Gail Ramshaw, the well known feminist theologian and liturgist, recently wrote: "Christian communities do not agree whether, taking its cue from the Incarnation, liturgical language should closely resemble everyday speech, or whether hoping to transform the profane by the sacred, liturgical language should be extraordinary speech" (The New SCM Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship, London, 2002, p.270).
The linking of the language of worship to the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God, in his Incarnation (taking of human nature, flesh &
blood) is both an interesting and fruitful basis for reflection. I commend it and do only a little of it here.
Ms Ramshaw points to two possible implications of the Incarnation for liturgical language & common prayer/worship. One is that it should resemble everyday speech (whatever precisely this is and where it is found) and another is that it should be so different from everyday speech as to have the power to transform the profane and ordinary into the sacred and holy.
To pursue this line of reflection we need to be aware of a whole set of basic questions. Here are a few of these:
What was the purpose of the Incarnation of the Son of God?
Did the Son of God take to himself in the Virgin's womb perfect human nature (as in Adam before the Fall) or human nature as shared by the human race?
What kind of speech did Jesus use when addressing God the Father or teaching others to address the same Father?
What kind of speech did His apostles use in prayer?
If the Incarnation was to save, redeem, teach, sanctify, illuminate and generally restore man to full communion with God the Father, then language about Jesus and for his sake should be such as to communicate these uplifting and elevating themes in clear and dignified terms. It has to be supercharged and purified everyday speech!
If the Son of God took human nature from the Virgin that was perfect in potential and without the bias toward sin and selfishness, and if he perfected this nature through his obedience to the Father right up to the death on the Cross, then language used of him should also aspire to perfection in terms of its grammar, style, syntax and content, that is to a perfection that is the earthen vessel containing the glory of God.
But even if - as some theologians say -- he took human nature with the built in bias towards sin, we believe that by the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit he overcame that bias and offered a perfect obedience to the Father. Thus language about him and for him should seek perfection in its own idiom so that it perfectly obeys the Father in its content, style and movement and raises up the soul of the reader towards the perfection of God.
Further, the eternally-begotten Son of the Father took Jewish flesh and was born into the old covenant. In that covenant the addressing of YHWH, the LORD, was always and everywhere in the most reverent terms, even when being intimate (as in some Psalms).
The way Jesus addressed his Father is seen in such places as Mark 14:36 & John 17. He spoke reverently and intimately addressing his Father as Abba (Aramaic "My dear Father"). He taught his disciples to pray reverently and intimately to his Father in these words, "Our Father which art in heaven." We know from the Epistles that the churches did pray, "Abba, Pater" (Aramaic & Greek) thereby using the name for the first Person of the Holy Trinity learned from Jesus.
"Abba" is NOT everyday speech from the streets, but is rare speech from the patriarchal Jewish home where in deep respect for the father and in devotion to him the child said, "Abba" (my dear father). Pater is the regular Greek word for father. Thus from Jesus we learn that prayer language is to be reverent and intimate, simple yet refined, simple yet dignified, and simple yet dignified.
A study of the prayers of St Paul (e.g. in Philippians, Colossians and Ephesians) and the prayers within the Book of Revelation points to the use of a refined, simple language that is not everyday language, for it has a special vocabulary and it treats God differently from the way it treats human persons. Again we can say that it is both reverent and intimate and does not confuse God with man or the glory of God with the achievements of man. Further, it uses and transforms Old Testament, Hebrew words and themes/ideas, so that the so-called common Greek of the New Testament is in fact not really common at all for it is deeply Hebraic and also deeply moving (and is captured very well - strange to say - by the translation of the KJV, if you can bear the 2nd person singular, Thou/Thee and the verb endings!).
The language of prayer generated by the fact of the Incarnation should be intelligible (if one first understands the basics of Christian Faith as in the Creed), accessible (if one is a baptized believer, in a saving relation to the Father through the Son in the Church of God), simple (in that it can be understood by anyone of average intelligence whose mind has been enlightened by the Holy Ghost) relevant (if the priority of seeking the kingdom of God is accepted) inclusive (if one intends to include all, Jew and Gentile, male and female etc) and mysterious (partaking of a sacramental character). Thus it cannot be (and never has been) simply everyday speech for such can only communicate everyday secular and sacred matters. The language of prayer exists to communicate extraordinary, heavenly and supernatural matters as well as ordinary ones, and all in a reverential and humble manner so that it becomes language in the Spirit through the Son to the Father.
Further, it is a language that should be more stable than everyday speech for the latter has to move with the times and go where culture pushes it, but the truths of God are eternal and have less need for changing styles in human speech. And, also, to revert to Ms Ramshaw, it is not a matter of transforming the profane by and with the sacred. Rather, it is a taking of human words, grammar and syntax and from them creating a form, style, content and ethos that truly fits the principles of the Incarnation and serves to lift man out of sin into the healing presence of the living God.
Sept 10 2002
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon
Minister of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor,
England & Vice-President and Emissary-at-Large
of The Prayer Book Society of America
Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Monday, September 09, 2002
Convergence, Comprehensiveness and a Congress
In the USA of 2002, within the massive supermarket of religions that is advertised in the Yellow Pages of the massive Telephone Books, there is a rather large number of religions bearing the name "Anglican" or "Episcopal." Some of these are offshoots from the original [Protestant] Episcopal Church of the USA (1789) which is the continuation of the once Church of England of the 13 Colonies. And some are offshoots from the offshoots.
Surely it is difficult, if not impossible, on Christian moral grounds to justify the presence of nearly forty denominations in one country of the one basic jurisdiction, known as the Anglican Way, claiming to be of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. There is truly and really great incentive in the exhortations of the apostles and the Priestly Prayer of Jesus (John 17) for this Anglican Way to be a united way, at least in essentials.
The absolute basic essential has to be Baptism, but not merely the fact of being baptized, but the whole doctrine that is presupposed in the baptizing of a believer in the Lord Jesus in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. We are baptized into the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus so that in him we are raised to newness of life, and thus to holiness of life within the one Household of God, of which we are family members. Further, being baptized into the Name of the Trinity we accept the Creed which declares the Trinity (Apostles' & Nicene) , the Scriptures upon which the Creed & Gospel calling for repentance, faith and Baptism are based, and the Ministry [Three-fold] which has proclaimed, taught and baptized.
If we begin here, and where else can we start, then we can go on to say that there is the ground for talking about a convergence of all Anglican groups that claim to be biblical & orthodox. Convergence can be presented as a moral duty for if we are all members of the one Christ, the one Household, in the One Jurisdiction (Anglican), of the Church, then we are already brothers and sisters by grace, having duties and responsibilities one to another. (Such doctrine and duties are clouded & twisted in the USA by excessive individualism, pragmatism, egalitarianism and utilitarianism.)
Such convergence can be developed into a charitable comprehensiveness, that is the into the practical recognition that with all our faults and failings, errors and majoring on minors, there is a need to embrace each other in a positive way and to give practical evidence that we are all in the one Church of God.
