Friday, February 29, 2008

The tentacles of Sydney

Wandering around the blogs, I learn that one of the parishes in Vancouver trying to secede to the Southern Cone, St John's, Shaughnessy, is run by an ex-Sydney type Rev David Short, son of the retired bishop of Wollongong, Ken Short. For my overseas readers, Wollongong is just a region within the diocese of Sydney. So we have another example of Sydney muscling in on the affairs of other dioceses around the world.
What amazes me is the variety in the churches/dioceses running off to the Southern Cone. My reading regarding San Joaquin is that it is very catholic. I read where they reserve the sacrament, highly illegal in Sydney. Sydney also bans the wearing of the chasuble, shows disapproval of anything more than a surplice and stole and some, including the Dean of the cathedral, look more like escapees from Presbyterianism. The Archbishop is known to conduct services in collar and tie. They turn up their collective noses at incense and candles and only change the colours when the old ones need washing.
So Rev David Short would be most uncomfortable in San Joaquin.
Another church which has voted to go south is St Chad's, Toronto where the acting priest was Rev. Barbara Richardson. Hullo, isn't that a woman? I am sure David Short, coming from Sydney would not want a woman priest and I understand that is also the case with those departing from San Joaquin.
It seems the only thing they have in common is their homophobia. And it is homophobia despite their protestations to the contrary. Once they have gathered into this cosy little group, shoved out all the poofs and locked the doors, the squabbling regarding other matters should be great fun to watch.

2 comments:

Alcibiades said...

Well put: it can't be stressed enough that any play-date involving Bishops Akinola, Jensen and Schofield is going to end in tears waaaayyy before bedtime.

Doorman-Priest said...

I'd soooo like to be there.