It's a love-hate relationship, really.
Now that I've been in this country for quite a few months, people have stopped asking me if I've 'settled in alright' and started asking me how I'm enjoying the country and my stay here. Most of the time, I respond with something akin to, "Yeah, it's been great. I've decided to stay an extra year, so it can't be all bad!" But this week has provided a couple of opportunities for reflection that I thought I might share with you.
On the one hand, I love it here! On Monday afternoon, I had a meeting in Drayton (the village next to the estate I live on) and a church member nearby also planned on attending the same meeting. Like a good minister, I rang him up to see if he'd like a ride to the meeting, as he doesn't drive. When he answered the phone and I made my offer, he mentioned that, since it weather was good, he had made plans to walk. I had considered walking to the meeting, myself, and so we agreed to walk to the meeting. It wasn't very far--took maybe 20 minutes at a leisurely pace--but it wasn't one street over either. At that moment, I realized how different my life is here. At home, I would have felt guilty for wasting the 40 minutes it took to walk to and from the meeting instead of only using about 5 minutes driving. But here, it is almost the opposite--why waste a gorgeous day by driving when you can walk? It was glorious! At times, the English culture can be so laid back and take-time-to-smell-the-roses. Of course, at others, it can be quite manic, but on the whole, I can say I appreciate the desire to be less interested in getting to the finish line than in just enjoying the route.
While you're enjoying the rosiness of the above paragraph, let me state that Monday didn't start off quite as rosy. In fact, it nearly ruined my day. I had a meeting with one of my Anglican colleagues and it did not go well. Without getting into details, suffice it to say that he has a hard time seeing the Methodist perspective and accused me of acting inappropriately when the stewards at all FOUR of my churches decided to have a joint service one Sunday in July. He can't seem to understand that the Methodist congregation is under no obligation to stop being Methodist just because it might not suit him. After the meeting, when he promised to try and score political points with my church members when participating in a plan that would benefit him to, I felt quite unsettled. So I went to Jenny's and had a good rant. It felt good. When I arrived home, I called the circuit super, filled him in, and asked his advice. He then informed me that a letter had been written from the Bishop of Norwich (Anglican) to the Chair of District (Methodist) complaining that I am able to preside at Communion. (I'm not fully ordained, and that's a problem for Anglicans.) Now, I had already heard through the ecclesial grapevine that this colleague of mine was a bit bitter over it all, but had no idea that the hierarchy had gotten involved. My annoyance level just shot up another couple of notches. First of all, from his perspective, his argument is perfectly valid. I disagree with him, but I respect his right to believe in such a way. However, my ire focuses on the fact that he never saw fit to tell me of his difficulties. Now I feel like a fool. He's been acting like we're getting along famously...and then I find out that my very presence is a problem for him. I was a mite pissed (American style, not English...yet...). Here's what I don't like about England--Anglicans. More and more, I appreciate why the founders of the US did not want a state religion (aside from my theological concerns about the established church). Because Anglicans are the established church and more rigid in their doctrine, it seems as though we have to fit in around them, at the cost of our own tradition. If something doesn't go their way, they'll raise a right stink over it until the offending party either disappears or changes their behavior. (Disclaimer: Not all Anglicans are bad. It's just a general demeanor that pervades a lot of what we do ecumenically. These comments are generalizations and not always accurate all the time.)
I'm all for ecumenism. I think I've established this fact in earlier posts. However, all the doctrine and polity that I studied in my ecumenism class at Duke, while providing excellent background for understanding, helps not at all when dealing with real people!
On the one hand, I love it here! On Monday afternoon, I had a meeting in Drayton (the village next to the estate I live on) and a church member nearby also planned on attending the same meeting. Like a good minister, I rang him up to see if he'd like a ride to the meeting, as he doesn't drive. When he answered the phone and I made my offer, he mentioned that, since it weather was good, he had made plans to walk. I had considered walking to the meeting, myself, and so we agreed to walk to the meeting. It wasn't very far--took maybe 20 minutes at a leisurely pace--but it wasn't one street over either. At that moment, I realized how different my life is here. At home, I would have felt guilty for wasting the 40 minutes it took to walk to and from the meeting instead of only using about 5 minutes driving. But here, it is almost the opposite--why waste a gorgeous day by driving when you can walk? It was glorious! At times, the English culture can be so laid back and take-time-to-smell-the-roses. Of course, at others, it can be quite manic, but on the whole, I can say I appreciate the desire to be less interested in getting to the finish line than in just enjoying the route.
While you're enjoying the rosiness of the above paragraph, let me state that Monday didn't start off quite as rosy. In fact, it nearly ruined my day. I had a meeting with one of my Anglican colleagues and it did not go well. Without getting into details, suffice it to say that he has a hard time seeing the Methodist perspective and accused me of acting inappropriately when the stewards at all FOUR of my churches decided to have a joint service one Sunday in July. He can't seem to understand that the Methodist congregation is under no obligation to stop being Methodist just because it might not suit him. After the meeting, when he promised to try and score political points with my church members when participating in a plan that would benefit him to, I felt quite unsettled. So I went to Jenny's and had a good rant. It felt good. When I arrived home, I called the circuit super, filled him in, and asked his advice. He then informed me that a letter had been written from the Bishop of Norwich (Anglican) to the Chair of District (Methodist) complaining that I am able to preside at Communion. (I'm not fully ordained, and that's a problem for Anglicans.) Now, I had already heard through the ecclesial grapevine that this colleague of mine was a bit bitter over it all, but had no idea that the hierarchy had gotten involved. My annoyance level just shot up another couple of notches. First of all, from his perspective, his argument is perfectly valid. I disagree with him, but I respect his right to believe in such a way. However, my ire focuses on the fact that he never saw fit to tell me of his difficulties. Now I feel like a fool. He's been acting like we're getting along famously...and then I find out that my very presence is a problem for him. I was a mite pissed (American style, not English...yet...). Here's what I don't like about England--Anglicans. More and more, I appreciate why the founders of the US did not want a state religion (aside from my theological concerns about the established church). Because Anglicans are the established church and more rigid in their doctrine, it seems as though we have to fit in around them, at the cost of our own tradition. If something doesn't go their way, they'll raise a right stink over it until the offending party either disappears or changes their behavior. (Disclaimer: Not all Anglicans are bad. It's just a general demeanor that pervades a lot of what we do ecumenically. These comments are generalizations and not always accurate all the time.)
I'm all for ecumenism. I think I've established this fact in earlier posts. However, all the doctrine and polity that I studied in my ecumenism class at Duke, while providing excellent background for understanding, helps not at all when dealing with real people!
posted by RevSarah at 10:26 PM
1 Comments:
I'm coming to understand that a large part of the reason that there are people like us called to be pastors is to show the rest of the world how to be pissed and Christian at the same time. You're in my prayers as always.
And, btw, what is the English meaning of pissed? Drunk?
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