The older forms of comprehensiveness looked for Latitudinarians, Anglo-Catholics and Evangelicals to be together and work together in the one Province - e.g., the C of E. (With Jim Packer and Roger Beckwith I commended and defended such in the 1970s.) The new form of comprehensiveness, which I now propose, and which is required in the American situation in 2002, has to contain a greater charity and a more flexible approach to worship, doctrine and discipline. In other words, on the Basis of Baptism (as set out above) it has to embrace all the following types - and more.
Obviously, to look at this list is to open the door to despair and abandonment of the task. But do we not say that with God all things are possible?! And we all claim to worship the Almighty Father, who through his Son, created only one new covenant and only one Ekklesia of God! Let a chorus of voices begin to speak and a host of gracious working hands begin to work for a convergence which by grace can become a comprehensiveness, and which then with brotherly love can truly be known in the one Lord as one Faith, one jurisidiction.
There are various experiments in cooperation and partial communion (e.g., those use in the C of E using flying bishops) that will help to plan the way that comprehensivesness for the USA scene can begin. And there is the excellent paper of Dr Louis Tarsitano to study and work from. At the Atlanta Congress (Dec 4-8) a start can be made.
A final word --waiting to solve doctrinal problems before working for convergence and comprehensiveness is the surest way to failure and to the maintenance of the status quo of anarchy in the Anglican Way in the USA.
Let us press on with this good work unto the good vision for the sake of the GOOD Lord.
Sept 9 2002
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon
Minister of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor,
England & Vice-President and Emissary-at-Large
of The Prayer Book Society of America
Surely it is difficult, if not impossible, on Christian moral grounds to justify the presence of nearly forty denominations in one country of the one basic jurisdiction, known as the Anglican Way, claiming to be of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. There is truly and really great incentive in the exhortations of the apostles and the Priestly Prayer of Jesus (John 17) for this Anglican Way to be a united way, at least in essentials.
The absolute basic essential has to be Baptism, but not merely the fact of being baptized, but the whole doctrine that is presupposed in the baptizing of a believer in the Lord Jesus in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. We are baptized into the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus so that in him we are raised to newness of life, and thus to holiness of life within the one Household of God, of which we are family members. Further, being baptized into the Name of the Trinity we accept the Creed which declares the Trinity (Apostles' & Nicene) , the Scriptures upon which the Creed & Gospel calling for repentance, faith and Baptism are based, and the Ministry [Three-fold] which has proclaimed, taught and baptized.
If we begin here, and where else can we start, then we can go on to say that there is the ground for talking about a convergence of all Anglican groups that claim to be biblical & orthodox. Convergence can be presented as a moral duty for if we are all members of the one Christ, the one Household, in the One Jurisdiction (Anglican), of the Church, then we are already brothers and sisters by grace, having duties and responsibilities one to another. (Such doctrine and duties are clouded & twisted in the USA by excessive individualism, pragmatism, egalitarianism and utilitarianism.)
Such convergence can be developed into a charitable comprehensiveness, that is the into the practical recognition that with all our faults and failings, errors and majoring on minors, there is a need to embrace each other in a positive way and to give practical evidence that we are all in the one Church of God.
The older forms of comprehensiveness looked for Latitudinarians, Anglo-Catholics and Evangelicals to be together and work together in the one Province - e.g., the C of E. (With Jim Packer and Roger Beckwith I commended and defended such in the 1970s.) The new form of comprehensiveness, which I now propose, and which is required in the American situation in 2002, has to contain a greater charity and a more flexible approach to worship, doctrine and discipline. In other words, on the Basis of Baptism (as set out above) it has to embrace all the following types - and more.
1.Those who want to retain the worship of the "THOU-God" and those who want only to worship the "YOU-God."
2.Those who desire traditional hymns and music and those who desire only modern songs and music.
3.Those who want to use the classic BCP and those who want a modern Prayer Book.
4.Those who want to preserve an all-male priesthood and those who want to admit women to the presbyterate.
5.Those who want to have a strict approach to remarriage after divorce and those who want a lenient approach.
6.Those who want existing bishops [100 plus] to step down to being functionally only presbyters and those who want to retain all bishops as bishops functionally.
7.Those whose model of the Church & Ministry is generated from modern non-Anglican evangelical/charismatic teaching and those who look to the classic Anglican model of Reformed Catholicism (17th century Caroline divines).
8.Those who want to be committed to the dogma of 7 ecumenical councils and those who say that only that of 4 is required for general commitment.
9.Those who use terminology like Pontifical High Mass and those who speak of the Lord's Supper.
10. Those who hope for some reunion with Rome in the long term and those who see Romanism as false religion.
11. Those who see the ECUSA as totally apostate and those who see it as partially so.
Obviously, to look at this list is to open the door to despair and abandonment of the task. But do we not say that with God all things are possible?! And we all claim to worship the Almighty Father, who through his Son, created only one new covenant and only one Ekklesia of God! Let a chorus of voices begin to speak and a host of gracious working hands begin to work for a convergence which by grace can become a comprehensiveness, and which then with brotherly love can truly be known in the one Lord as one Faith, one jurisidiction.
There are various experiments in cooperation and partial communion (e.g., those use in the C of E using flying bishops) that will help to plan the way that comprehensivesness for the USA scene can begin. And there is the excellent paper of Dr Louis Tarsitano to study and work from. At the Atlanta Congress (Dec 4-8) a start can be made.
A final word --waiting to solve doctrinal problems before working for convergence and comprehensiveness is the surest way to failure and to the maintenance of the status quo of anarchy in the Anglican Way in the USA.
Let us press on with this good work unto the good vision for the sake of the GOOD Lord.
Sept 9 2002
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon
Minister of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor,
England & Vice-President and Emissary-at-Large
of The Prayer Book Society of America
Sunday, September 08, 2002
The Affirmation of St Louis (1977), ECUSA and Continuing Anglicanism
What has changed in 25 years?
From September 11-13, 2002, there will be a Conference entitled: “Recapturing the Spirit of St Louis: A Celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Affirmation of St Louis,” organized by the Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen.
Twenty-five years ago,1977, marked the origins of the Continuing Anglican Movement, with the Affirmation of St Louis as its original charter or statement (meant to go alongside the classic Anglican Formularies). The apostasy left behind in the ECUSA by the people who gathered at St Louis in 1977, and then left to form a replacement Anglican Church for the USA, centered on the innovation of the ordination of women to the presbyterate and on the rejection of the classic Book of Common Prayer (1789/1892/1928) in favour of a new book (1976/79) by the same name but with innovative content. Behind these innovations was seen a departure from the authority of Scripture and the rejection of holy tradition. Thus the Affirmation insisted on adherence to Scripture and to the teaching of the Seven Ecumenical Councils (thereby requiring more dogma than regular Anglicanism).
We are all aware that the Continuing Church formed in 1977 has had its growing pains and its divisions and is now known by a cluster of names – Province of Christ the King, Anglican Catholic Church, Anglican Church in America etc. And since 1977, which was mostly an anglo-catholic departure, there have been further departures from the ECUSA which have been more charismatic or evangelical, the latest being the Anglican Mission in America. These groups, along with the previously existing Reformed Episcopal Church from the 19th century, now have over 100 bishops between them. IF they could be brought together into a working unity they would be a reasonably sized American jurisdiction/denomination which could ask for membership of the Anglican Communion.
