[Magdalen] Please pray for Ascension, Chicago

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

I missed that this is about a rector who has just been hired.

I have been at one parish since about 1975. In that time we have had a
number of rectors, and not one of them ever dismissed anyone when they
arrived.
The only time a musician left was when the musician needed to move on for
some reason.
We have had a few parish administrators, and some have been really good and
some not so. We have always been happy to get someone to agree to work for
us.

So the concept of some twit arriving and firing, effective immediately, his
parish administrator just struck me as the height of incredible stupidity.
If we all worked according to what someone describes as SOP, it would not
be long before we would not be able to get anyone to work for us at all,
and rightly so.  Only a fool would take a job, knowing that it could end
instantly based on some nimrod's whim.

If this was the only pattern someone observed, there would be nothing to
prevent them concluding that church is toxic.

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better
for people coming behind you, and you don’t do it, you're wasting your time
on this Earth.”  -- *Roberto Clemente

On Sat, Jan 17, 2015 at 8:26 AM, Lynn Ronkainen <houstonklr at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I understand your point more than I did at first David. Were this a
> cathedral there might be more chance of retaining status quo in some areas.
> It is always possible that there are other details in the mix unknown by
> many. Change IS hard. Being able to see the vision of someone new is often
> difficult especially when it seems incongruent.
> Lynn
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jan 17, 2015, at 12:21 AM, Cantor03--- via Magdalen <
> magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:
>
>
>
> In a message dated 1/16/2015 9:21:50 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> jguthrie at pipeline.com writes:
>
>
> One  would pray for the success of the new direction for the parish, while
> wishing Godspeed to those not part of the new  regime.>>>>
>
> Not at the cost of diminishing what is probably the top Anglocatholic
> liturgy and music in the Midwest.  A specialty parish like  Ascension
> is never going to be the cup of tea for every one in the  neighborhood.
>
> Yes, of course there should be outreach, but there is Evangelical
> outreach in the high drama of the Liturgy and the unexcelled quality
> of the music, too.  I don't see how any Episcopalian would fail  to
> appreciate this aspect of appeal!
>
> Ascension has always been my idea of ideal worship in the highest
> Western Tradition, and I've worshipped there on occasion since
> I was a youngster.  That's through the regime of several  rectors.
> The idea that someone would come in and screw around with a
> legendary worship tradition is very upsetting to me.
>
>
> David Strang.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>