Episcopal Diocese of Maine

What Anglican churches - using Book of Common Prayer - might be located in Bath, Maine ?

Reply:  Grace Episcopal Church is located at 1100 Washington Street in Bath, Maine.  The phone number is 443-3792 and the website is www.graceepiscopalchurch1.org .  Sunday services are at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

The mail this week brought the following inquiry for Sister-E: 

Dear Sister E:

Do Episcopal clergy call themselves "Father"?  I thought that was a Catholic thing.   What term refers to a female Episcopal priest?"

Reply:  The question of appropriate titles for Christian clergy has been a complicated one.  In the U.S. many Protestant denominations used the title "Father" for some of their clergy before we Episcopalians did.  For a time American Roman Catholics called their parish clergy "Mister,"  When Irish Roman Catholic priests, all of whom were called "Father," came to America in large numbers, Protestants dropped their practice like a hot potato.  The Anglo-Catholic movement gradually brought "Father" back into common usage in the Episcopal Church. 

The use of a first name for a female priest can be overly familiar. If a female priest is a vicar or a dean then title of Vicar or Dean works.  If she has a Ph.D. then Doctor works.  In the UK female priests who are rectors are often called Rector.  Some prefer Pastor;  others prefer to be addressed as Mother, and this makes some kind of sense if male priests are called Father, but I'm not sure if people over 40 should call anyone Father or Mother, except one's own parents.  Your best bet is to ask the priest what she prefers.  Deacons are addressed as Deacon Dorothy.

While we are on this, it is never correct to refer to any cleric as "Reverend."  This word is an adjective and must always be preceded by the definite article. And it is never correct to address a priest directly as "Reverend Brown."  The worst sin is to speak about a priest as "the reverend."
     
It is always correct to address a priest as "Mr.," "Mrs.," "Ms.," or whatever is preferred.

While presiding at the Eucharist, they are called the "celebrant" or the "presider."  Aides to the bishop or priests on the staff of a cathedral may be called "Canon."  Monks and nuns who are not ordained clergy may be called "brother" or  "sister." 

Some Episcopalians take much delight in using these titles to the bafflement of other Christians. It's not uncommon   to see something like this in a church bulletin: "The  celebrant today is the Right Reverend John Bosse, Bishop of East Podunk,   assisted by the Very Reverend Todd White, Dean of the Cathedral, and the Reverend Canon Joan Black of the Cathedral staff. The Venerable R. E. Stuffy, Archdeacon of the Diocese, is the Deacon of the Mass.   

Remember that these are ancient titles for servants of Christ.  

You can learn much more at:  About Episcopalians, http://www.stannsnashville.org/Episcopalians.htm

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Dear Sister-E: 

What is a Missioner?

She replies:  The position of Missioner is usually appointed by a bishop to help congregations become effective missionary outposts of the Bishop.  She or he is the chief staff person in the Diocese who is concerned with providing congregational support for evangelism.  A missioner works within a Diocese;   a missionary goes any where at all to spread the good news. 

Sister-E

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Why should I continue to pray?  Obviously, God is not listening. (s) Discouraged

Dear Discouraged,

This may help.

"God is not failing us when we don't feel his presence.
Let's not say: God doesn't do what I pray for so much, and therefore I don't pray anymore.

God exists, and he exists even more, the farther you feel from him. God is closer to you when you think he is farther away and doesn't hear you. When you feel the anguished desire for God to come near because you don't feel him present, then God is very close to your anguish.

When are we going to understand that God not only gives happiness but also tests our faithfulness in moments of affliction?

It is then that prayer and religion have most merit: when one is faithful in spite of not feeling the Lord's presence.  Let us learn from that cry of Christ that God is always our Father and never forsakes us, and that we are closer to him than we think."

Oscar Romero The Violence of Love

Archbishop Romero was gunned down in El Salvador while he was saying Mass.

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Dear Sister-E,

In this week's gospel, Jesus is said to have "rebuked" Peter. Pardon me for saying this, but doesn't it seem sort of mean for Jesus to embarrass Peter in front of the other disciples and followers? Poor Peter!

Feeling sorry for Peter

Sister-E: -- can you explain the difference between the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church.  Which one is better?  

(s)Upitty

THE Anglican communion, an inheritor of 2000 years of catholic and apostolic tradition dating from Christ himself, is rooted in the Church of England. When the Church of England spread throughout the British Empire, sister churches sprang up. These churches, while autonomous in their governance, are bound together by tradition, Scripture, and the inheritance they have received from the Church of England. They together make up the Anglican Communion, a body headed spiritually by the Archbishop of Canterbury and having some 80 million members, making it the second largest Christian body in the Western world.

The Episcopal Church came into existence as an independent denomination after the American Revolution. Today it has between two and three million members in the United States, Mexico, and Central America, all of which are under jurisdiction of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Frank Tracy Griswold III.  (from Anglicans on Line).

Sister-E

Dear Sister-E:  

Could you explain what's the deal with Lent?  