What has changed in 25 years?
On the surface not a lot, for we still have the phenomenon wherein some of those those who claim to be orthodox believers insist in staying in the ECUSA while others making the same claim insist on leaving the ECUSA.
That is, there are still those who think the ordination of women is wrong and who have doubts about some of the innovations of the 1979 Prayer Book (and many more about the soon-to-exist new Prayer Book) who remain in the ECUSA. For example, much of the membership of the Forward in Faith N/A movement, including its President, Fr David Moyer, who is now a priest of the diocese of Pittsburgh, where women priests are seen as perfectly legitimate.
At the same time there is a continuing drift of those who think that the ordination of women is wrong and who have serious doubts about the doctrines and practice of the ECUSA. Here the most publicised expression of the moving out has been that of Fr Sam Edwards into the Province of Christ the King.
What seems to be markedly different in 2002 from 1977 is that the commitment of the majority of the leadership of the ECUSA to a decidedly revised form of worship, doctrine and discipline is now very obvious. The few saw it in 1977 but now the whole world is aware of it and the ECUSA publicises it far and wide.
In 2002 the revisionism is clearly focused and seen in the attempts within the Church to satisfy the demands of feminists and lesbigays. This means that what was previously seen as heresy and immorality is now celebrated as the new order of Episcopal religion by many. The previously transcendent, holy “Thou-God” of masculine gender is now the accepting and familiar “You-God” of all genders. This new religion (which has been developing since the 1960s) is what forced Fr David Moyer out of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. (The religion that was rejected by the original Continuers in 1977 would not have driven him out.)
Nevertheless there are pockets of resistance within the ECUSA (e.g., the diocese of Fort Worth) where an attempt is being made to hold on to as much as possible of the received Anglican Way.
The providence of the all-wise Father almighty appears to guide some to stay in the ECUSA and others to leave. Precisely why this is so I do not know. Nevertheless, I ask: Is not the time ripe for the coming together of those who wish to live within the Anglican Way in a biblical and orthodox manner (and a cordial spirit of comprehensiveness!) in order to form a national Anglican Church for America?
Sept 8 2002.
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon
Minister of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor,
England & Vice-President and Emissary-at-Large
of The Prayer Book Society of America
From September 11-13, 2002, there will be a Conference entitled: “Recapturing the Spirit of St Louis: A Celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Affirmation of St Louis,” organized by the Fellowship of Concerned Churchmen.
Twenty-five years ago,1977, marked the origins of the Continuing Anglican Movement, with the Affirmation of St Louis as its original charter or statement (meant to go alongside the classic Anglican Formularies). The apostasy left behind in the ECUSA by the people who gathered at St Louis in 1977, and then left to form a replacement Anglican Church for the USA, centered on the innovation of the ordination of women to the presbyterate and on the rejection of the classic Book of Common Prayer (1789/1892/1928) in favour of a new book (1976/79) by the same name but with innovative content. Behind these innovations was seen a departure from the authority of Scripture and the rejection of holy tradition. Thus the Affirmation insisted on adherence to Scripture and to the teaching of the Seven Ecumenical Councils (thereby requiring more dogma than regular Anglicanism).
We are all aware that the Continuing Church formed in 1977 has had its growing pains and its divisions and is now known by a cluster of names – Province of Christ the King, Anglican Catholic Church, Anglican Church in America etc. And since 1977, which was mostly an anglo-catholic departure, there have been further departures from the ECUSA which have been more charismatic or evangelical, the latest being the Anglican Mission in America. These groups, along with the previously existing Reformed Episcopal Church from the 19th century, now have over 100 bishops between them. IF they could be brought together into a working unity they would be a reasonably sized American jurisdiction/denomination which could ask for membership of the Anglican Communion.
What has changed in 25 years?
On the surface not a lot, for we still have the phenomenon wherein some of those those who claim to be orthodox believers insist in staying in the ECUSA while others making the same claim insist on leaving the ECUSA.
That is, there are still those who think the ordination of women is wrong and who have doubts about some of the innovations of the 1979 Prayer Book (and many more about the soon-to-exist new Prayer Book) who remain in the ECUSA. For example, much of the membership of the Forward in Faith N/A movement, including its President, Fr David Moyer, who is now a priest of the diocese of Pittsburgh, where women priests are seen as perfectly legitimate.
At the same time there is a continuing drift of those who think that the ordination of women is wrong and who have serious doubts about the doctrines and practice of the ECUSA. Here the most publicised expression of the moving out has been that of Fr Sam Edwards into the Province of Christ the King.
What seems to be markedly different in 2002 from 1977 is that the commitment of the majority of the leadership of the ECUSA to a decidedly revised form of worship, doctrine and discipline is now very obvious. The few saw it in 1977 but now the whole world is aware of it and the ECUSA publicises it far and wide.
In 2002 the revisionism is clearly focused and seen in the attempts within the Church to satisfy the demands of feminists and lesbigays. This means that what was previously seen as heresy and immorality is now celebrated as the new order of Episcopal religion by many. The previously transcendent, holy “Thou-God” of masculine gender is now the accepting and familiar “You-God” of all genders. This new religion (which has been developing since the 1960s) is what forced Fr David Moyer out of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. (The religion that was rejected by the original Continuers in 1977 would not have driven him out.)
Nevertheless there are pockets of resistance within the ECUSA (e.g., the diocese of Fort Worth) where an attempt is being made to hold on to as much as possible of the received Anglican Way.
The providence of the all-wise Father almighty appears to guide some to stay in the ECUSA and others to leave. Precisely why this is so I do not know. Nevertheless, I ask: Is not the time ripe for the coming together of those who wish to live within the Anglican Way in a biblical and orthodox manner (and a cordial spirit of comprehensiveness!) in order to form a national Anglican Church for America?
Sept 8 2002.
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon
Minister of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor,
England & Vice-President and Emissary-at-Large
of The Prayer Book Society of America
Friday, September 06, 2002
MOYER'S ANGUISH POINTS TO POSITIVE POSSIBILITIES
David Moyer is a celebrity in the Anglican world and in his particular situation mirrors some of the major divisions and tensions within the ECUSA.
He has been deposed & defrocked by the Bishop of Diocese of Pennsylvania, and this action has apparently been undertaken according to the letter of the canon law of the ECUSA. To say this is not to say that it has been done according to the spirit of the law or to have been done wisely, for, to all appearances, it has not.
Since the ECUSA is a Church made up of dioceses, each one supposedly in communion [through a shared Baptism and other means] with the others, to be deposed by one is to be regarded as deposed by all. It is to be removed from the National Register of Clergy held at the ECUSA headquarters in NY City and from the right to be in the Clergy Pension Fund.
YET David Moyer has been received as a priest in good standing, without the official, required Letters Dimissory from Pa., and against the guidelines of the ECUSA for receiving priests from outside a diocese, into the Diocese of Pittsburgh. An amazing turn of events.
