Anyone up for a chat thread?

[faroukfarouk]

You might, then, enjoy Massey H. Shepherd's commentary on the Prayer Book. Sadly, it has been out of print since the 1970's and will cost one upwards of $80 on Amazon or other book sites. It is considered nearly essential literature for postulants within the Continuing Anglican movement. I recently acquired a copy myself and must say: it is informative.

Well, thanks; I'm not Anglican myself, but the excellent language and Biblical basis of a lot of what is in the prayer book is evident, I think. (I'm an immersionist myself, though, but we won't get into that.)

 

[Offeiriad]

A belated hello (page 14 of a discussion!). Paidiske it's years since I went to Lee Abbey. It's a great place, but you'd need to like living in a remote area (by UK standards), with lovely countryside but a long way from a city, and the winters in that part of the world can be wet and bleak.

 

[Paidiske]

I somehow doubt that a remote area (by UK standards) is much like a remote area by Australian standards!

How'd the psych interview go, Shane? Still in one piece?

 

[CanadianAnglican]

Quick update.

I can't remember if I had mentioned it before but the parish where I'm serving moved to a new building about ten years ago. The original parish building was a particular style of tiny wooden construction that was insufficient for a growing congregation (I was told at one wedding the bride went down the aisle sideways because it was so narrow). At any rate, the original building was purchased by a nursing home in the same city and is currently used by them as their chapel. The rector was away (his wife's brother passed away and they are away all week) so I took the service today, giving a brief homily on the name of Christ and leading the twenty or so residents and six volunteers in Morning Prayer.

I absolutely love the building. Here are two quick pictures to allow you guys to put a face to my handle and see the lovely chapel I get to serve in!

One of the volunteers from the parish suggested taking a picture of me to show my mother (who is in another facility run by the same Lutheran-based foundation that runs this facility). They're a rather sweet bunch of ladies, and I'm quite pleased to be serving with them!

 

[Paidiske]

Oh, the building is gorgeous!

I hope your mother is very proud. (I think mine is still a bit non-plussed by my vocation!)

 

[CanadianAnglican]

My mother has advanced Alzheimer's and so far hasn't understood much of what's been going on, hence perhaps the picture might trigger something for her.

Quick edit: for a sense of scale, that picture is probably a good 1/6 of the length of the church which is a completely rectangular building. Some of the pews at the back have been removed to allow for more wheelchairs but at its height the maximum number of people it could sit was about 80 if they were sitting in friendly range of one-another in the pews.

 

[Shane R]

I somehow doubt that a remote area (by UK standards) is much like a remote area by Australian standards!

How'd the psych interview go, Shane? Still in one piece?

The interviewer told me there were no red flags. It took about an hour and I thought a handful of the questions were a bit strange. Another check in the box I suppose.

 

[Paidiske]

Shane, you're married, I think I recall? Does the interviewer need to meet your wife too?

(When I went through the process here, the psych interviewer met me on my own once, then me and my husband together once as well).

 

[Feuerbach]

The interviewer told me there were no red flags. It took about an hour and I thought a handful of the questions were a bit strange. Another check in the box I suppose.

Excellent news! I hope your time with your bishop is fruitful.

 

[SteveCaruso]

One of them went ballistic and gave me a good tongue lashing for even contemplating wearing a crucifix in the church. The lynch-pin of her argument: "This is a Protestant church!" I talked to my canon/mentor about this (consequently the lady was his mother-in-law) and he told me more or less that she gets her amusement from controversy and to ignore her and express my own churchmanship.

We had a beautiful crucifix donated a long time back, but it hung out (erm.. no pun intended) in our Rector's office for many years because a vocal parishioner or two thought it was "too Catholic."

This was during the time where we still had a rood screen, mind. *That* wasn't "too Catholic."

But it wasn't until a few decades after the rood screen came down that the crucifix was finally placed in the sanctuary and no one complained.

 

[Paidiske]

It's funny what people get attached to. I'm mostly working now in a parish which has a very Anglo-Catholic background, but the current vicar is very evangelical. The parishioners complained that he didn't give a candle at a baptism, but not that he decreed that the clergy won't wear chasubles. *shrug* I'd have thought they'd have cared more about something they saw (or didn't see) every week, but clearly it's not that logical.

 

[faroukfarouk]

It's funny what people get attached to. I'm mostly working now in a parish which has a very Anglo-Catholic background, but the current vicar is very evangelical. The parishioners complained that he didn't give a candle at a baptism, but not that he decreed that the clergy won't wear chasubles. *shrug* I'd have thought they'd have cared more about something they saw (or didn't see) every week, but clearly it's not that logical.

