Sunday 16 March 2014

Curiosity Satisfied.

The weirdest things have been happening for some time.  One of those has been the Anglican church.

  I am not Anglican.  I haven't been Anglican in decades.  I find the Anglican church in Queensland quite Popish & it does my little protestant heart in. Seriously.  I do not do well with what seems like superstition ~ & trust me, I got a sound Anglican upbringing so I do understand what all is going on.

However, & it is a mighty big however, when we first came to the island all those years ago the only available choices were the Anglicans or the Catholics, a difference without a distinction perhaps but those were the choices.  I chose the Anglicans as the best of a bad preference ~ & struggled to remember exactly which Sunday in the month they actually held a service because they only sent someone over once a month.  I didn't attend church regularly for years because I found it almost impossible to remember exactly which week was church week.

The Anglicans were responsible for Sunday School ~ & R.E.  The Anglicans ran the thrift shop. They gave to missions.  An Anglican service is predictable down to the last drop of Holy Water.  However that is what we had & so that is where we went.  The Liturgy went over the top of my kids heads.  Some of the old dears got ratty about having kids in the service ~ but we persisted because giving honour to God is a learnt thing.

In the process of things my children made up the bulk of the Sunday school so I agreed to help out by teaching some of the children.  I did it for quite a few years.  I worked with 2 staunch Anglicans, one of whom refused point blank to ever lead so when our staunch leader was ailed by ill health the leadership fell to me by default.  I think the leader had hopes I would take over the Sunday School but that was never going to happen.  It was for a season & when my children outgrew it I too departed.  The leader died several years ago.  The 2nd lady also recently departed this life & so for the first time in many years I went to an Anglican service.

In the intervening years the Anglicans have added a second monthly service & a woman minister.  My curiosity was piqued.  The island Anglicans are a staid bunch.  How on earth would they cope with a female preacher?  However it seemed my curiosity was doomed to go unsatisfied because one way or another I was occupied at those times when the female preacher was preaching.

Then the rumour mill started grinding ~ & eventually some of that even reached us, & that's not easy because we don't socialise & so most of the island gossip bypasses us.  Sunday afternoon we toddled down to the Anglican hall to celebrate the 2nd Sunday School teacher's life.

Surfice to say, I know why I ditched the Anglican church.

3 comments:

  1. I hate rumors. Not sure I would fit in an Anglican church, but something deep inside yearns for liturgy. Maybe because I grew up without anything like it. I would like the Mitford Anglican/Episcopal church though. Missing you... xoxo

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  2. I am missing you! I keep checking...

    I like liturgy. I grew up with it & the old order is beautiful; but when it becomes rote it loses it's meaning & the Spirit departs. I never wanted just religion. There's too much of that as it is. {{{hugs}}} 4 U.

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  3. Sorry that I have not been around much. I have not been coping very well of late with my life, such as it is. I keep thinking--have been for months now--I would like to chat with you...I think of this the most in my mornings when you have just begun your trek to dreamland and by late afternoon I am so spent emotionally that I just not in a good frame of mind to talk to anyone and I have this dislike for doing much of anything on my computer. And the sad thing is I have no real reason to be having this difficulty, really. I cannot even bring myself to write on my blog.

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