This reception in Pittsburgh will be judged by some to be courageous (standing against the radical liberal bishops), by others to be illegal (against the canon law of the ECUSA) and by others to be unwise (occurring too quickly, especially since David Moyer makes much of the legal appeal he is making against the decision perhaps there was a case for patience).
What the decision of Pittsburgh makes clear is that there is very open division between bishops in the one Anglican Province of ECUSA and that these bishops are in impaired if not broken communion with each other. And here the issue is not the ordination of women (Pittsburgh ordains women); but, is over the right of a priest to decide that his own & canonical bishop is a heretic (in various ways) and unworthy as a chief pastor to be admitted into his parish which is of course within the bishop's own diocese.
The Bishop of Pittsburgh has obviously decided that there was justice in the cause that Moyer espoused (keeping out the bishop) and that the bishop's insistence on being admitted & other actions of his were unreasonable (to say the least). Therefore he feels that he is able, against all the rules of the ECUSA game, to admit David into his diocese as a priest in good standing.
And Moyer has decided that though Pittsburgh is not a wholly orthodox bishop (for he ordains women which Moyer believes to be biblically wrong &
heretical) he is better in his company than with one of the Continuing Church bishops (to whom his friend Sam Edwards recently turned). Certainly the folks at David's parish in suburban Philadelphia favour being in an ECUSA diocese to being in a Continuing Church.
It would seem that if the legal appeal of Moyer against his deposition by the Bishop of Pa. does not succeed, and if he is retained as in good standing in Pittsburgh, then the Bishop of Pittsburgh himself runs the risk of becoming the target of legal action within ECUSA, for he has obviously and deliberately broken the canon law of the ECUSA. No doubt there will be those who will be looking to set such a process in motion as soon as possible. ECUSA loves to employ lawyers and courts to sort out its day to day operations.
Obviously there is yet more to develop in this story. David Virtue and Dick Kim will keep us posted.
Meanwhile we all need to pray for the main participants - the two bishops and Moyer. All in differing ways URGENTLY need the grace and guidance of Almighty God. Let us not condemn any of them but see them as frail creatures and all in need of the Divine presence. Maybe, if heaven prompts him, we shall soon get a word of wisdom from the Presiding Bishop of the ECUSA!
But what this crisis situation does CRY out for - as I look on -- is this --- That those who want to hold to the traditional Anglican worship, doctrine and discipline, which was once held by the ECUSA, need to find ways to get together and to do so urgently, whether they be in the ECUSA or in one or another of the Anglican groups outside the ECUSA within the USA.
There is a great opportunity now to work together to form slowly, humbly and graciously a National Comprehensive Anglican Church for the USA that is biblical, orthodox and makes room for different styles of churchmanship. (Dr Tarsitano of Savannah has written eloquently about this need.)
There are over 100 bishops within the Continuing Churches of the USA and they work within over thirty different expressions (jurisdictions) of the Anglican Way. This does not paint a good picture of the Anglican Way to the world and this situation needs urgent attention by the Divine Hand. At the same time there are thousands in the ECUSA who feel that their Church has left them stranded or is out to get rid of them if they will not change. They also need attention by the Divine Hand.
NOW is the time for a coming together of these groups and for ways to be found in true fellowship to channel all this Anglican energy and faith into a coherent body based on Communion, a National Anglican Church, that can ask for full membership in the Anglican Communion of Churches.
Perhaps the forthcoming Congress in Atlanta (Dec 4-8) will be a part of this coming together.
September 6, 2002
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon
Minister of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor,
England & Vice-President and Emissary-at-Large
of The Prayer Book Society of America
He has been deposed & defrocked by the Bishop of Diocese of Pennsylvania, and this action has apparently been undertaken according to the letter of the canon law of the ECUSA. To say this is not to say that it has been done according to the spirit of the law or to have been done wisely, for, to all appearances, it has not.
Since the ECUSA is a Church made up of dioceses, each one supposedly in communion [through a shared Baptism and other means] with the others, to be deposed by one is to be regarded as deposed by all. It is to be removed from the National Register of Clergy held at the ECUSA headquarters in NY City and from the right to be in the Clergy Pension Fund.
YET David Moyer has been received as a priest in good standing, without the official, required Letters Dimissory from Pa., and against the guidelines of the ECUSA for receiving priests from outside a diocese, into the Diocese of Pittsburgh. An amazing turn of events.
This reception in Pittsburgh will be judged by some to be courageous (standing against the radical liberal bishops), by others to be illegal (against the canon law of the ECUSA) and by others to be unwise (occurring too quickly, especially since David Moyer makes much of the legal appeal he is making against the decision perhaps there was a case for patience).
What the decision of Pittsburgh makes clear is that there is very open division between bishops in the one Anglican Province of ECUSA and that these bishops are in impaired if not broken communion with each other. And here the issue is not the ordination of women (Pittsburgh ordains women); but, is over the right of a priest to decide that his own & canonical bishop is a heretic (in various ways) and unworthy as a chief pastor to be admitted into his parish which is of course within the bishop's own diocese.
The Bishop of Pittsburgh has obviously decided that there was justice in the cause that Moyer espoused (keeping out the bishop) and that the bishop's insistence on being admitted & other actions of his were unreasonable (to say the least). Therefore he feels that he is able, against all the rules of the ECUSA game, to admit David into his diocese as a priest in good standing.
And Moyer has decided that though Pittsburgh is not a wholly orthodox bishop (for he ordains women which Moyer believes to be biblically wrong &
heretical) he is better in his company than with one of the Continuing Church bishops (to whom his friend Sam Edwards recently turned). Certainly the folks at David's parish in suburban Philadelphia favour being in an ECUSA diocese to being in a Continuing Church.
It would seem that if the legal appeal of Moyer against his deposition by the Bishop of Pa. does not succeed, and if he is retained as in good standing in Pittsburgh, then the Bishop of Pittsburgh himself runs the risk of becoming the target of legal action within ECUSA, for he has obviously and deliberately broken the canon law of the ECUSA. No doubt there will be those who will be looking to set such a process in motion as soon as possible. ECUSA loves to employ lawyers and courts to sort out its day to day operations.
Obviously there is yet more to develop in this story. David Virtue and Dick Kim will keep us posted.
Meanwhile we all need to pray for the main participants - the two bishops and Moyer. All in differing ways URGENTLY need the grace and guidance of Almighty God. Let us not condemn any of them but see them as frail creatures and all in need of the Divine presence. Maybe, if heaven prompts him, we shall soon get a word of wisdom from the Presiding Bishop of the ECUSA!
But what this crisis situation does CRY out for - as I look on -- is this --- That those who want to hold to the traditional Anglican worship, doctrine and discipline, which was once held by the ECUSA, need to find ways to get together and to do so urgently, whether they be in the ECUSA or in one or another of the Anglican groups outside the ECUSA within the USA.
There is a great opportunity now to work together to form slowly, humbly and graciously a National Comprehensive Anglican Church for the USA that is biblical, orthodox and makes room for different styles of churchmanship. (Dr Tarsitano of Savannah has written eloquently about this need.)
