Letters
for our Tenth Anniversary edition, Christmas 2004
(Regular weekly letters will resume next week)
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 with them or not.
If
you'd like
to write a letter of your own, click here.
From the Founder
of AO
Congratulations
on ten years -- it's wonderful to see that you've kept it going so well
and so true to its original intention. I obviously left it in excellent
hands. :-)
Tod Maffin
Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA
19 December 2004
From Oklahoma, USA
I check AO religiously
every week (pun intended). It has helped me connect with like-minded souls
the world over, and reconnect with friends and the church in Australia,
which I left in 1989. It has helped me get multiple angles on important
issues in the Anglican/Christian/Religious world where I might otherwise
only hear a single voice. Most importantly, AO helped me find my current
parish on moving to a new state, a place that has been one of the most
important influences in my life. AO has truly been a blessing!
Stephen Stray
St Paul's Episcopal Cathedral
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
14 December 2004
From New Zealand
Congratulations
on your 10th birthday and thank you for the excellent work you do in linking
Anglicans everywhere.
I travel regularly
overseas from my home in Napier in Aotearoa-New Zealand and always try
to attend an Anglican service. Believe it or not, you did help me find
an Anglican church in Rio -- and Tokyo, Washington DC, Portland, Cancun,
Canberra and Hong Kong -- and a few more places besides. And you've kept
me up to date and informed of news of the church around the world.
Here's to the next
10 years and God bless you in your ministry. In a church and world so increasingly
divided, we need you!
Stephen Jacobi
Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Napier
Napier, NEW ZEALAND
20 December 2004
From North Dakota,
USA
How do I make use
of AO in my life?
(1) As a graduate
student in theology, (liturgics, to be precise), I make almost daily use
of the links to various liturgical resources, especially the BCP and Common
Worship. I'd be lost without this easy-access portal.
(2) I enjoy the
weekly editorial. I find it helps me keep perspective on the sometimes
insane life of the Church. Every week, it seems, it's good for at least
one laugh and one serious point for further reflection... quite often,
more of both.
(3) I enjoy being
able to visit the websites of various parishes in the US and around the
globe. I have been known to spend a whole night examining art, architecture,
religious ed. programs, music lists... you get the idea. It's informative
and entertaining.
(4) And because
of all these fabulous features, (and many more), I have been exposed to
the wide treasury of Anglicanism. I was received into the Episcopal Church
this past summer; while I can't give you ALL the credit for that, you do
deserve some share!
Long live AO.
Cody Unterseher
Saint George, Bismarck, North Dakota
Bismarck, North Dakota, USA
13 December 2004
From Warwickshire,
UK
Anglicans Online
has given me an appreciation of the wider Anglican communion (i.e., beyond
my own diocese!), enabling me to begin to understand some of the culture
clash issues now arising between its members. You provide a real and valuable
service in introducing us to each other! Also, the Anglican news from any
country often provides a useful counterpoint to whatever item the secular
press might be carrying. Many, many thanks for educating me about my brothers
and sisters around the world.
Kathy Wilson
Holy Trinity, Long Itchington
Long Itchington, Warwickshire, UNITED KINGDOM
16 December 2004
From Maryland, USA
Your weekly editorials
are a high point of my Monday mornings. The various links are useful from
time to time, but what I really value is the non-mean take on Anglican
news and on life in the church.
The Rev. Ronald
H. Miller
St. Mary the Virgin (part-time interim)
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
13 December 2004
From Pennsylvania,
USA
Others will probably
say this better but I still feel a need to proclaim the bleedingly obvious
if as nothing else than as a thank-you note, -- Anglicans Online gives
the Anglican Communion a way to communicate.
It allows us to
apprehend, in terms of the minute particulars, other Provinces, other mindsets,
other ways. It is one thing to know something in abstract, very large realities
can be shrunken down into very small labels; it is quite another thing
to read a news article from a local newspaper about this or that issues
facing this or that church. The abstract expands into a set of specific
individuals, working within our Anglican tradition, who are doing their
best to understand and follow God's Will in whatever circumstances are
their particular lot, God help them. And, if we are open to grace, that
sense of sympathy, of recognition, of commonality, when felt, can only
do the Communion good.
To continue with
the obvious, this is a blessing during a time of division. The Communion
has evolved to face very different circumstances and calls in various parts
of the globe. If we are to be the Body of Christ, we need to acknowledge
our dependence on these different calls, and to be grateful to and for
them. We need to acknowledge other parts and communicate with them. If
I were a bit better at biology I could perhaps assign to vehicles of information
and communication such as Anglicans Online a proper analogy to a type of
blood cell, one of the many types that circulate through the body, keeping
it vital and healthy, feeding it with the oxygen of the Spirit, keeping
it of a piece.
