new church life: march/april 2017
especially influenced by this new spirit of charity. So there is hope.
In recent years, there has been a growing desire in our Church also to
reach out and connect with the world in order to be of use to others. This
is good, but along with it we need to be careful not to neglect or change the
things that make the New Church special. How to be “in” the world but not
“of ” the world is a constant challenge.
Distinctiveness and welcoming newcomers are not mutually exclusive
interests, but actually go together – for what does the New Church have to
offer people except those things that set it apart from others and make it
distinctly new?
(WEO)
the ministry of glencairn
After four days of riveting presentation on the Glencairn Museum at the
Boynton Beach Retreat by Director Brian Henderson (see page 180), the Rev.
George McCurdy – a regular participant at the Retreat – commented that the
work of the museum is “a kind of ministry” which deserves our support.
Indeed, considering the scope of activities at Glencairn – for the College,
the Academy and Bryn Athyn Church School, the community, and the larger
community beyond – and the thousands of visitors inspired by its programs
and collections each year, this is very much a ministry with extraordinary
impact in its outreach. This is true not only for the Glencairn Museum but the
contiguous Historic District, including Cairnwood Estate and the Cathedral.
My daily commute to Cairncrest passes through the District and I am
impressed almost every day to see school buses and tour buses in the parking
lots, and processions of students from various schools, eager to learn what
these buildings have to offer.
When John Pitcairn and Bishop Benade traveled to Egypt and the Holy
Land more than 100 years ago, their incredible collections seeded the Museum
that started modestly in Philadelphia, then moved to the fourth floor of the
Old Library on the Academy campus before moving to Glencairn in 1980.
A museum devoted to religious artifacts was central to their vision for the
Academy.
When Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn built Glencairn in the 1930s it was
not only a family home but already a home for religious art and treasures.
So it became a natural repository for the Academy Museum, which has
transformed Glencairn into one of the finest religious museums in the world,
with unlimited horizons.
The outreach going on in the museum – for the Church and the Academy
– is beyond measure. We can never know the impact of all the seeds being
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