Dear editor,
Thank you so much for Peter Moon’s article about Capt. Fraser Harvey (Army chaplain jumps in feet first after his flock, Jan. 27 story, anglicanjournal.com). How delightful to read of an Anglican priest not preoccupied with his pension, whether his bishop is male or female, wishing to marry someone of the same gender, or what colour the person in question might be. I suspect that Capt. Harvey does not expound the merits of vegetarianism, frozen politeness, the decline of Anglican funds/congregations, or torching “the old liturgy.” Indeed, I will venture that the padre offers a sense of the ridiculous, understanding, and interest in people. If plunked in a Canadian city, the padre could be counted upon to converse honestly with vagrants – not “minister to” them – undeterred by tuberculosis and lice, or sharing his lunch with a criminal. Far more Anglican clergy should be dispatched to Canadian Forces Base Borden or Cornwallis, and pronto.
Megan S. Mills
Toronto