New Church Life March/April 2017 | Page 114

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 180