There are over 100 bishops within the Continuing Churches of the USA and they work within over thirty different expressions (jurisdictions) of the Anglican Way. This does not paint a good picture of the Anglican Way to the world and this situation needs urgent attention by the Divine Hand. At the same time there are thousands in the ECUSA who feel that their Church has left them stranded or is out to get rid of them if they will not change. They also need attention by the Divine Hand.
NOW is the time for a coming together of these groups and for ways to be found in true fellowship to channel all this Anglican energy and faith into a coherent body based on Communion, a National Anglican Church, that can ask for full membership in the Anglican Communion of Churches.
Perhaps the forthcoming Congress in Atlanta (Dec 4-8) will be a part of this coming together.
September 6, 2002
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon
Minister of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor,
England & Vice-President and Emissary-at-Large
of The Prayer Book Society of America
MOYER RESPONDS TO BENNISON'S DEPOSITION
Traditionalist Priest Joyfully Received into Diocese of Pittsburgh
"I have been improperly and illegally removed from the Diocese of
Pennsylvania, and I do not recognize the validity of this action." Fr. Moyer
Special Report
By David W. Virtue
ROSEMONT, PA- (Sept. 5) The Evangelical Catholic priest at the Church of the Good Shepherd today applauded the action of Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan in receiving him into his diocese.
Tomorrow, Friday, the Rev. Dr. David L. Moyer will celebrate mass at Trinity Cathedral in Pittsburgh where he will be received as a priest in good standing in that diocese by Bishop Duncan.
"I cannot adequately express my thanks to Almighty God for raising up Bishop Robert Duncan as a true Christian leader, a true successor of the Apostles, and a godly man of deep prayer and joy in the Lord. I thank God that I have been deemed worthy to receive a call from the Lord to defend the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as the Church has received them, and to be identified in so doing with the Passion of Jesus."
"The persecution of bishops, and priests by those within the Episcopal Church, especially from those in episcopal office is tragic and an offense to God. In my situation, Charles Bennison has refused to publicly affirm basic Christian teachings, and has removed himself from the Church through public pronouncements and teaching that are apostate and heretical. I have always (as a lifelong member of the Episcopal Church and a priest for 25 years) held bishops in high regard, but I cannot do this with a man who has failed his calling as a shepherd and bishop of the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, Jesus Christ. It is not too much to ask that a bishop be a Christian."
"Secondarily, the Deposition is invalid, unjust, illegal, uncanonical, and unchristian. Never before in the history of the Episcopal Church has this particular canon been used to inhibit and depose a priest who seeks to remain in the Episcopal Church as one who has not committed a moral offense. This canon used against me has historically been reserved for a priest who has left the Episcopal Church for the Roman Catholic Church or one of the Protestant denominations. I had no appeal or trial."
"I have been improperly and illegally removed from the Diocese of Pennsylvania, and I do not recognize the validity of this action."
"A lawsuit has been filed on my behalf requesting an order setting aside the Deposition, or in the alternative for damages. I am blessed with the legal representation and expertise of Mr. John H. Lewis, Jr. of Montgomery, McCracken, Walker and Rhoads, along with the assistance of Mr. Robert Fitzgerald and Mr. Christopher Pushaw, attorneys."
"I remain a priest called by God, and I welcome the provision to be a priest in good standing in the Diocese of Pittsburgh and to be placed on the rolls for the clergy. I welcome the pastoral oversight of Bishop Duncan. I have a hunger and thirst for a strong and caring Father in God."
"I am also so grateful for the recent action by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion. The Most Rev. and Right Honorable Dr. George Carey has communicated to me in order to give me the right to say with confidence that, 'the Archbishop of Canterbury believes me to be in good standing with him and is prepared to offer me Permission to Officiate in the Diocese of Canterbury and a license in the Province of Canterbury'."
"I also have been receiving licenses for priestly ministries and authority conferred by ordination from an increasing number of bishops from throughout the Episcopal Church."
"In addition, I am grateful for the prayers and support of local clergy from other denominations, many of whom came to Good Shepherd on Sept. 4th for a wonderful and rousing ecumenical praise and prayer service. Finally, the prayers and encouragement from people all over the world have been wonderful and a great blessing."
"How special it is at this time for my wife and me to have our lives graced with the presence of The Most Rev. Dr. Bernard Malango, Archbishop of Central Africa, in our home. His Grace came specially to be with us as a source of pastoral support and spiritual guidance."
"My concern has been and now is entirely focused on the spiritual welfare of the good people under my charge as their rector at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Rosemont, who have been served so well during this time by the faithful and godly priests on my staff. You may remember that adding to his unjust actions and showing no concern for souls of the people committed to my charge, Charles Bennison inhibited me during Lent prior to Holy Week."
"My parishioners have been so steadfast, caring, and supportive of my wife, my family and me, throughout this difficult emotional ordeal. With joy, I have witnessed a deepening in their spiritual lives, and a renewed commitment to Christ Jesus and His Church Catholic and Apostolic. They are poised to move forward with our many ministries to God's glory and the benefit of others."
"Let me conclude with a prayer I have prayed daily for the past six months, written by St. Ignatius of Loyola.
""Teach us, good Lord, to serve Thee as Thou deservest to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward-Save that of knowing what we do Thy Will."
END
"I have been improperly and illegally removed from the Diocese of
Pennsylvania, and I do not recognize the validity of this action." Fr. Moyer
Special Report
By David W. Virtue
ROSEMONT, PA- (Sept. 5) The Evangelical Catholic priest at the Church of the Good Shepherd today applauded the action of Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan in receiving him into his diocese.
Tomorrow, Friday, the Rev. Dr. David L. Moyer will celebrate mass at Trinity Cathedral in Pittsburgh where he will be received as a priest in good standing in that diocese by Bishop Duncan.
"I cannot adequately express my thanks to Almighty God for raising up Bishop Robert Duncan as a true Christian leader, a true successor of the Apostles, and a godly man of deep prayer and joy in the Lord. I thank God that I have been deemed worthy to receive a call from the Lord to defend the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as the Church has received them, and to be identified in so doing with the Passion of Jesus."
"The persecution of bishops, and priests by those within the Episcopal Church, especially from those in episcopal office is tragic and an offense to God. In my situation, Charles Bennison has refused to publicly affirm basic Christian teachings, and has removed himself from the Church through public pronouncements and teaching that are apostate and heretical. I have always (as a lifelong member of the Episcopal Church and a priest for 25 years) held bishops in high regard, but I cannot do this with a man who has failed his calling as a shepherd and bishop of the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, Jesus Christ. It is not too much to ask that a bishop be a Christian."
"Secondarily, the Deposition is invalid, unjust, illegal, uncanonical, and unchristian. Never before in the history of the Episcopal Church has this particular canon been used to inhibit and depose a priest who seeks to remain in the Episcopal Church as one who has not committed a moral offense. This canon used against me has historically been reserved for a priest who has left the Episcopal Church for the Roman Catholic Church or one of the Protestant denominations. I had no appeal or trial."
"I have been improperly and illegally removed from the Diocese of Pennsylvania, and I do not recognize the validity of this action."
