Letters
from 22 November 2004 to 28 November 2004
Like all
letters to the editor everywhere, these letters are the opinions
of the letter writers and not Anglicans Online. We publish letters
that we think will be of interest to our readers, whether we agree
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Anti-American
rants from the pulpit?
NOT
AT ST THOMAS, but in many other Anglican churches in Toronto (and one United Church),
including St. James downtown, I have run into a tendency to substitute
for a homily with an Anti-American Political Rant. I am an American
living and working in Canada, and I have actually gotten up and left
a service because of this kind of noise. In fact, my cousin came
to visit me and we went to Evensong at St. James and this very thing
broke out. She nudged me and said "I've had enough
of this [vulgarity]" and we both got up and exited. We mentioned
to the verger that we were Americans and that we did not come to
church to hear the priest vilifying our country. That is why we have
the CBC, Carolyn Parrish, and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
I would
like to know what the general practice of the Anglican Church in
Canada is regarding this practice. A rant against Islamofascists,
Palestinian terrorism or Al-Qaeda would be met with outrage; but
rip into America and we get silence.
Should
not the church stick to preaching the Good News and try to heal division,
not promote it? Is there nothing in Canada that needs repair or alteration
(if you think that, I can give you a list) before your priests and
pastors start hammering on a country many of them have never lived
in and do not know?
Kate Shaw
St. Thomas
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
kate@rfmsports.com
22 November 2004
I am
shocked that you published a letter ...
I AM
A WEEKLY READER OF AO.
I look forward to AO every Monday. More times than not I disagree
with concensus opinions on AO. I have not written before - even though
I have been really tempted on several ocassions. I must now break
my silence.
I am shocked
that you published a letter ("Political puzzlement") simply to belittle
our President. You publish this letter, which certainly is not of
interest to the church as a whole (or even in part), yet AO neglects
to even mention that ECUSA priests have been found to be Wiccans.
It seems to me that the ECUSA overlooking the fact that it has pagans
in its priesthood would be newsworthy.
Or maybe
this is not news to many...
Greg Smith
Church of the Apostles
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
22 November 2004
(Ed:
We tend to be more inclusive here in the Letters section than in
the News Centre. The decision as to what is news, what is Anglican
news, and what is Anglican news of international import is always
a judgment call. That priests around the world are criminals, pedophiles,
pagans, axe murderers, embezzlers, or bad poets is not news. The
systematic mishandling of clergy discipline might be news of international
import, but a single incident rarely is. In our opinion the diocese
you refer is handling this appropriately, and it is certainly not
over. If a reader sees it otherwise, there is always this forum.)
Jerusalem,
Jerusalem
MIDEAST
PEACE = PEACE OF JERUSALEM = WORLD PEACE
Our Church
has become so divided, so issue-driven, that we would do well to
find an issue important enough and large enough to supersede the
lesser issues. It is reasonable for Anglicans to focus on the central
problem facing the world today... the Arab-Israeli crisis... and
work for a solution there.
There
is no way to separate politics from religion in the Middle East.
We couldn't if we tried; we couldn't if we wanted to. Therefore,
ways must be found to make religion part of the solution instead
of part of the problem in resolving the conflict. Let us proceed
to focus our peacemaking efforts on the future status of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem must be shared in accordance with International Law. West
Jerusalem must become the future capital of Israel. East Jerusalem
must become the future capital of the future state of Palestine.
The Old City of Jerusalem must be shared by Jews, Muslims and Christians
alike. Administered by whom? The United Nations? Details can be worked
out after we get our courage and hearts in the right place.
The peace
process would be furthered immeasurably if Christians and Jews would
make the effort to understand why Muslims call Jerusalem a "holy" city.
Mohammed never claimed he was founding a new religion. The Prophet
pointed to Jerusalem, to the monotheism in the Jewish and Christian
traditions and taught: "Behold.... God has ALWAYS been One."
As we
Christians make our rightful claim to Jerusalem, we must acknowledge
that Muslims and Jews also have rightful claims to Jerusalem from
their perspectives. It is useless to argue about sovereignty in the
Holy City. Sovereignty in Jerusalem belongs to God alone, and God
is ONE.
Roy Hayes
St. George's Cathedral
San Diego, California, USA
RoyHayesSD@aol.com
27 November 2004
Earlier
letters
We launched our 'Letters to
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