What's it like to be an Anglican priest?

[Paidiske]

Elsewhere on the forum, @AlexB23 asked me, "So, what is it like to be an Anglican priest in general Mother Paidiske? How does that differ from say Protestantism, Catholicism or Orthodoxy?"

I couldn't answer properly there, so I thought I'd come and start a thread, and maybe others might like to comment or contribute as well.

It's an interesting question, and I'm not sure I can answer it, because I don't kow what it's like to be an Orthodox or Catholic priest, or a Protestant minister in another denomination.

I guess part of what I'd have to say is that it probably depends a lot on where in the world you are. I'm in Australia, and the Anglican church here is very different than it would be in some other parts of the world. Here, the Anglican church is (in general) aging and declining, and a lot of my work is about trying to help my parish community reconnect with its local community and discover new ways of building life together. My parish is gently growing, but that's hard work.

In general I have the impression that some other traditions expect their priests to be more authoritative; more of a "father knows best" model of ministry. Whereas the Anglican ethos is more that the priest is a resource and support to the people in their walk with God, but not someone who is there to tell you where or how to walk (if that makes sense)? We value collaborative leadership and a participatory model of governance, where laity are involved at every level.

I don't know if that answers your question much, but maybe it's a starting point for a good discussion!

 

[AlexB23]

Elsewhere on the forum, @AlexB23 asked me, "So, what is it like to be an Anglican priest in general Mother Paidiske? How does that differ from say Protestantism, Catholicism or Orthodoxy?"

I couldn't answer properly there, so I thought I'd come and start a thread, and maybe others might like to comment or contribute as well.

It's an interesting question, and I'm not sure I can answer it, because I don't kow what it's like to be an Orthodox or Catholic priest, or a Protestant minister in another denomination.

I guess part of what I'd have to say is that it probably depends a lot on where in the world you are. I'm in Australia, and the Anglican church here is very different than it would be in some other parts of the world. Here, the Anglican church is (in general) aging and declining, and a lot of my work is about trying to help my parish community reconnect with its local community and discover new ways of building life together. My parish is gently growing, but that's hard work.

In general I have the impression that some other traditions expect their priests to be more authoritative; more of a "father knows best" model of ministry. Whereas the Anglican ethos is more that the priest is a resource and support to the people in their walk with God, but not someone who is there to tell you where or how to walk (if that makes sense)? We value collaborative leadership and a participatory model of governance, where laity are involved at every level.

I don't know if that answers your question much, but maybe it's a starting point for a good discussion!

I like the collaborative atmosphere from what you are describing how Anglican ethos works. It seems to be less belittling to folks in other denominations, if I am not mistaken. And for the declining Anglican church in Australia, the same is happening for all denominations in the US, especially Catholic. It is sad that millennials are turning away from Christianity as a whole.

Most of my few close friends either lack Christian faith, or are Christian, but don't really discuss their religion or go to church. It would be awesome if more people my age could get back into church, and then I could go with my friend(s) instead of being in a sanctuary with folks 70+ years old (exaggeration). Maybe shorter church services instead of hour long ones, a service hypothetically 25-30 minutes long, could get people my age back into church as a whole. Even I am guilty of just staying home to watch Star Trek or sci-fi instead of going to church, but service times are too long.

A fast church service could be: 1 three minute song to sing, 10 minutes of bible verses and explanation by the pastor, 5 minute homily, 5 minute communion, end of service. Just my shower thoughts.

 

[Paidiske]

Often the midweek services are shorter than the Sunday ones. I do a midweek service that's typically over in about twenty or so minutes, occasionally slightly longer. But of course those services aren't geared to people who work!

I think a lot of people just don't trust church institutions to be valuable sources for their own spiritual growth, or effective at making a difference in their local community. And, you know, there are lots of reasons why we've earned that distrust. But now we have to earn it again, one conversation, one encounter, one social media post at a time.

 

[AlexB23]

Often the midweek services are shorter than the Sunday ones. I do a midweek service that's typically over in about twenty or so minutes, occasionally slightly longer. But of course those services aren't geared to people who work!

I think a lot of people just don't trust church institutions to be valuable sources for their own spiritual growth, or effective at making a difference in their local community. And, you know, there are lots of reasons why we've earned that distrust. But now we have to earn it again, one conversation, one encounter, one social media post at a time.