Hi; I don't know much about it, but - pardon my ignorance - would he or would you even have studied/trained with Marcus Loane? this is an evangelical name I have heard of. Also, Kirsten Birkett. (But I guess my question is a bit vague; sorry.)

 

[Paidiske]

I'm too young to have trained with Marcus Loane, and I doubt my vicar did either (+Loane was in Sydney and we are in Melbourne, and the divide there is very very big). Kirsten Birkett's in the UK, I think?

The name you may know in connection with us is that my vicar trained under Leon Morris. I trained in a more Anglo-Catholic college and I doubt many of my lecturers are well-known in evangelical circles. (Except maybe the Revd. Canon Professor Dorothy Lee, who is very well known for her work on John's writings; gospel, letters and Revelation).

 

[faroukfarouk]

I'm too young to have trained with Marcus Loane, and I doubt my vicar did either (+Loane was in Sydney and we are in Melbourne, and the divide there is very very big). Kirsten Birkett's in the UK, I think?

The name you may know in connection with us is that my vicar trained under Leon Morris. I trained in a more Anglo-Catholic college and I doubt many of my lecturers are well-known in evangelical circles. (Except maybe the Revd. Canon Professor Dorothy Lee, who is very well known for her work on John's writings; gospel, letters and Revelation).

Sorry; I was confusing Marcus Loane with Leon Morris!

Thanks.

Kirsten Birkett has written some outstanding books, on the Reformation, on secularists concepts of feminism as against a flourishing of womanhood under God, on the false objections of secular science to the faith, and so forth.

I think T C Hammond was in Australia also, if I'm not mistaken; author of 'In Understanding be Men'.

 

[Paidiske]

T C Hammond was originally Irish but settled and was very influential here. From what I understand, some of the clumsiness of the Anglican Church of Australia now probably stems from efforts of Hammond and others to keep the diocese of Sydney independent from the other dioceses (and vice versa, I suppose, but it does tend to be a bit like Sydney vs. everyone else, in practice), which makes it hard for us to do anything in a united way now!

 

[faroukfarouk]

T C Hammond was originally Irish but settled and was very influential here. From what I understand, some of the clumsiness of the Anglican Church of Australia now probably stems from efforts of Hammond and others to keep the diocese of Sydney independent from the other dioceses (and vice versa, I suppose, but it does tend to be a bit like Sydney vs. everyone else, in practice), which makes it hard for us to do anything in a united way now!

I guess as a non-Anglican any perspective on T C Hammond that I might have would not be worth much to many convinced Anglicans.

I expect anyway that you know at least some of Kirsten Birkett's books. She seems a truly remarkable lady.

 

[Paidiske]

I can't say that I do know any of her books. Amazon gave me a bit of a list; the one on Resilience: A Spiritual Project looks interesting.

What is it about her that you admire?

 

[faroukfarouk]

I can't say that I do know any of her books. Amazon gave me a bit of a list; the one on Resilience: A Spiritual Project looks interesting.

What is it about her that you admire?

The books she wrote which I mentioned in #274.

 

[faroukfarouk]

I somehow doubt that a remote area (by UK standards) is much like a remote area by Australian standards!

How'd the psych interview go, Shane? Still in one piece?

I saw the comment about remoteness! Here in Canada there are huge wide open spaces, kind of the Kalgoorlie-Boulders of this world.

 

[BelleC]

Quick update.

I can't remember if I had mentioned it before but the parish where I'm serving moved to a new building about ten years ago. The original parish building was a particular style of tiny wooden construction that was insufficient for a growing congregation (I was told at one wedding the bride went down the aisle sideways because it was so narrow). At any rate, the original building was purchased by a nursing home in the same city and is currently used by them as their chapel. The rector was away (his wife's brother passed away and they are away all week) so I took the service today, giving a brief homily on the name of Christ and leading the twenty or so residents and six volunteers in Morning Prayer.

I absolutely love the building. Here are two quick pictures to allow you guys to put a face to my handle and see the lovely chapel I get to serve in!

One of the volunteers from the parish suggested taking a picture of me to show my mother (who is in another facility run by the same Lutheran-based foundation that runs this facility). They're a rather sweet bunch of ladies, and I'm quite pleased to be serving with them!

Beautiful pictures!!! I could see falling in love with the warm, woody coziness of a chapel like that!