[Magdalen] Stewardship video: Hello! Full Video -

[Don Boyd]

I believe that every public utterance by, or on behalf of, the church is 
necessarily (though maybe not intentionally) evangelizing or 
counterevangelizing.  When we mean to say "This is who we are, and we hope 
you'll come and be with us," I think we need to be careful not to say "This 
is who we are, and if you don't like that, then just walk right on by."

Not having seen "The Book of Mormon" I did not consider the possibility that 
the video could be a parody.    I still believe that we should, nay MUST, 
(1) welcome into our midst all who wish to come in, and (2) actively seek 
out and invite those who have found themselves unwelcome in other 
worshipping communities.

I am probably overreactive around this issue.  I acknowledge that for many 
years I participated in congregations that sought and welcomed only those 
who resembled those who were already present, and was blissfully unaware 
that in so doing we were
excluding people who, though different from us in some way, were as much 
beneficiaries of Jesus' love and as needful of saving grace as we were.

Grace, thank you for your irenic response to my post.

Don
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Grace Cangialosi" <gracecan at gmail.com>
To: <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2014 3:07 PM
Subject: Re: [Magdalen] Stewardship video: Hello! Full Video -


Don,
While I do see your point, I didn't view this as an evangelizing tool at 
all...just a blatant pitch for money from parishioners. Why would you try to 
evangelize by focusing on a stewardship campaign?
Maybe I'd better try to watch it again from a different perspective. It 
would seem to give an outsider the impression that we're all a bunch of 
preppy white folks with male-only clergy.

> On Nov 20, 2014, at 1:57 PM, "Don Boyd" <thedonboyd at austin.rr.com> wrote:
>
> Of course I'm in a parish that was founded so the lilywhite parishes 
> wouldn't have to deal with black Episcopalians who were beginning to 
> arrive in Austin) and that has over time come to understand itself as the 
> "Black EC" in town as "the church where anyone who has felt unwelcomed 
> elsewhere can find a welcome.  "Wherever you are in your journey of faith, 
> you are welcome at this table" is said at every Eucharist, and the 
> practice of radical hospitality is high on every agenda.  Thus I'm not put 
> off by campy tone of the video which implies an appeal to a particular 
> group of people who are welcome in many churches only if they are careful 
> not to make themselves noticed.
>
> And I do understand that all advertisers (including churches) must 
> carefully consider exactly who they want to attract.  That said, the 
> reaction to Lynn's post suggests to me an attitude of "we certainly 
> wouldn't want to attract the kind of people who like this video!" and I 
> think that's sad.  In my view we'll never be able to love the world and 
> serve the world as we're called to do until we can get comfortable 
> worshipping with people who are quite different from ourselves--in 
> politics, in education, in social class, in ethnicity, in "churchmanship."
>
> Just my $0.02 worth, beloveds.
>
> Don in Austin
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lynn Ronkainen" 
> <ichthys89 at comcast.net>
> To: "M list" <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2014 7:01 PM
> Subject: [Magdalen] Stewardship video: Hello! Full Video -
>
>
>> from St. James Cathedral Chicago... link featured in Dio of TX weekly 
>> email newsletter!
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNGWSJBD5UY
>>
>> Lynn
>