Which leads to the
obvious pun, of a peace. And as the Druids we are so often accused of being
might say to that -- God willing, so mote it be.
Kay Wisniewski
St Paul's, Chestnut Hill
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
20 December 2004
From Scotland
I produce and present
a weekly radio show on Sunday mornings. It's targetted at the age 45+ church
goer. I find the site fruitful for thought (things to say and reflect on
on air) and also 'news from the churches', a regular spot on the show.
My only disappointment is that my show goes on air 8am Sunday morning and
I don't get the site updates until Monday morning over here!
Many thanks for
all the work that goes into producing the site.
John Davidson
St Ninian's, by Bruces' Well, Prestwick, Scottish Episcopal Church
Irvine, Ayrshire, SCOTLAND
johnedavidson@omne.uk.net
24 December 2004
From a Lutheran pastor
in Texas, USA
You had asked how
we use Anglicans Online in our ministries... to begin, I enjoy your intro
every week as it does give me much to ponder. Second, I use the resources
page frequently. I love the news page as well. Y'all do a great job of
presenting news from around the Anglican Communion and at not being biased.
As I am a pastor of an ELCA congregation, with whom the ECUSA is in full
communion, I really like hearing the latest that is going on with our Anglican
sisters and brothers. Your site is awesome, and provides such a wonderful
service.
Blessings on your
tenth year!
Fr. Joseph E. Summerville
III
Alvin Lutheran Church ELCA
Alvin, Texas, USA
14 December 2004
From a college student
in Oklahoma, USA
I'll put this briefly
because I have a final exam in ten minutes. Anglicans Online has meant
one thing for me:
Communion.
I am a Theology
Major at a Roman-Catholic university and live in a place where Anglicans
are few and far in between. Whenever I begin to feel as if I am standing
alone I click onto Anglicans Online ... and am home in and with the church
all over the world and throughout the ages.
Thank you, Anglicans
Online.
Joshua Matthew Shawnee
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
St. Gregory's University, Oklahoma, USA
jshawnee@hotmail.com
13 December 2004
From Manitoba, Canada
Happy tenth anniversary!
How do I love and make use of thee? Let me count the ways:
1: You are my Monday
morning dose of sanity. I log on every Monday morning for your calm, objective
view of the church in the world.
2: You are my source
for thousands (I think, although I haven't used them all) links to Anglicans
everywhere, and more!
3: Your news pages
keep me up to date on just what is really going on in the worldwide Communion,
so that I can form my own opinions about where my church is headed.
4: I've used links
provided by you to find valuable resources for lay readers, Sunday school
teachers, pastoral care workers, and other ministries of the church to
help me in my role as coordinator of ministries in my parish.
There are many more
reasons, but space is limited, so suffice it to say, I look forward to
at least another ten years of Anglicans Online. Thank you, thank you, thank
you!
Blessings to all
as you continue your Advent journey, and may your Christmas be full of
joy, peace, and wonder!
Rene Jamieson
St. John's Cathedral
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA
13 December 2004
From Devon, UK
Every Monday morning
I log onto your site. It is full of what I term sanctified common sense.
It is so easy to get over-concerned with the everyday details of parish
life and your site keeps people in touch will the broad and balanced picture.
I refer to your site when preaching and when writing articles in the parish
magazine. I have also recommended it to friends. Long may you continue
to inspire mainstream Anglicans and others.
Wendy Pezzey
Stoke Damerel and St Aubyn
Plymouth, Devon, UNITED KINGDOM
17 December 2004
From California,
USA
Every Sunday evening
for the past (gosh -- I don't know how long now), around 9 PM, I've checked
anglicansoneline.org on the Web for the latest installment of wit and wisdom
from the staff. A great way to end the weekend and start the week.
Although I haven't
been an active Episcopalian for some time now, it's nice to see some common
sense reporting and commentary as opposed to what one finds in some of
the discussion boards or in the secular media lately.
Happy 10th anniversary
to all of you at Anglicans OnLine! Please - please, keep up the good work.
We're counting on you.
