[Magdalen] Opinion sought

[Grace Cangialosi]

Cady,
I would hope there would be no assumptions made about the specifics of the church; I have intentionally asked for general information about a profile I’ve seen recently. I did the same thing on FaceBook. I’ve seen a number of profiles and websites recently because we have more than 20 churches in search right now. Small churches aren’t getting much help from the diocese.
Grace

> On May 28, 2019, at 3:57 PM, cady soukup <cadyasoukup at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> It's one of ours, a rural church, not too far from where I live.
> 
> <sigh>
> 
> Cady
> rural Virginia, no further comments
> 
>> On 5/27/19, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Run. Run very fast. Do not look back. It's a trap, I tell  you, a trap!
>> 
>> On Mon, May 27, 2019 at 6:53 PM Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> 
>>> LOL, Roger! I have a wonderful poster of Bishop Tutu wearing a dashiki,
>>> with arms outstretched, holding a Good News Bible, and saying exactly
>>> that:
>>> “I wonder what Bible are reading, when they say that religion and
>>> politics
>>> don’t mix!”
>>> A friend gave that to me when I left for seminary.
>>> 
>>>> On May 27, 2019, at 6:08 PM, Roger Stokes via Magdalen <
>>> magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> On 27/05/2019 22:24, Grace Cangialosi wrote:
>>>>> I’m curious about what folks think about a listing I saw recently for
>>>>> a
>>> church position. These were the things they were looking for in a priest.
>>> It’s a part-time position in a small rural church.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Sermons should be informal, should not be read from notes and should
>>> not be preached from the pulpit, but from the floor.
>>>> This makes me think of the Corinthian church as commented on in 1
>>> Corinthians 3. They want sermons that are easily digestible from their
>>> friend at the front, not solid teaching to equip them as servants of
>>> Christ
>>> proclaiming the Gospel in their daily lives by their actions. I don't use
>>> notes in preaching but I have been doing it for a lot of years. When I
>>> was
>>> first ordained I had a full script. I would suggest that preaching
>>> without
>>> notes requires either the confidence that comes with experience or saying
>>> the same thing week after week.
>>>>> Sermons should usually follow the readings.
>>>> That I can accept - put them in context and give some exegesis as to
>>> what they meant to the people to whom they were originally addressed then
>>> apply that to the here and now.
>>>>> Sermons should not be political, nor should the congregation be
>>> lectured to.
>>>> Didn't Archbishop Tutu observe that when people criticise clergy for
>>> preaching politics he wonders what Bible they are reading? Politics is,
>>> by
>>> definition, about people and the Church is called to proclaim the Word of
>>> God to the current generation. The Gospel, which includes such things as
>>> care for others and promotion of the good for all people, do have
>>> political
>>> implications. these may not be popular with some but they are there.
>>>>> Sermons should be relevant to people’s lives and should preach the
>>> Gospel.
>>>> Doesn't that imply teaching people how the Gospel they say they accept
>>> should impact on their daily lives?
>>>>> Priest is not expected to visit, but should get to know parishioners
>>> and participate in community events the church is involved in. These
>>> include yard sales, fish fries, other charitable fund-raisers.
>>>> I admit I am not a fan of routine parish visiting. Visiting should have
>>> a purpose such as allowing soemone to express how they truly feel when
>>> they
>>> cannot say that to their friends of long-standing. Much pastoral care can
>>> be exercised by such friends from the church but the priest needs to know
>>> what is happening and have a general overview so they can spot any gaps
>>> that appear.
>>>>> There is one one-hour service on Sundays, no Christian education or
>>> formation.
>>>> 
>>>> Doesn't that say it all?
>>>> 
>>>> Roger
>>>> 
>>> 
>>