dated from ancient times when the collection
would contain gifts of food for the sustenance
of the clergy and that hands needed to be
washed after receiving and dedicating such
things as cheese and olives. In our present
context washing before would seem more sensible.
Father
Jim Brady
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne
Melbourne, Australia
Episcopal
Windsocks and diversity of Anglican communion
I'M
QUITE AMAZED TO READ
about the 'Episcopal Windsocks' requested
by Mrs Skov because I do not see any of such
in Singapore. It points out to me that indeed
the Church of England is so diverse in our
own ways and yet in Communion with one another,
anchored onto the same Rock and holding fast
to our common beliefs and doctrines. I'm am
pretty sure that there are some things in
the Anglican church in Singapore unheard by
many of you and would like to know more about
the windsocks. Thank you. Regards from Singapore.
Gabriel
Leng
St Andrew's Cathedral
Singapore
Older
parishers like good wine
MY
CONGREGATION CONSISTS
mainly of older, but still very robust, active,
and committed Christian folk, many of whom
are dealing with, or have dealt with various
forms of cancer. We've been talking about
how we might be of service to the people in
the area around us, and have thought that
age, instead of being the liability it's usually
considered to be, might instead be a powerful
asset.
I
remember reading, quite some time ago, in
Anglicans Online of a program somewhere in
the UK that had been successful, not just
in "caring for" older people, but in keeping
even those who cannot get about much active
and involved in parish life. I don't know
if you have any way of finding the reference,
but if you can, I would appreciate having
it, so that we aren't in the business of "re-inventing
the wheel." We have an inkling that we are
maybe being called, not so much to "caring
for" the elderly, but in utilizing (and enjoying)
their undoubted gifts.
I
read Anglicans Online every week. It is by
far the best and least biased way to keep
track of things Anglican.
Thanks
very much for your help, or at least for your
effort.
Richard
W. Greene
(The
Revd) Richard W. Greene
Holy Trinity, Geneseo, Illinois
Princeton, Illinois, USA
loki0@theramp.net
We
were unable to find this. If you can assist,
send us
an email at Anglicans Online and directly
to The Reverend Greene.
Earlier
letters
We
launched our 'Letters to AO' section on 11 May
2003. All of our letters are in our
archives. Below are links to the last two
weeks, in case you missed them.
Week
of 25 May 2003, including 'Blessed Order
of the Laity'
Week
of 18 May 2003, including 'Numbers, proofs,
and epistemology', 'Remembering Barbara Wolf',
and 'Clergy checks and screening'.
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