Thought you'd enjoy a funny predicament I'm in

[wryter2000]

I recently took over my church newsletter. Bear in mind, we are the easy-going, liberal Episcopalians. Everyone's welcome, including athiests. Little to no dogma. Just play nice with others, and we love you.

So, we have a professed Roundhead in the choir. She's more than once exclaimed that she doesn't understand why we do the things we do. We smile and dig into the potluck and pass the wine. She wrote something for the newsletter last month that was vaguely critical of baptizing infants and poked fun at something our bishop wears. We're cool with that.

Now, she's written a whole THING about how Thomas Cranmer founded our church and we deny him. She went on to describe his torture and gruesome execution under Mary Tudor. I think I have to draw the line on this one. Plus, it's too long.

I'm going to run it by the priest. If he says it's okay, it goes in. I'm afraid, though, I'm going to have to find a nice way to say no to her.

[murielm99]

1. I don't envy you this job.

Many people will blame you if they see something they don't like in the newsletter.

Your easygoing church sounds nice to me.

[wryter2000]

4. It is a wonderful church

Not only is it gorgeous, but our music program is outstanding. The best concert ticket in town, and it's free. Plus, our priest is a wonderful, charismatic guy who can really preach.

[Critters2]

2. As a clergy person of 24.5 years' experience, I can say that the buck stops

with your pastor. If the priest says no, and probably will, then it's no. And the priest has the responsibility of explaining why. This would be true in my church, which is a Congregationalist UCC congregation. That much more so in a more hierarchical tradition like yours. IF I were your pastor, you'd be off the hook...and I'd be swallowing kava kava in preparation for a meeting with this woman. :)

[wryter2000]

3. Thanks

I'm passing it along to him. I'm a writer and have dealt with a lot of editors. I think I can figure out a way to let her down easily, if need be. I think I'd rather have her mad at me than him, but we'll see how it goes.

For one thing, her piece is too long, too.

:hi:

[shimmergal]

5. Thomas Cranmer's execution isn't

exactly NEWS now, is it?

It just struck me as really funny that she'd put it in the Newsletter... some 500-odd years after it happened.

Of course it's usually hard to find people to write anything for a church newsletter, but this sounds way out of bounds to me. Good luck with resolving the problem!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. If she's denying infant baptism, she's in the wrong church, and

I've never heard of any Episcopalians "denying" Thomas Cranmer. They certainly honor him as a martyr and the principal author of the first Book of Common Prayer, but they don't talk about him all the time.

Back when I was growing up as a Lutheran preacher's kid, a Baptist woman in town began giving Bible lessons to her neighbors, some of whom happened to attend our church. In no time at all, they were criticizing my dad for baptizing infants, having a formal liturgy, and not having altar calls during the services. (His theology was actually a bit on the evangelical side, so you'd think they would have been pleased, but no...)

He finally told them that if they wanted to be Baptists, there was a Baptist church in town, but he was going to be a Lutheran.

[supernova]

7. So, wryter's Roundhead lady

has been seeing another fundie church on the side?

j/k

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. Or listening to someone on public access TV or AM radio

and letting their words filter into what sounds like a none-too-stable mind.

That would explain the part about infant baptism, but I can't figure out the part about Thomas Cranmer.

[wryter2000]

9. Thought I'd let you know how it came out

No one seemed as upset about the letter as I was, but she expressed a great interest in having it published. So, I sent it in with everything else, and it appeared verbatim. No one said a word except for one lady who told me how much she liked it.

As an aside, I mentioned in a Lenten discussion session that I write erotica, and everyone smiled. I love this church!