[Magdalen] Opinion sought

[cady soukup]

Grace,

Yes, agreed. The Diocese of Virginia has larger concerns than its
rural churches. In terms of numbers (congregants and budgets), rural
churches are on the tougher end of the balancing act.

However, there are exciting signs of progress and unbounded love in
even our oldest and most rural churches. I need to trust God more.

Thank you -

hugs - Cady

On 5/29/19, Judy Fleener <fleenerj at gmail.com> wrote:
> Interesting that there are no specifics about liturgy except the length.
> And all preaching is political.
>
> On Wed, May 29, 2019 at 12:10 AM Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> 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
>> >>>>
>> >>>
>> >>
>>
>
>
> --
> Judy Fleener, ObJN,SSH
> Western Michigan
>