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Letters from 26 July to 1 August 2010

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Dead Bishops: All in the family

I loved this week's front page essay (25 July 2010), which is one of many examples, I believe, of how we Anglicans are a family. These people were interested in our genealogy.

This leads me to recall an occasion several years ago, when a small group of priests from our Midwestern diocese had gathered for a workshop led by a Lutheran pastor who is a friend of mine. After dinner, we drifted into the most benign form of clergy gossip. "Did you know that so-and-so is now the rector of St. X in Philadelphia?" "I hear that the organist from St. A in Chicago is now at St. B in Boston." My friend marvelled at our conversation, and said that he couldn't imagine a similar group of Lutheran pastors having such detailed knowledge of parishes all over the country.

A few weeks later, the same friend was at a weekday Eucharist at our church, when we were commemorating the consecration of Samuel Seabury. After reading the "hagiography" from "Lesser Feasts and Fasts", I remarked that one of our parishioners had grown up in the church where Seabury had been elected bishop, and that a couple in the parish had been married in the church where he was buried. Afterward, my friend said that this was yet another proof of the amazing inter-connectedness of The Episcopal Church.

William Bippus
St. Paul's
Marinette, Wisconsin, US
27 July 2010

I have just read your front page essay about dead bishop trading (25 July 2010). Once I was done reading, I looked over my shoulder at the 'unknown priest' picture hanging on my wall. I found this framed photo that I guess to be from somewhere near of the change of the previous century in a small antique shop. I bought it for a few dollars and hung it on my wall. The subject of the photo is young priest (no more than 30) sitting for a formal portrait. The seller had no idea who he was and I am sure there is no way to ever find out. That is the very reason I like the photo. Unlike the identity of your dead bishops, the subject of my photo will remain unknown to anyone but God. This photo hanging on my wall is a reminder to me that within a few years my own identity will fade and eventually be remembered by no one. I trust that there are, in the world today, spiritual offspring due to the work done by my unknown priest – his true legacy. The photo is, to me, a reminder to not work for our own names and reputations but to promote the Gospel of our Lord. Thank you for another great article but rather than ever collecting dead bishops – I shall stick to my unknown priest.

CH Steven Rindahl
The Chapel of Christ the King (Liturgical Chapel Service)
Ft Jackson, SC, US
26 July 2010

Earlier letters

We launched our 'Letters to AO' section on 11 May 2003. All published letters are in our archives.