Letters

Monty Python did it better

The Blair-Hitchens “debate” (Jan. 2011, p. 1) was not a serious discussion, but “show business” featuring two pseudo-intellectual actors. The Monty Python gang did this sort of thing better in a sketch on whether God existed. The question was settled by a wrestling match between a priest and an atheist. God won-two falls out of three.
P.S. Excellent coverage on Haiti-better than anything in the mainstream media!
Jim Lotz
Halifax, N.S.Why on earth…?
I have always been puzzled by the practice of celebrating The Lord’s Supper in the morning. Does anyone know why?
William Bedford
Toronto

A nerve that needs touching
Colin Miles (Letters, Jan. 2011, p. 5) touched a nerve. That nerve needed touching, and Patricia Lawson (Letters, Feb. 2011, p. 5) recognized it. It is the nerve that brings together the threads of war and peace and justice, and deepens our understanding of how we, as children of the God who is Love, are called to respond. It is the same nerve knot of issues addressed by Ruth Klaassen (Letters, Mar. 2009, p. 4) and Roland Gosselin (Letters, May 2009, p. 4), who challenged our church’s passivity and silence in the face of increasing militarism.Thank you to these writers for voicing an unpopular view, for daring to cry out in the wilderness.
Peter Bennett
Grimsby, Ont. War and Church
Given recent numerous Letters to the Editor with regard to war, I was interested to come upon an article in Fellowship by Carol Hunter, PhD., entitled “Does the War System Depend on Church Support?” Hunter makes reference to Frederick Douglass’s writings on slavery in the 19th century. Douglass claimed that the Church had “shamelessly given the sanction of religion and the Bible to the whole slave system.”
Further quoted was Albert Barnes, abolitionist and author of The Church and Slavery, who said: “There is no power out of the church that could sustain slavery an hour, if it were not sustained in it.”
Hunter believes there is a parallel with war: “Militarism as U.S. policy can only be sustained as long as the mass of churches support it.” Food for thought.
Gloria G. Paul
Hoyt, N.B.

As Christ loves us
I have been reading the Anglican Journal since my teenage years. Growing up in a clergy household, I heard “all the news,” the current topics and controversies. I have been truly ashamed of the recent Letters to the Editor, particularly since some came from clergy! I feel no kinship with people who cannot love and accept those who are different from them. It makes for a heavy heart.
I don’t see why we cannot love others the way that Christ loves us. He does not judge us, though goodness knows, some of us surely do deserve it.
Sheila Edmondson
Keswick Ridge, N.B.

Hit the nail on the head
Congratulations! You hit the nail on the head with your editorial (Wherever we go, there we are, Feb. 2011, p. 4).
When I can admit to myself that I am a person with frequent failures, it leads to a kind of joyful humility. When I find forgiveness, it brings gratitude.
Mary Lobb
Winnipeg, Man.

Fine editors all
As a lifetime Anglican, now in my 90s, I have read a great many copies of the Anglican Journal, with a number of fine editors. I have enjoyed them all.
Now, I would like to congratulate you on the great job you are doing. I particularly enjoy your editorials, which I find very interesting and informative. They show a fine perception of the issues involved and make them clear to the reader. I look forward to reading many more issues.
R. Garth Walker
Richmond, B.C.

Delightful gifts
Thank you for offering your delightful gifts, to bless so many, including me (Wherever we go, there we are, Feb. 2011, p. 4). I love reading your refreshing perspective of truth, salted with humour.
The way you help us to see ourselves, in a forgiving way, brought my focus to St. John 21:22. I am thankful for the many prayer opportunities available to us. I like to imagine a framework through which we can glorify God, in the context of listening and telling our stories in a meeting place of respect.
Marilyn Sentlinger
Quesnel, B.C.

Missing partner
Canada is in need of an anti-poverty plan and housing strategy.
I was encouraged to hear that former Prime Minister Joe Clark is speaking out about poverty in Canada. Suggesting that poverty is an issue on which there is some consensus among parliamentarians of all political stripes, he has joined former NDP leader Ed Broadbent, First Nations leader Ovide Mercredi, and former Trudeau-era minister Monique Begin as an honorary director for the organization Canada Without Poverty.
In 2009, the Senate finished a two-year study on poverty in Canada in an initiative led by Art Eggleton, a Liberal, and Hugh Segal, a Conservative. The Senate report, In From the Margins: A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness, makes 74 recommendations regarding national poverty concerns. The missing partner is the federal government. It is time to address this national problem and work with the provinces.
Helen Darby
Drumbo, Ont.

Out-of-place and outdated
Why were two articles about a pastor from another church and denomination included (Toronto pastor leads way for social justice, Mar. 2011, p. 8)? If you want to report on same-sex issues, you have plenty to report on in our own church. I feel that these articles were outdated and out-of -place.
The Rev. Canon Ralph Leavitt
Westmount, Que.

Stop stealing my church
I cannot applaud the Anglican Journal for adopting a liberal slant (Toronto pastor leads way for social justice, Mar. 2011, p. 8) May I ask, what social justice? Social justice that is absolutely contrary to God’s Word? Social justice that is a product of homosexual propaganda?
Is the theft of my church in violation of the Word of God to continue?
Please, stop stealing my church.
Graham Patterson
Innisfil, ON

Not one penny from CIDA
Your article on Haiti (Feb. 2011, p. 1) proudly announced that Anglicans gave over $ 2 million to PWRDF for the relief work that its partners are doing in response to the devastation.
We are delighted that Anglicans across Canada responded with such generosity. At the same time, we are appalled that the work of PWRDF, and its partners in Canadian Churches in Action, has not yet received a penny from CIDA’s Earthquake Relief Fund.
Anne and Ray Morris
Salmon Arm, B.C.

Memories of Sunday school
I remember my Sunday school teacher vividly. She played the organ and planned picnics, games, boat trips and concerts.
There were several hotels in the area, and at the end of the season, books left behind were donated to our church. The Sunday school teacher, who knew there was no library at our small, one-room public school, made a large chart. For every month’s perfect attendance-and learning your Bible stories and memorizing verses and prayers-you would receive a book of your choice. You could also trade your books.
I cannot say how much those books meant to me. I never missed Sunday school, and eventually became a Sunday school teacher myself.
Hazel Thompson
Trenton, Ont.