Letter to the Editors
Letters may be sent to the Editors of New Church Life at
Box 743, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009
or e-mailed to [email protected].
A New Churchman’s Concerns
To The Editors:
I would like to take this opportunity to comment on several issues in New
Church Life, July/August 2016:
The first is in regard to the letter from Martin Klein who takes issue with
Peter Boericke on the question of female priests and asks: “With prayer for
guidance from the Lord Himself (that is, from the Divine Word itself) and
months of exacting counsel from the Lord’s most dedicated disciples living
today, could there be any wiser guidance, in Providence, than that rendered
by Bishop Keith?”
Much as the General Church puts great faith, and rightly so, in its bishop
and clergy, I am concerned that words such as this can be interpreted by
young people, new members and interested persons, as apparently imbuing
these persons with special, almost divine powers. The truth is, of course, that
these dedicated servants of the Church are, like everyone else, struggling to
regenerate and they are subject to errors of judgment like the rest of us.
I would have to ask Mr. Klein why it is that these dedicated “disciples”
working from the same Word of the Divine Human are divided on the question
of women priests? The answer would seem to me to be that the Word does
not directly address the issue and that the answer is subject to interpretation
regardless of the prayers offered and the counsel given by our clergy.
Prior to the Bishop announcing that he would seek counsel from his clergy,
it might be remembered that a lengthy article by Rev. Bruce Rogers appeared
in New Church Life against women priests. I was disappointed that much of the
article was highly subjective, being based on a personal view of the world. I did
not think that Rev. Rogers’ statements stood up to rational analysis.
I have just re-read the article by Mr. Boericke and feel that his questions
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