Welcome to the Swan Symposium! As we spend July reflecting on the history and traditions of the Anglican Church we are creating our own tiny piece of history with this first ever blog for the parish. It is hoped that, amongst other things, this blog will provide a forum for those people who have asked questions or raised issues following last week's sermon about the history and development of the Anglican Church. This kind of online discussion could be a very powerful way of involving people in shaping the mission and mindset of our parish as we continue our quest to become better followers of Christ in the Anglican context.
Its important to note that this blog is not about "questions for the rector!" Although I will be kicking off the discussion with a post each week the aim is that contributors will respond to each other's comments and opinions in an ongoing discussion.
Now, to get the discussion going, In last week's sermon I suggested that one of the positives of the Anglican tradition is that we embrace a wide range of cultures and beliefs in a very tolerant and diverse community. We also occupy a "middle way" between the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches. During the week I also read research which shows the name "Anglican" is generally perceived very positively in the community and associated with community support through organisations like Anglicare. Putting all these factors together, what potential do you see in being Anglican to have a positive influence in the world?
(Click on "comment", write your thoughts in the text box, submit the comment with your web address OR, if you don't have one, register as anonymous but please remember to put your name at the end of your commment so we know who you are)
Hey there everyone,
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a great idea. For me, of course being a potential priest in the Anglican Church, I see great potential in being able to bring the Gospel to people in a new and exciting ways that will connect with where people are 'at'. Being Anglican, means that I am able to relate to all peoples as our church is so diverse and this has taught me acceptance, tolerance, love for all people, no matter who they are. Anglicans tend to be far less judgemental than some other denominations or religions. It can give us a bit of an 'easy come, easy go, attitude, but over all, I believe that it is important for us to be able to relate to all people to effectively do Christ's mission in the world.
Jill Gleeson
Priestly Formation student on placemnet at Swan.
I've met some people from all faiths and non-faiths who I've found to be conservative, fundamentalist, and harsh on others, so I'm not sure I can make generalisations about denominations. But I do thikn there's great potential to being a member of a community of faith. As a community, we gather, are nourished spiritually, and can take the energy and optimism we receive out into the community - at local and global levels. The potential for us to make a positive influenc in the world is huge. - Helena.
ReplyDeleteWhile it may well be true that one of the strengths of Anglicanism is the tradition of embracing a wide range of cultures and beliefs in a very tolerant and diverse community; this may also be one of the Anglican Church's greatest weaknesses.
ReplyDeleteWhile trying to be all things to all people we are in grave danger of ultimately becoming "nothing to anybody" (the grammar is terrible, but you get the idea). The last Lambeth Conference was an outstanding example of the problems faced by a religious sect which tries too hard to be conspectal. This may be a cynical viewpoint, but I do find it hard to reconcile the Calvinistic views of - for example - the Sydney Diocese with traditional Anglican values.
Filson.
I think that being a part of the Anglican church can offen be an easier way to get involved in charity. I think that our church does a great job at working together in charity and is one way which shows others how faithful we are. Our church does also do a great job at teaching kids that spirituality is very important in life. Our sunday school gets a great lot of people sending their kids to learn and have fun in sunday school. The kind people who sign up to run sunday school do a great job at keeping kids occupied while the sermon is going - Francis.
ReplyDeleteWhile being part of the Anglican Church is a way of identifying who we are as a faith, I always remember some wonderful advice given to me by a Catholic Priest. I went to a Catholic school and these words have stayed with me. "Do not let your relationship with God, be clouded by your relationship with the Church". I have always thought of this as a message to be more "Christ Like" rather than Anglican. Obviously, being part of a structured organisation, whatever its name, can help the group as a whole, but it all starts as an individual effort to follow Christ. Alan Raycraft
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your thoughts Alan. I am reminded of a book I read in my twenties - "Jesus before Christianity". I agree that sometimes an institution provides helpful support form which to act, but that we must never lose sight of the basics of our faith - which, after all, promotes unity. Helena Kadmos.
ReplyDeleteFor me, our diversity is good news when it comes to identifying myself to others as Anglican. The fact that we are so diffuse means we are have the rare blessing of being an expression of the Christian Church that is hugely resistant to stereotyping. It's a blessing that popular culture carries so few preconceptions about Anglicanism. Terms like "catholic", "orthodox", "born again", "evangelical" or "pentecostal" seem to carry baggage for some people that will press their buttons and close them down in conversation. For those people, such labels can sometimes get in the way of the Gospel.
ReplyDeleteTell somebody you're an Anglican however, and you're likely to get a "Really? What does that mean?"
