Letters from 30
April to 6 May 2007
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More rainbows,
less dogma
I have
been a reader of your weekly column for some time now and have
intended to write before to tell you how much I enjoy your broad-minded
view of Anglicanism. Being in the Diocese of New Hampshire (Yes,
that diocese!) and being a great admirer of our bishop, I'm glad
there are voices in Anglicanism other that that of some of the
African provinces.
I am particularly
delighted with your anecdote concerning the rainbow flag in this
week's column. I pray that voices like yours will come more and
more to dominate the debates in which we are engaged at the moment.
My parish is a member of the Progressive Church Network and we're
trying to worry less about dogma and institutional issues and
more about Christian living. Keep up the good work!
Grover
Marshall
Christ Church
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA
1 May 2007
The rainbow
or the cross?
I
find the discussion regarding the
use of the rainbow interesting. But it occurred to me that
a symbol that was supposed to say, "Every one is welcomed
here!", has been turned into a rather exclusive badge which,
ironically, excludes Christians who hold other views regarding
human sexuality.
If we really
believe what we say about the Church not being an exclusive club
of like-minded people then even those whose views we may find
unacceptable should be made to feel welcomed. Otherwise we are
merely paying lip service to what it means to be inclusive. Not
only so but God forbid it if a priest views himself/herself as
a kind of "Team Captain" for those who hold this or that point
of view. The concept of 'priestliness' surely ought to be wider
than that.
In any
case, when it comes to symbolism, perhaps we should stick to the
symbol of the One who, as the prayer puts it, extended his "arms
of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come
within the reach" of his "saving embrace". We can do no better
than the Cross of Christ when it comes to symbols of a loving
and welcoming God.
Grahame
Thompson
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
grahame_thompson@hotmail.com
2 May 2007
Rainbows
and relationships
The rainbow
flag vignette in the AO letter of April 29 brought forth a
reminiscence that comes to me from 1970. An inter-racial group
of American Episcopalians from the Diocese of Olympia (Western
half of Washington State) took a long flowing silk cloth dyed
with colors of the rainbow as a “partnership
gift” to the Diocese of Osaka in Japan. The rainbow was
a sign of God's Covenant Promise, and we were expressing a covenant
relationship with fellow Anglicans abroad. A Priest of our diocese
known for his creativity had been approached by our Bishop who
asked him to design a gift our group could take to present to
our companion diocese in the Nippon Sei Ko Kai! For many years
the “O-O-P” (Olympia-Osaka-Partnership) was our inter-Anglican
and inter-national companionship relationship that continued and
included Priest’s exchange programs as well.
Prior to
our relationship with Osaka, Bishop Stephen F. Bayne, Jr., the
first Executive Secretary of the Anglican Communion who went from
Olympia to London, and proposed the developing of companionship
relationships as an expression of “Mutual Responsibility
and Interdependence in the Body of Christ” (which became
an acronym “MRI” in ECUSA, and “ AWM” — “Anglican
World Mission” — in the Anglican Church of Canada) the
outward expressions that emerged from the 1963 Pan Anglican Congress
in Toronto, Canada.
Bishop
Bayne’s personal friendship with Bishop Michael Hinsuke
Yashiro of Kobe, who was also the Primate of the Nippon Sei Ko
Kai until 1970 (when he died), introduced the sister-to-sister
companionship between the Diocese of Osaka and Olympia which Bishop
Ivol Ira Curtis fostered and facilitated. Our inter-Anglican partnership
was ended with the Diocese of Kobe when we initiated our relationship
with Osaka, but the Seattle Sister City relationship with the
City of Kobe still continues - and this connection is remembered
annually, for example, at Seattle's Safeco Field with a mutual
event in Kobe!
“Partners
in Mission” became a further expression of the mutuality
initiatives, and partnerships continue worldwide, even in the
beginning of the 21st Century! Undergirding
these relationships are our prayers for one another — in
our Intercessions and in the Prayers of the People — rather
than programmatical schemes.
Speaking
about prayers, please remember us in the Diocese of Olympia. On
Saturday, May 12th we will be meeting for a Special Diocesan Convention
to elect a new Bishop.
The Reverend
Canon Timothy Makoto Nakayama
St. Mark's Cathedral
Seattle, Washington, USA
frtim@yahoo.com
30 April 2007
On the other
hand
I note
the Archibishop of Canterbury's request to UK politicians to rediscover
some moral energy. Perhaps he could do likewise and make some
statement concerning Nigeria's immoral laws against LGB folk,
and the support given by the Anglican Primate there.
K. Anderson
SCOTLAND
30 April 2007
Fog lights
Just
a spontaneous thank you, thank you, thank you for your efforts,
clear thinking and wonderful writing. Your page always lifts and
clears any foggy, depressing thoughts I have about the current
times of troubles and schisms in the Anglican Communion.
Keep up
the good work,
A Canadian Anglican who attends an English-speaking
Episcopal/Anglican church in Germany.
Martha
Gibson
Church of Christ the King, Frankfurt Main
Darmstadt, GERMANY
3 May 2007
'The number
you have reached is out of service'
I like
our church's being listed as the Anglican parish of Northern Mallee.
I am in a very small group of web page writers who are keeping
a monthly 'news item' on the opening page.
Anglicans
Online lists 450 Australian parishes with web sites and I made
an alphabetic list of the 166 who have updated in 2007. Then I
decided to link to 20 each month, putting the earlier month's
links at the bottom of my front page. This has
made me think about the value of a church web page, as you can
see from my data check.
Within
my own community, the change of a 'Priest in Charge' and an unwillingness
to see a web page as a part of ministry seem to be a reason for
lack of support. When sites are launched, then ignored,
an obvious miscomprehension — A website is not a magazine — appears.
So is
Anglicans Online concerned about so many outdated or dead llinks? And what
can a person like myself do to help?
Elizabeth
Janson
http://www.geocities.com/mallee2001
Red Cliffs, near Mildura, NW Victoria, AUSTRALIA
4 May 2007
(Ed.
note: We heartily wish that good websites were a higher
priority than they seem to be for most parish churches. Alas,
Anglicans Online staff are volunteers with full-time
day jobs, so we can't spend additional time chasing down dead
links. We try to remove them when we happen upon them
or they are brought to our attention. And we regret each time
we lost a website owing to a church's inability to maintain
it. Someday having an updated and attractive website will be
as important as having a telephone with a working telephone
number.)
Earlier letters
We launched our 'Letters
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