"A lawsuit has been filed on my behalf requesting an order setting aside the Deposition, or in the alternative for damages. I am blessed with the legal representation and expertise of Mr. John H. Lewis, Jr. of Montgomery, McCracken, Walker and Rhoads, along with the assistance of Mr. Robert Fitzgerald and Mr. Christopher Pushaw, attorneys."
"I remain a priest called by God, and I welcome the provision to be a priest in good standing in the Diocese of Pittsburgh and to be placed on the rolls for the clergy. I welcome the pastoral oversight of Bishop Duncan. I have a hunger and thirst for a strong and caring Father in God."
"I am also so grateful for the recent action by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion. The Most Rev. and Right Honorable Dr. George Carey has communicated to me in order to give me the right to say with confidence that, 'the Archbishop of Canterbury believes me to be in good standing with him and is prepared to offer me Permission to Officiate in the Diocese of Canterbury and a license in the Province of Canterbury'."
"I also have been receiving licenses for priestly ministries and authority conferred by ordination from an increasing number of bishops from throughout the Episcopal Church."
"In addition, I am grateful for the prayers and support of local clergy from other denominations, many of whom came to Good Shepherd on Sept. 4th for a wonderful and rousing ecumenical praise and prayer service. Finally, the prayers and encouragement from people all over the world have been wonderful and a great blessing."
"How special it is at this time for my wife and me to have our lives graced with the presence of The Most Rev. Dr. Bernard Malango, Archbishop of Central Africa, in our home. His Grace came specially to be with us as a source of pastoral support and spiritual guidance."
"My concern has been and now is entirely focused on the spiritual welfare of the good people under my charge as their rector at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Rosemont, who have been served so well during this time by the faithful and godly priests on my staff. You may remember that adding to his unjust actions and showing no concern for souls of the people committed to my charge, Charles Bennison inhibited me during Lent prior to Holy Week."
"My parishioners have been so steadfast, caring, and supportive of my wife, my family and me, throughout this difficult emotional ordeal. With joy, I have witnessed a deepening in their spiritual lives, and a renewed commitment to Christ Jesus and His Church Catholic and Apostolic. They are poised to move forward with our many ministries to God's glory and the benefit of others."
"Let me conclude with a prayer I have prayed daily for the past six months, written by St. Ignatius of Loyola.
""Teach us, good Lord, to serve Thee as Thou deservest to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward-Save that of knowing what we do Thy Will."
END
Thursday, September 05, 2002
Homilette in original voice
The web site of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor, a small country parish in the Diocese of Lichfield (www.christchurch-biddulph.fsnet.co.uk) now has the potentiality to offer you in voice form a homilette each month via your computer and its sound facilities. For the latest such homilette of 8.75 minutes on "We praise THEE, O God" please go to the site. The church thanks Barbara Rabett for her work in maintaining this website for this tiny parish by this site reaches many persons not only in Great Britain but also in a variety of countries.
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon
Minister of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor,
England & Vice-President and Emissary-at-Large
of The Prayer Book Society of America
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon
Minister of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor,
England & Vice-President and Emissary-at-Large
of The Prayer Book Society of America
New West rally draws 1,500
(This is a report on the rally of those who oppose the local Anglican bishop's policy of embracing active gay people in the ministry of the church ....the diocese of New Westminster (Vancouver area) seems to be going the way of the majority of ECUSA dioceses and the reaction of evangelicals and charismatics is much the same in Canada as it was and in part still is in the USA. Regrettably this whole protest is not tied to a full doctrine of sexuality where serial monogamy and the like are seen as much an enemy of Christian morality as are gay partnerships. My own talks with African and Asian bishops reveals to me that they do not yet realise how deeply the divorce culture has invaded charismatics and evangelicals in N America and so proceed as if it were only a minor problem!) --P.T.
http://anglican.ca/news/online/news.html?newsItem=2002-09-04_ll.news
New West rally draws 1,500
Coalition members feel 'listened to'
LEANNE LARMONDIN
WEBSITE MANAGER
VANCOUVER, Sept. 4, 2002 -
If any of the 1,500 people who turned up at a worship and rally for conservative Anglicans protesting the liberalization of their church expected any irregular episcopal consecration or offers of episcopal oversight, they went away disappointed.
Four foreign primates and diocesan bishops came to the diocese of New Westminster over Labour Day weekend to support and consult with dissident parishes which walked out of the diocese's June synod in protest of a vote in favour of moving ahead with same-sex blessings. The weekend culminated in a service of celebration at a Baptist church in nearby Tsawwassen, which drew 1,500.
Although organizers had hinted that up to five primates would be coming to the consultations, they got only two: Southeast Asia's primate Yong Ping Chung and Archbishop Bernard Malanga of the province of Central Africa.
Two bishops also attended: Bishop Andy Fairfield from North Dakota (representing the Anglican Council of Bishops, described at the gathering as the "American counterpart to Essentials") and Bishop Peter Njenga of Mount Kenya South - representing outgoing Kenya primate David Gitari.
Educated at Newfoundland's Memorial University and Queen's College, Archbishop Yong served as a keynote speaker at the 2001 Essentials gathering of conservative Anglicans and is notorious in the Anglican Communion for illegally consecrating bishops in the Episcopal Church in the United States.
The visit was co-ordinated by Rev. Bill Atwood, a Texas priest and head of a conservative, international mission organization called Ekklesia.
A press release from the coalition of eight parishes, which call itself the Anglican Communion in New Westminster, said Archbishop Yong's sermon emphasized the biblical basis for opposition to the blessing of same-sex relationships. He "praised ACiNW's courageous defence of this traditional understanding in the face of unilateral action that many regard as a threat to the unity of the worldwide Anglican church," the release said.
The Sept. 1 service was celebrated in English, Swahili and Cantonese. Three of the coalition parishes are Chinese congregations.
Steve Schuh, president of Integrity Vancouver, the church's gay and lesbian group, attended the evening service and described it as an "upbeat" Evensong-type service with few surprises - "straight out of the Prayer Book."
(Mr. Schuh is a member of the diocese's largest parish, St. John's Shaughnessy, one of parishes that walked out of synod. He continues to worship there because it satisfies his evangelical side.)
The service had a strong charismatic representation (charismatics typically raise their hands in song and worship), said Mr. Schuh, but he acknowledged it was difficult to say how many in attendance were coalition members and how many were onlookers. "I noticed a number of people did not respond to the service with clapping, as many did," he said.
Mr. Schuh said that Mr. Walters, incumbent at St. Matthew's Abbotsford, said the consultations with the visiting prelates were productive since coalition members finally felt they had been listened to.
Another member of St. John's, Rev. Tom Anthony, also attended out of interest. He said he is not a member of the clergy team and does not support the actions of his parish's clergy or its lay leadership.
Mr. Anthony was the national church's director of World Program in the 1970s, when Yong Ping Chung was selected to study in Canada by his department's Asia secretary. He said he finds it ironic that "Archbishop Yong knows better than the Canadian church what's best for the Canadian church." That, said Mr. Anthony, is a form of reverse neo-colonialism.