I think that's great thing. Thank God for our vagueness! :) Paul Montague
Recently I had the opportunity for a conversation with my sister. Her partner belongs to the SDA church and recently when she was talking with his parents, she mentioned my faith and connection with the Anglican church. They were surprised (? not sure if that is the right word) that the Anglican church still existed and functioned. Of course one explanation is that these people are so focussed on their faith that they dont look outside it. But conversely are we so bland that we are not seen as relevant to other denominations?
ReplyDeleteif you ask the man in the street, which groups do most in social justice, the main answers would be, Salvo's, Red Cross, Wesley Mission, St Vinnies... rarely will it be Anglicare. While I appreciate that we spend money on people not advertising, should we raise our profile and if so- HOW??
Huggs and prayers for all, Sarah Simpson
First of all Francis, thank you for that uplifting comment about Sunday School. I'm glad that you get something out of what us teachers teach (even if you see it as a filler of time). Even I learn more from Sunday School than sermons sometimes!
ReplyDeleteAlan, completely and strongly agree with you! I am a follower of Christ who happens to worship at an Anglican Church. Yes, the tradition and liturgy is a great facet of the Anglican church, but I believe that a personal relationship with Christ and a community of fellowship is far more important and should come first. I also agree with some of the other comments about the 'vagueness' of the Anglican church - although it is a strength when there is an openness to express your faith how God calls you to without 'the spiritual powers-that-be' to bring you down, it can give quite a confused message about what kind of Christ we follow and what we're all about (which may leave room for human error)...but I guess it's all part of the journey and the 'mystery' of the Divine Trinity.
What I do love about the Anglican Parish of Swan is the balance it maintains in various facets of Christian life. We have mission outreach through various channels and charities, we have events for socialisation and fellowship, we have a great children's ministry (extremely important if we want our church to still be here in the future, plus it's amazing how much children teach adults), social justice through ABM and other agencies, priority on environmental issues...there's a number of wonderful aspects of the church.
Most importantly I believe the church is the people - if St Mary's or All Saints burnt down, we'd (hopefully) still gather as a community of the Anglican Parish of Swan. We're all God's missionaries in our ordinary, everyday lives, we all can contact each other to pray and support each other in our Christian journey, and we all can take time out for ourselve with God's Word, prayer and worship in our daily lives. We are a Christian community who follows Christ and worships Anglican style.
-Stanley Dunwell, St Mary's
Unfortunately, my last posting was lost in (cyber)space (hmm sounds like an old tv series) and I can't remember what I said!
ReplyDeleteSince then though, some very interesting comments have been added and I am so glad to see that people are warming to the whole concept.
The Anglican Church is huge, and it has been around for about 500 years, so she is very resilient and adaptable. But it is also means that things do take a while to change and we need to be patient.
I honestly don't see that raising our "profile" as such will really change anything. Anglicare (for instance) is already one of it not the largest Christian Social Justice organisation in Australia. That may surprise you, but, it is actually true. It rates up there with the Salvo's. If you watch the news closely enough, sometimes when a Social Justice issue is raised, the media head towards Anglicare for comment.
One thing that we need to be careful of, is saying that we need young people for there to be a church in the future. Although this is true, young people are an integral and important part of our church today. We need to focus on how we meet the needs of young people in the church today. Not to wrap them up in cotton wool and treat them as 'special' but to challenge them with furthering their faith in contemporary ways and to do outreach which will assist witht he mission of the church.
I hear so many people in congregations saying "All our Parish needs is young people and we will survive" but the congregation is all over 70, and so is the average age of the residents of the suburb. Unfortunatley, this is not really going to attract young people!! And it can take a long time for the Priest to convince people that there are other ways to ensure the survival of a Parish. Being pro-active in mission is one way for this to happen.
It is so important that we get this right- our relationship with God comes first. If a Parish hasn't "got it" then they will not be able to do effective outreach and mission will fail because people will not see the Holy Spirit working through them.
Yes we definitely are God's missionaries in our daily lives, but I am of the firm belief that for most Christians, there is no such thing as 'ordinary', with God at work in our lives, the extraordinary happens everyday.
-Jill
You have a point there Jill about young people. The church should be first and foremost led by God and secondly serve the people it is called to serve. I guess the mentality for the 'necessity' for young people might be a thing in my head because other people say it! Plus church shouldn't be about numbers. What is important is to have a variety of people in the church, too. And plus in makes sense, that if most people in the outside community are older, then you wouldn't expect thousands of young people to attend. Plus we need more 'experienced' people in our parish to keep young people on our toes and challenge our view...just like you Jill. Thank you - it's great to be challenged and to be thinking on this blog!
ReplyDelete- Stanley, St Mary's