[Magdalen] PRS Advent 1

[Arthur Laurent]

I was always taught to ask an individual if he or she preferred a particular title. (I really don't care what title you use. I just want to make them feel welcome, and comfortable.) Then I used the title he or she preferred. (Have I mentioned how much I dislike the use of titles?  Too many years on the periphery of the military, I suppose.)

Within five miles of here, we have female clergy who prefer to call themselves Mother So-and-So, and Rev. Somebody Else. Others prefer their first name without a title.

In Virginia, it's perfectly proper to call a male clergy member, "Mr." That's what I called our clergy when I was a kid. I didn't much hear the titles Reverend or Father when I was a kid. (My Catholic friends called their clergy, "Father Last Name" way back then. Now the Catholic clergy is universally referred to as "Father First Name."

Never would a first name come across the lips of a kid speaking to clergy! Shockers back in the 1960s. 

First names are what I most often use now. "Father First Name" when I first greet him, or if we're in a group of parishioners. Just First Name on future reference, unless we're officially discussing Church subjects in a group. I'm not a big fan of being casual around clergy. I respect (maybe to excess) their calling and ordination (setting apart).

Arthur