Organizers at the event read letters of support from several conservative Anglican groups, including the Essentials Council -- Anglican Renewal Ministries (which donated $3,000 to the coalition's cause), Barnabas Anglican Ministries and the Prayer Book Society of Canada, the latter whose website up until recently had been the online home for the eight parishes' campaign. The Anglican Communion in New Westminster coalition only recently launched its own website for press releases and background on why it wants alternative episcopal oversight.
Even before synod met and voted on same-sex blessings, the coalition - which was then calling itself the Essentials coalition - was asking for another bishop to minister to them. Such an appointment is called alternative episcopal oversight. Synod, instead, voted 63 per cent in favour of a plan proposed by Bishop Michael Ingham, which provides for a conscience clause and an "episcopal visitor" for dissenting clergy and parishes; that bishop may provide pastoral support but does not function as a diocesan bishop.
Archbishop David Crawley, metropolitan (senior bishop) of British Columbia and Yukon, said in an interview that Bishop Ingham's proposal of an episcopal visitor is fair and that he would not allow a foreign bishop to minister in his ecclesiastical province without permission. The primates and bishops were "behaving inappropriately", said Archbishop Crawley.
The visiting primates and bishops, meanwhile, did meet with Bishop Ingham on Sept. 2. Bishop Ingham did not respond to an interview request and the visiting prelates would only say that the meeting was cordial.
Bishop Ingham had previously condemned any planned visit by foreign bishops and archbishops as inflammatory and unwelcome.
Anglican protocol dictates that bishops and primates do not enter each other's dioceses without an invitation or permission from the local bishop.
The evening's offerings, as announced during the service, raised about $14,000 for the coalition; the event reportedly cost $25,000.
- END -
http://anglican.ca/news/online/news.html?newsItem=2002-09-04_ll.news
New West rally draws 1,500
Coalition members feel 'listened to'
LEANNE LARMONDIN
WEBSITE MANAGER
VANCOUVER, Sept. 4, 2002 -
If any of the 1,500 people who turned up at a worship and rally for conservative Anglicans protesting the liberalization of their church expected any irregular episcopal consecration or offers of episcopal oversight, they went away disappointed.
Four foreign primates and diocesan bishops came to the diocese of New Westminster over Labour Day weekend to support and consult with dissident parishes which walked out of the diocese's June synod in protest of a vote in favour of moving ahead with same-sex blessings. The weekend culminated in a service of celebration at a Baptist church in nearby Tsawwassen, which drew 1,500.
Although organizers had hinted that up to five primates would be coming to the consultations, they got only two: Southeast Asia's primate Yong Ping Chung and Archbishop Bernard Malanga of the province of Central Africa.
Two bishops also attended: Bishop Andy Fairfield from North Dakota (representing the Anglican Council of Bishops, described at the gathering as the "American counterpart to Essentials") and Bishop Peter Njenga of Mount Kenya South - representing outgoing Kenya primate David Gitari.
Educated at Newfoundland's Memorial University and Queen's College, Archbishop Yong served as a keynote speaker at the 2001 Essentials gathering of conservative Anglicans and is notorious in the Anglican Communion for illegally consecrating bishops in the Episcopal Church in the United States.
The visit was co-ordinated by Rev. Bill Atwood, a Texas priest and head of a conservative, international mission organization called Ekklesia.
A press release from the coalition of eight parishes, which call itself the Anglican Communion in New Westminster, said Archbishop Yong's sermon emphasized the biblical basis for opposition to the blessing of same-sex relationships. He "praised ACiNW's courageous defence of this traditional understanding in the face of unilateral action that many regard as a threat to the unity of the worldwide Anglican church," the release said.
The Sept. 1 service was celebrated in English, Swahili and Cantonese. Three of the coalition parishes are Chinese congregations.
Steve Schuh, president of Integrity Vancouver, the church's gay and lesbian group, attended the evening service and described it as an "upbeat" Evensong-type service with few surprises - "straight out of the Prayer Book."
(Mr. Schuh is a member of the diocese's largest parish, St. John's Shaughnessy, one of parishes that walked out of synod. He continues to worship there because it satisfies his evangelical side.)
The service had a strong charismatic representation (charismatics typically raise their hands in song and worship), said Mr. Schuh, but he acknowledged it was difficult to say how many in attendance were coalition members and how many were onlookers. "I noticed a number of people did not respond to the service with clapping, as many did," he said.
Mr. Schuh said that Mr. Walters, incumbent at St. Matthew's Abbotsford, said the consultations with the visiting prelates were productive since coalition members finally felt they had been listened to.
Another member of St. John's, Rev. Tom Anthony, also attended out of interest. He said he is not a member of the clergy team and does not support the actions of his parish's clergy or its lay leadership.
Mr. Anthony was the national church's director of World Program in the 1970s, when Yong Ping Chung was selected to study in Canada by his department's Asia secretary. He said he finds it ironic that "Archbishop Yong knows better than the Canadian church what's best for the Canadian church." That, said Mr. Anthony, is a form of reverse neo-colonialism.
Organizers at the event read letters of support from several conservative Anglican groups, including the Essentials Council -- Anglican Renewal Ministries (which donated $3,000 to the coalition's cause), Barnabas Anglican Ministries and the Prayer Book Society of Canada, the latter whose website up until recently had been the online home for the eight parishes' campaign. The Anglican Communion in New Westminster coalition only recently launched its own website for press releases and background on why it wants alternative episcopal oversight.
Even before synod met and voted on same-sex blessings, the coalition - which was then calling itself the Essentials coalition - was asking for another bishop to minister to them. Such an appointment is called alternative episcopal oversight. Synod, instead, voted 63 per cent in favour of a plan proposed by Bishop Michael Ingham, which provides for a conscience clause and an "episcopal visitor" for dissenting clergy and parishes; that bishop may provide pastoral support but does not function as a diocesan bishop.
Archbishop David Crawley, metropolitan (senior bishop) of British Columbia and Yukon, said in an interview that Bishop Ingham's proposal of an episcopal visitor is fair and that he would not allow a foreign bishop to minister in his ecclesiastical province without permission. The primates and bishops were "behaving inappropriately", said Archbishop Crawley.
The visiting primates and bishops, meanwhile, did meet with Bishop Ingham on Sept. 2. Bishop Ingham did not respond to an interview request and the visiting prelates would only say that the meeting was cordial.
Bishop Ingham had previously condemned any planned visit by foreign bishops and archbishops as inflammatory and unwelcome.
Anglican protocol dictates that bishops and primates do not enter each other's dioceses without an invitation or permission from the local bishop.
The evening's offerings, as announced during the service, raised about $14,000 for the coalition; the event reportedly cost $25,000.
- END -
Wednesday, September 04, 2002
Peter Toon Interview Archived at KFUO
Dr Toon's interview on the KFUO Issues, Etc radio program is now available as a Windows Media stream on their web site at http://www.kfuo.org/. Choose the link for 1st Hour on September 3rd programs.
Tuesday, September 03, 2002
A Letter In Answer to Various Criticisms/Comments
My dear Dick Kim,
Greetings on this 3rd Day of September, 2002.
