[Magdalen] End of an Era.

[Lynn Ronkainen]

Jim G> Until the 1960s (when many parishes were booming and now have that 
virtually
empty Sunday School Building completed in 1964)


We make assumptions about our  church around the US quite glibly... there 
are many TEC churches that are still erecting buildings to enlarge their 
campus in many places.

I've begun to think of the church as it varies all over as a subset of the 
way our country is headed... for a century we moved - first westward 
expansion, free land, undeveloped wilderness, then post WW2 expansion again, 
driven by employment, growth of the middle class, booming economy. Now our 
population has doubled, probably several times since 1900 and many people 
are stuck in the state they're living in, just as the state's rights 
movement with the conservatives (IMO) is gaining momentum.   Like me - stuck 
in TX where we suck the Federal tit, and then scream about Federal 
interference. Some states have balanced leadership and constituency, others, 
not so much. The Tea Party here drinks this TX flavor-aid like it's a magic 
potion for success. Meanwhile, I'd move, if I could, but like so many people 
who find themselves in a state that may not give them any breathing room for 
their own views, I'm suffocating here.  Our once every 18 months legislature 
is in session with a Governor and Asst. Governor and a Republican majority. 
Their first bill decreased the number of people needed to take a bill to the 
vote, and so they've pretty much sewed up getting anything/everything they 
want in this session to a vote without floor discussion, unless some of 
their number are brave enough to stand up and vote against some of the bad 
and many times stupid stuff that's on our budget and bill table.  We now 
have open carry anywhere, including college campuses... and we're well on 
our way to approving some more disasters.
L

My email has changed to: houstonKLR at gmail.com

website: www.ichthysdesigns.com

When I stand before God at the end of my life I would hope that I have not a 
single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything You gave me." 
attributed to Erma Bombeck

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Jim Guthrie" <jguthrie at pipeline.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2015 8:48 AM
To: <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
Subject: Re: [Magdalen] End of an Era.

> David writes:
>
>>The closing Saint Paul's-on-the-Hill, being ultra high church from  the
>>onset, and has found its unique Eucharistic orientation become fairly
>>commonplace.  True, not many other MN parishes have the complete
>
> The Romish practice of"one sized fits all" seems to have become pervasive 
> with the advent of the 1979 BCP  and seemed to have wrecked not a few 
> parishes.
>
> Until the 1960s (when many parishes were booming and now have that 
> virtually empty Sunday School Building completed in 1964) there were many 
> variations --  even in Morning Prayer. Communion was typical at 8 AM, but 
> as for the principal service it might be once a month, or even Fifth 
> Sunday (but not in Summer). And then there were Litanies and 
> ante-communion in some parishes, with the Communion added those occasional 
> Sundays. Others just started on page 67 on Communion Sunday, without even 
> bothering with an OT lesson or Psalm.  Of course even that 8 AM service 
> might be the Gospel reading only in those days).
>
> I'm not happy with the idea of keeping nostalgia alive via an endowment. 
> It often means that the church becomes a private club.
>
> I think of Morristown, NJ where St Peters and Redeemer have co-existed 
> around the corner from each other for many years. St Peter's is 
> white-bread BCP Eucharist with occasional liturgical flourishes; Redeemer 
> is aggressively inclusive language (no BCP, No H82 to be found -- Last 
> time I was there they were using a UCC inclusive-language hymnal) plus 
> praise band and the like. They also seemed to have turned their 
> 12-steppers into congregants along the way.
>
> Both seem to flourish.
>
> I realize that things get tough in a one-parish town, but where there are 
> multiple parishes, they really need to distinguish themselves to fulfill 
> the needs of different kinds of people and thus meet their spiritual needs 
> where they are.
>
> Let me hasten to add that some parishes have tried to fill those needs 
> across the board. St Bart's in NYC offers a wide variety of liturgical 
> approaches, and a few years ago, even started using incense (!) from time 
> to time, though I understand it's used more often at their inclusive 
> language "Come as you Are" Eucharist on Sunday evenings.
>
> Cheers,
> Jim
>
>
>
>
> smells and bells, but when you have the Eucharist nicely celebrated
> with all the good music, that becomes less important.  There  were
> people coming to St. Paul's from a hundred miles away.  Not any  more.
>
>
> David Strang.
>