[Magdalen] Off. Fwd: Some prayers requested...

[Lynn Ronkainen]

www.ichthysdesigns.com

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


Begin forwarded message:

From: Marion Thompson <marionwhitevale at gmail.com>
Date: August 29, 2016 at 12:45:37 PM CDT
To: magdalen at herberthouse.org
Subject: Re: [Magdalen] Some prayers requested...
Reply-To: magdalen at herberthouse.org

In Ontario, this is a sad reality.  The Anglican Church is on the wane, we're all getting older and dying off and not being replaced.  The Church is simply not relevant in the lives of younger people today.  When a church cannot pay a fulltime priest it's just a matter of time.  Some may be able to merge in some way with other churches in the area, but that is by no means a certainty and no guarantee of success.  I think the reality is that people simply stop going anywhere when their own place closes.  Too old to start again and have to travel a greater distance to get there.  Just this morning I happened to visit a very elderly woman in a retirement home in Cobourg who had been a member of a now-closed Anglican church some distance east of there.  Rather than have to somehow get to another church in another town, in the end it had made sense for her to transfer to the local Presbyterian Church (another denomination in even more trouble in Canada) and her burial will be from there.

I have been close to such situations and I speak truth, exceptions notwithstanding.  I know of a place which, by and large, benefits from generous bequests, but wouldn't you know? all earmarked for church restoration and maintenance, while the operating budget is in substantial deficit.  Everyone wants their monument to be bricks and mortar with their name writ large on a plaque somewhere, while enabling the essential business of the church is not seen as an even better monument.

That won't fill you with hope, Sheila, and I hope the picture is brighter in your area.  Local circumstances do vary.

Marion, a pilgrim



> On 8/29/2016 11:46 AM, sheila ketler via Magdalen wrote:
> Hello everyoneI think I have posted about this on a previous occasion but I am going to post about it again. I work in an Anglicanparish in Ontario - this diocese has decided that closures need to take place. Too many parishes not enoughparishioners or money. I worked for two other parishes that were slated for closure and quite honestly I had hopedto never go through this again after the second one... but here we are again. Now yesterday my boss the priestadvised that our money problems have not improved and we can't keep going on down this road so closureis most likely our only option. We did meet with two other parishes originally they had thought parishes wouldactually merge but I am not sure that is going to happen now... and so I will be out of work again for the third time.Every other time I have been able to find work again and I belong to the RCCO and I can always get placedon the sub list... not sure how much sub work there would be... I am going to contact a couple of them toput out feelers in this direction... but I am pretty sure by January I will be unemployed... We think thisChristmas will be our last parish Christmas... Anyone have any advice some thoughts?? I would appreciate it very much if some prayers would be offered...
> Feeling disappointed and dejected and quite honestly depressed... How many times do I have to go throughthis? I feel as if enough is enough already!!! I didn't want to give the church name...
> Sheila
> .