Thank you for circulating my various broadsheets and tracts on the Language of Prayer for Common Worship. The fact that such discussion creates deep emotional reaction underlines the fact that there has not YET been found a modern or contemporary idiom of public prayer (cf. the intense debate going on in the R C Church over how to translate Latin into English now, 40 years after Vatican II - also over what is suitable music for the Mass! Cf also the continuing versions of the Bible, new forms of liturgy, and so on).
I have been asking that there should be space made for the use of the classic and traditional English dialect or idiom of language of public prayer/liturgy. At the same time I hope that a suitable way of addressing the YOU-God will be found for right now we swop and change every second year in our public language that claims to be contemporary.
Thus for a long time into the future I envisage that the faithful Church will allow both the traditional language of public prayer and will seek by all good means to develop a reverent and acceptable and stable contemporary language of worship.
As you know such forms of writing as preparing tracts are not meant to earn doctoral degrees but rather to provoke thought by stating things in a direct and sometimes exaggerated way. So I have written. (Writing sermons and learned articles and books is a different technique. I use all of them!) Writing tracts opens one up to abuse and praise and I get some of each!
Please let your List know that I do other things than think about and write about language. I preached three times last Sunday on the appointed Lessons, I write devotional material, I visit the sick in homes and hospitals and all this is pastoral, based I hope upon the principles of the Gospel. I use the new Common Worship of the C of E for some services if that is the desire of the people concerned - e.g. weddings.
My hour interview today (3rd Sept, 3.p.m. Central Time on the Missouri Lutheran Station -- for access via computer go to listen to a live RealAudio stream of this station on the web by going to KFUO’s website: http://www.kfuo.org/... It looks like they also archive interviews for later listening…) is primarily on my book THE END OF LIBERAL THEOLOGY (Crossway Book, Illinois) which is about method in doing theology today. No doubt the origins of YOU-God language will be raised for it is one of the "gifts" of the revolutionary 1960s to the church in all her manifestations, Protestant and Catholic, but language is not the main thrust of the book. But we cannot escape language for it is one of those major gifts that distinguish us from the apes.
I shall not be sending any more tracts on the Language issue to you; but, I will ask your indulgence later in the Fall to advertise the forthcoming book that I am presently writing with Dr Tarsitano, "Neither archaic nor obsolete. The English Idiom of Public Prayer." I hope that your List will get this book in December 2002 and ponder the history we present and the suggestions that we offer for the glorifying of the Holy Trinity in words and deeds. We are not cranks or chaps left behind in the 1950s but rather those who are seeking to grapple with the situation before us of the need for a dignified, reverent and stable language of PUBLIC prayer for the millions on millions of English-speaking Christians around God's world. We find various devout, educated Roman Catholics most helpful and cooperative in this task!
A last word -- I have said nothing about individual private prayer. That is another topic!
thank you for your kindness and patience with me.
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon
Minister of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor,
England & Vice-President and Emissary-at-Large
of The Prayer Book Society of America
Greetings on this 3rd Day of September, 2002.
Thank you for circulating my various broadsheets and tracts on the Language of Prayer for Common Worship. The fact that such discussion creates deep emotional reaction underlines the fact that there has not YET been found a modern or contemporary idiom of public prayer (cf. the intense debate going on in the R C Church over how to translate Latin into English now, 40 years after Vatican II - also over what is suitable music for the Mass! Cf also the continuing versions of the Bible, new forms of liturgy, and so on).
I have been asking that there should be space made for the use of the classic and traditional English dialect or idiom of language of public prayer/liturgy. At the same time I hope that a suitable way of addressing the YOU-God will be found for right now we swop and change every second year in our public language that claims to be contemporary.
Thus for a long time into the future I envisage that the faithful Church will allow both the traditional language of public prayer and will seek by all good means to develop a reverent and acceptable and stable contemporary language of worship.
As you know such forms of writing as preparing tracts are not meant to earn doctoral degrees but rather to provoke thought by stating things in a direct and sometimes exaggerated way. So I have written. (Writing sermons and learned articles and books is a different technique. I use all of them!) Writing tracts opens one up to abuse and praise and I get some of each!
Please let your List know that I do other things than think about and write about language. I preached three times last Sunday on the appointed Lessons, I write devotional material, I visit the sick in homes and hospitals and all this is pastoral, based I hope upon the principles of the Gospel. I use the new Common Worship of the C of E for some services if that is the desire of the people concerned - e.g. weddings.
My hour interview today (3rd Sept, 3.p.m. Central Time on the Missouri Lutheran Station -- for access via computer go to listen to a live RealAudio stream of this station on the web by going to KFUO’s website: http://www.kfuo.org/... It looks like they also archive interviews for later listening…) is primarily on my book THE END OF LIBERAL THEOLOGY (Crossway Book, Illinois) which is about method in doing theology today. No doubt the origins of YOU-God language will be raised for it is one of the "gifts" of the revolutionary 1960s to the church in all her manifestations, Protestant and Catholic, but language is not the main thrust of the book. But we cannot escape language for it is one of those major gifts that distinguish us from the apes.
I shall not be sending any more tracts on the Language issue to you; but, I will ask your indulgence later in the Fall to advertise the forthcoming book that I am presently writing with Dr Tarsitano, "Neither archaic nor obsolete. The English Idiom of Public Prayer." I hope that your List will get this book in December 2002 and ponder the history we present and the suggestions that we offer for the glorifying of the Holy Trinity in words and deeds. We are not cranks or chaps left behind in the 1950s but rather those who are seeking to grapple with the situation before us of the need for a dignified, reverent and stable language of PUBLIC prayer for the millions on millions of English-speaking Christians around God's world. We find various devout, educated Roman Catholics most helpful and cooperative in this task!
A last word -- I have said nothing about individual private prayer. That is another topic!
thank you for your kindness and patience with me.
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon
Minister of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor,
England & Vice-President and Emissary-at-Large
of The Prayer Book Society of America
Sunday, September 01, 2002
Peter Toon Radio Interview September 3rd
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has invited Peter Toon, arch-conservative, devotee of the THOU-God, user of the ancient KJV, BCP and RSV, singer of the hymns of Wesley, Watts and Keble, listener to the music of Bach, reader of the works of Martin Luther, Minister of a small, English rural parish where the old BCP is used, and traditionalist Vice-President of the ultra-traditionalist Prayer Book Society of the USA, to be interviewed for 1 hour on its KFUO station at 3.p.m central time on Tuesday 3rd September on the program called ISSUES etc. For him it will 9.p.m. so do not be surprised if he is half-dosy! But listen in to learn more the THOU-God and why He is to be worshipped even in this era of the apparent triumph of the YOU-God.
KFUO can be heard via RealAudio on the internet at www.kfuo.org.
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon
Minister of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor,
England & Vice-President and Emissary-at-Large
of The Prayer Book Society of America
KFUO can be heard via RealAudio on the internet at www.kfuo.org.
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon
Minister of Christ Church, Biddulph Moor,
England & Vice-President and Emissary-at-Large
of The Prayer Book Society of America
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