Sincerely,
Mark Wood
Vacaville, California, USA
13 December 2004
From Sydney, Australia
My church is one
of few high-church parishes in the aggressively conservative evangelical
Diocese of Sydney. We try not to be mean, or defensive, or paranoid. I
check your site every Tuesday (Sydney time) and forward it by email to
about 60 parishioners because I so much value your insights and your irenic
approach. Also, because the diocesan media do not give much of a positive
slant on life outside Sydney, it is good for us to have a window into the
wider Anglican world.
For my own part
as parish priest, I have often often used your site and its links for resourcing
research into prayers, hymns, addresses, people ... lots of uses! For me
it is the standard first track to try.
Many thanks! I am
so glad there was a gifted 20-something who got it all started, the worldwide
benefit is wonderful, but it is nice to know something of the human story
behind it all so it is never taken for granted or undervalued.
Every blessing,
James McPherson
St Mark's Anglican Church, Granville
Sydney, AUSTRALIA
stmarks.granville@bigpond.com
14 December 2004
From Massachusetts,
USA
I check Anglicans
Online first thing early Monday morning for news from around the communion.
I pass on essays, commentary, and sites to friends and I urge them to check
the site out for themselves. I use resources like the source for the BCP,
and generally advertise it as one of the best web sites available.
And -- I drink my
morning coffee from an Anglicans Online mug.
Nancy Lowry
Grace Church, Amherst
Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
14 December 2004
From New South Wales,
Australia
Each Monday afternoon
(around 2pm Sydney time) I log on to Anglicans Online and 'copy and paste'
your weekly pictures/s and letter. Then I publish it -- under your Anglicans
Online banner -- in our weekly News Sheet.
Our parishioners
really look forward to your words of wisdom and encouragement. You see,
our Parish is a 'little' (just a 'little'!) Anglo-catholic and don't follow
the traditional Sydney Evangelical way. We have Sung Eucharist each Sunday,
and on the last Sunday of each month, use the Book of Common Prayer service.
And once a month, we sing the Prayer Book service of Evensong with choir
in attendance; a beautiful service. So we are encouraged by your weekly
'Letters from America' -- thank you.
Graham G Roch
St Paul's Anglican Church (Parish of St George), Kogarah
Sutherland, NSW, AUSTRALIA
groch@bigpond.net.au
21 December 2004
From Oregon, USA
The ancient Greeks
had a word for 'non-mean,' which is 'megalopsychia' or 'magnanimous,' which
I think Anglicans Online nicely represents.
Mike Anthony
Christ Church Episcopal Parish
Lake Oswego, Oregon, USA
manth43470@aol.com
19 December 2004
From Pennsylvania,
USA
We are looking for
a new rector. A rector of great quality. Bishop material, perhaps, as has
been our tradition, several times in the past.
We are forming our
parish statement, with God's help, to call a person who is contemporary,
reliable, and fair. Who easily separates the mean and the non-mean. Who
sees the truth about human beings. Who has not become overwhelmed by the
dreadful loss of hope that has enveloped fundamentalist, conservative,
small-minded America. We are indeed looking for a person with wit, with
intellectual generosity and largeness of heart. We are indeed looking for
someone with the willingness to think the best of someone who holds differing
opinions.
St Paul's is a reasonably
diverse congregation that struggles to maintain a magnificent physical
plant: a neo-gothic Anglican edifice from the 1920s that on a typical Sunday
holds at best 150 in a space for 600; a congregation that is financially
supported largely by three widows in their 70s and 80s.
Your website, as
extracted in the words above, has helped me personally to express to the
Vestry the core of the Anglican tradition that separates us from the despair
that buries our nation today.
I thank you for
the insight of Anglicans Online, the top listing when, through Google,
I entered the words 'Episcopal communion'.
Bob Busser
St Paul's Episcopal, Chestnut Hill
Philadelphia. Pennsylvania, USA
rabusser@verizon.net
14 December 2004
From Georgia, USA
Congratulations
on 10 years of ministry. I write to say how much AO means to me. Not taking
any international or national Anglican publications, I rely on AO to keep
me informed of events, attitudes, and opinions throughout our communion.
The News Centre and Letters to AO rank most highly for me in this regard.
I also look forward to the introductory remarks every week. I have found
you to regularly capture with clarity the issue at the heart of the issues.
Thank you for you
insight, humor, and example of loving service to others.
Christ's peace,
The Reverend Fr.
Troy Beecham
Christ Church
Evans, Georgia, USA
troybeecham@knology.net
16 December 2004
Earlier
letters
We launched our 'Letters
to AO' section on 11 May 2003. All of our letters are in our
archives.
|
