Letters
from 1 to 7 January 2007
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Goy to
the world? Not at all
The
commemoration of the Circumcision and Naming of Jesus should also
say to us that Jesus is Jewish, a fact of which Geza Vermes, for
example, has done so much to remind us but a fact tragically so
often forgotten by Christians in the past.
And
if we begin the New Year with the Jewish Jesus, we also might remember
two of his friends who happened to enter into fuller life on New
Year's Day. One is Samuel Crowther, the first African bishop, so
marginalised by white CMS missionaries and other Europeans. The
second is "the small woman", Gladys Aylward, who, with women such
as Deaconess Mary Andrews of Sydney Diocese and Florence Li Tim
Oi, our first woman priest, served so valiantly in the Church of
China.
Wishing
you all a happy new year, with thanks again for a sane, practical,
moderate and eirenic ministry that is a blessing to so many.
John
Bunyan
St John the Baptist's, Canberra and King's Chapel, Boston
Campbelltown, NSW, AUSTRALIA
jrbpilgrim@bocnet.com.au
2 January 2007
It's
not fire, it's Silent Light
This
past week you printed a couple
of letters from visitors or occasional
worshippers at Episcopal Churches in the U.S. One correspondent
reported annoyance and puzzlement at the custom of the congregation
remaining quietly in their pews while the candles at the altar
were extinguished. You chimed in to say that he should certainly
find a better and hipper parish. You seem to have seized the opportunity
to ridicule rather that to explain the habit.
The "fire
worship" your letter writer witnessed is something of a dying custom
among Episcopal congregations, and is widely ridiculed. It represents,
however, a stopgap against the widespread tendency to approach
and leave our worship too carelessly. It used to be a widespread
practice to kneel in personal prayer for a moment at the end of
the service--and the time needed to snuff the candles seemed about
right. Today, it is far more common for everyone to immediately
hop up and begin chatting with their neighbors. Visiting with friends
is, of course, also a Christian activity, but one for which there
is generally plenty of time and space. Time in silence with God,
however, is hard-won and vulnerable in today's world. One doesn't
have to be "pickled" or unwelcoming to feel that something has
been lost when such contemplative silences are lost.
Warren
Woodfin
St. Ignatius of Antioch (Episcopal), New York
New York, New York, USA
2 January 2007
Funeral
eucharist or collection of eulogies?
I have
been an Episcopalian all my life. It's
seldom that I discuss church policy or doctrine, and most rare
to communicate about it, but watching the Episcopal funeral rites
for the late President Ford, I felt compelled to write you.
It
is rare for the Episcopal church to be in the public eye except
for our recent controversy. A public view of religious proceedings
is usually focused on the Vatican or on TV evangelical programs.
Except for England's royal family weddings and funerals and the late
President's Ford's funeral it is rare that the public is exposed
to Anglican rites.
However,
on these formal occasions of State, one thing that has been notably
absent is the celebration of Holy Communion.
During the Ford funeral rites- at St. Margaret's in California, the
National Cathedral in Washington DC or at Grace Episcopal
Church in Michigan, only prayer service was offered. Not one of
those services celebrated Holy Communion and offered the Sacraments.
Disregarding
our present controversies over women and gays in the church for
a moment, it appears that we as a church haven't yet come to grips
with who we are and what we value in our communion with God. What
could be more important than on the day of burial of a family member
that we receive the Holy Sacraments? Or is this something that
we just dust off for Easter Sundays or Christmas?
Some
individuals of different Protestant faiths that I have talked to
aren't even aware that we celebrate Holy Communion since it is
rarely celebrated and seen on these important public and religious
events.
I have heard that communion was left out because the family wanted
a simple service. The late President's Ford funeral was not at all
simple. Further, families should not be dictating Episcopal funeral
rites. If time is an important consideration, then you don't need
five or six eulogies during the funeral. Omitting Holy Communion
from our funeral rites should not define or mean a simple service.
Even the late President Kennedy's funeral in St. Matthew's Cathedral
was much simpler, with only a few remarks from a Cardinal, but the
Mass was celebrated.
We
seem to have no standard in our churches. I never know when I am
attending a regular service, wedding or funeral if I
will have the opportunity to receive Holy Communion, We need to
take a serious look at our church and define who we are. Because
right now who we are depends on which episcopal church you attend.
We need to have an Episcopal Church
that operates and prays like one Church instead of what looks like
mini denominations within our present Church.
Richard
T. DeVito
Cathedral of the Incarnation
Long Beach, New York, USA
Rtd3570@aol.com
5 January 2007
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