(signed Annie Onomus)

Dear Annie,

The word "lent" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "lencten" which means "to lengthen" - referring to that time of year when days begin to lengthen.  For Christians, Lent is a 40 day period of fasting, penitence and preparation for the feast of Easter. Since every Sunday is a "little Easter," celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord, Sundays remain feast days, even during the Lenten season.

The season begins today, Ash Wednesday, when people are marked with ashes prepared from the burning of last year's blessed palms.  Ashes have long been associated with repentance and amendment of life.  Lent ends after sundown on (the Saturday before Laster Sunday) at the Great Vigil of Easter.  In the early church Lent was the time of preparation for the Easter baptism of converts to the Christian faith. It usually followed a lengthy and intensive preparation period -- usually three years!

The liturgical color for Lent is usually purple or in some parishes, a Lenten array of unbleached linen trimmed in red and black.  Flowers are omitted from the altar and weddings are not scheduled.

Sister-E 

Dear Sister-E:  

What does the Archbishop of Canterbury do?  

(signed) Skeptical

Dear Skep,

The role of the Archbishop of Canterbury is multi-faceted. He is the diocesan bishop of the Canterbury Diocese, and as the Primate of All England is also the chief bishop in the Church of England, which entails a prominent place in the establishment of that country.  He is a member of the House of Lords.  

He is also the spiritual head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and is often spokesman for it.  The Anglican Communion includes all 38 provinces in communion with the See of Canterbury, a total of about 70 million members throughout the world.  The Episcopal Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.  The Archbishop has no authority other than spiritual authority. 

Sister-E 

Dear Sister-E:  

I have been around the Episcopal Church for several years, but have always wondered where do the terms rector, vicar, canon, and dean come from? 

(signed) Curious

Dear Curious: The rector is the chief sacramental officer and professional ordained person in a parish. The term derives from the Latin “regere”, to rule.

A priest-in-charge may be appointed by the Bishop to congregations financially dependent on the diocese.  The priest-in-charge at a mission is called a vicar. Since the bishop is technically rector of all missions, the priest resident at a mission serves as a substitute for the bishop. The term derives from the Latin “vicarious,” from “vice,” “instead of.”

Canon is a Greek word that came to mean a unit by which things are measured. So Canon Law is the list of ecclesiastical rules by which the church is guided.  A Canon can also be a lay or ordained person on the staff of a cathedral.  Clergy persons who have served the Bishop and diocese long and well are sometimes made honorary Canons of the Cathedral when they retire from Parish ministry.

Dean is a title given to a person holding any of three positions: the head of a cathedral staff, the head of a seminary faculty, or the clergyperson appointed to preside over meetings of a geographical division of a diocese. It derives from the Latin “decanus” or “ten.” The term was first used to denote a military officer having authority over ten soldiers. In the monastic life the term is used by St. Benedict (Rule, c. xxi) to denote a monk who was placed over ten other monks, his duty being to see that their work was properly done and that they observed the rules of the house in which they were living.

Sister-E

Dear Sister-E: 

Last Sunday someone invited me to sign a guest book in the narthex.  Where in the world is the narthex? It sounds like some kind of medication!  

(Signed) Lost in Space

Dear Lost:  Have no fear, the narthex is neither medication nor athletic gear; it is a part of the church building. Traditionally, the narthex is the long, narrow, enclosed area crossing the entire width of a church at its entrance. It separates the entrance from the nave, the central aisle of the church. In the early days of Christianity the narthex was the only portion of the church to which penitents were admitted.  (When we say narthex at St. James' we mean the back of the church where the font, the stuffed animals, and the guest register are found.)

The nave extends from the narthex to the transept, the transverse aisle crossing the nave in front of the sanctuary. The transept forms the shape of the crucifix as it crosses the nave (The Crossing). The nave is that part of a church set aside for laity, as distinguished from the chancel and apse which were reserved for clergy. The term nave is from the Latin navis, meaning “ship,” which probably derives from the ship being adopted as a symbol of the church. 

Sister-E

March 3, 2003
Amplification from a reader:

Dear Sister-E: 

I notice that when we have our most formal services at St. ?'s there is an additional person who helps by leading the various participants to the chancel while carrying a small wand.  Who is this person?

Signed “Who's on First?”

Dear “Who's”:  He is called a Verger.  He escorts people to their proper location during a service.  The wand that he holds in his hand is called a "VERGE." In the late Middle Ages, processions often needed soldiers to guide them through crowds and to give them protection. These soldiers carried “virges” – maces with a ball on the top and the procession’s emblem on the bottom. As identification became more important than protection, the ball shrank and the emblem grew. Today, the “verger” carries the virge “up-side down.”

Gradually, the verger’s role also changed, taking on more and more responsibilities in the liturgy. In some parishes the  verger is in charge of the lay ministers (lectors, chalice bearers, thurifers, acolytes), providing them with instruction, assistance, and direction. He also prepares the lectionaries, altar book and hymn board for services.  At St. ?'s, the verger is a ceremonial position that adds to the beauty and grace of the liturgy. Learn more about vergers at http://www.verger.org 

Sister-E