Letters
from 20 to 26 February 2006
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Not
rooted in dissent
In
his letter in
response to
your essay
on the Superbowl, the Reverend Ron Baillie
of Pittsburgh laments that Episcopalians (and
by extension, one supposes, Anglicans everywhere)
no longer know what holds us together, what our
core beliefs are.
While
the Reverend Mr. Baillie and I obviously hold different
views on practices and understandings on the periphery
of Anglicanism, I am sure that, at the core, we agree. "I
believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven
and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our
Lord...etc." I am not aware that the Creeds, the
Lambeth Quadrilateral, our Anglican tradition of
inclusiveness has changed. While there are certain
Anglicans, like the Reverend Mr. Baillie and the
Network, who would have us all worship in the same
way, hold the same interpretation of selected verses
of scripture, practice our faith in uniformity, and
sing from the same song sheet, I maintain that the
very strength of our church is its shared core beliefs
and diversity of practice.
The
beauty of Anglicanism is the fact that our statement
of faith, our core, is found in the creeds, not in
any document created in dissent.
Rene
Jamieson
The Cathedral of St. John
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA
20 February 2006
The
Holy Spirit working through the Councils of the Church:
in just what way?
The
Synod of the Diocese of Melbourne (Australia)
has just concluded a meeting at which it had
hoped to elect a new Archbishop. Over 30 names
had been considered earlier by a Committee and
a final three names went forward for consideration
by this Synod. However, after several meetings
and considerable debate, the necessary support
to elect one of those three (two-thirds majority
in each of three Houses) was not obtained. As
a result the whole process begins again in about
three months time.
Already
one of those three 'finalists' has announced he won't
be allowing his name to go forward again, believing
God has indicated to him that he should remain where
he is, as Bishop of another Australian Diocese.
This
is an interesting conclusion to reach. Has God only
given him — and all the others of course — only
one chance? Was this a 'rejection' of him or a challenge
to the Synod to continue deliberating on that final
three? How does this candidate know God wants him
to remain where he is? Many would have prayed for
him to go to Melbourne, many for him not to do so.
Has he made a decision not to resubmit his name because
of the frustration of it all?
What
interesting questions are raised by the whole scenario:
the mystery of the working of the Holy Spirit. How
do we discern the will of God? Do we have the patience
to wait on Him? How many times does He try us?
Trevor
G Cowell
Christ Church, Illawarra, Longford
Perth, Tasmania, AUSTRALIA
platcha1@optusnet.com.au
22 February 2006
Earlier letters
We launched
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