Yeah, so a short service like in the midweek on a Saturday would be perfect for young ones who work, or just lack time on the weekdays. And yeah, churches should try and help folks more, as not everybody wants to take the time to go help others on their own schedule, cos a long church service already takes a large bite out of the weekend. Hypothetically, volunteering could be included in the church's worship schedule. Maybe a church could have a bus that brings congregants to a food bank so they could volunteer at the food bank for 45 minutes after that short 25 minute service. Not including travel time, 25 minutes of church service + 45 minutes of volunteering would be shorter or of the equivalent length as a 70 minute service where nothing gets done to physically help the needy folks of this world.

 

[Paidiske]

I knew a Baptist church once that would have no service one Sunday a month, but told its members to use the time they would normally spend in church, to go out and connect with people outside the church. Probably not an approach that Anglicans would like, on the whole, but I admired the fact that they were willing to make concrete changes to support people to do what they were asking them to do!

 

[AlexB23]

I knew a Baptist church once that would have no service one Sunday a month, but told its members to use the time they would normally spend in church, to go out and connect with people outside the church. Probably not an approach that Anglicans would like, on the whole, but I admired the fact that they were willing to make concrete changes to support people to do what they were asking them to do!

Wow, a Baptist church that did that? In the US, that wouldn't fly at all sadly. We would probably thump our bibles on the pastor who would cancel a church service here. A cool concept.

A real issue is that in the USA, public transportation sucks. So, if the church itself provided a bus driven by church staff to collect the congregants and bring them to a volunteering site, it would save folks from having to hop in their cars (and therefore reduce CO2 emissions), or for those who don't drive, prevent from having to wait an eon or two for a public bus to arrive. Infrastructure is crumbling in American cities. The EU and the Aussies most likely have better infrastructure and make their cities walkable compared to the USA.

 

[Paidiske]

The EU, maybe, but in most parts of Australia, public transport is woeful and everyone relies on their cars. Partly because we don't have the same population density; we've got about 26 million people in a land mass not much smaller than the US. And that does affect churches, because it's harder to build a critical mass.

 

[AlexB23]

The EU, maybe, but in most parts of Australia, public transport is woeful and everyone relies on their cars. Partly because we don't have the same population density; we've got about 26 million people in a land mass not much smaller than the US. And that does affect churches, because it's harder to build a critical mass.

Yeah. Maybe Melbourne is good at public transport from what I have heard, but that's it. But here is the really sad thing. Christianity in the EU is falling apart as well, especially north of Italy. This decline might be a global thing.

 

[Paidiske]

Melbourne is good if you live in the inner suburbs. Beyond that... not so much.

But Anglicanism is booming in Africa. Everything has a life cycle...

 

[AlexB23]

Melbourne is good if you live in the inner suburbs. Beyond that... not so much.

But Anglicanism is booming in Africa. Everything has a life cycle...

Yeah, outer suburbs of cities are not fun to be in for me personally. Either give me a walkable city, or let me live in the country near a walkable city, not in a cookie cutter neighborhood in a sea of homes miles away from the nearest store or church. Yeah, Christianity as a whole is projected to boom in Africa.

 

[Shane R]

I've participated in more funerals than baptisms. I've never performed a wedding. I occasionally hear confession. I've taught confirmation class off and on. Lots of eucharists and a few morning prayers. Evensong in Advent and Lent.

I've gone to churches and had people ask me who I was (because they haven't been in 6-9 months). My thought is: I'm the priest, did you notice the uniform? Who are you?

Response: Oh, I've been a member here since 1989.

 

[Paidiske]

Those people who don't attend but still want to exercise ownership over the parish do. my. head. in.

 

[RileyG]

Are you asked many questions regarding theology or spirituality?

 

[Paidiske]

Sometimes. Most of my congregation are more mature in age, and they've already worked out a lot of their theology, but then sometimes I come along with what is (to them) a new idea or a new approach and get a lot of questions. I do get to have some involvement with the local Anglican school, and I really enjoy the conversations I have with the young folk there.

 

[RileyG]

Sometimes. Most of my congregation are more mature in age, and they've already worked out a lot of their theology, but then sometimes I come along with what is (to them) a new idea or a new approach and get a lot of questions. I do get to have some involvement with the local Anglican school, and I really enjoy the conversations I have with the young folk there.

How awesome!

Are there a lot of Anglican schools in Australia?

 

[Paidiske]

About 145 around the country, apparently. Nowhere near as big as the Catholic school system, but probably the next biggest group of schools with a denominational affiliation. This parish is the first time I've worked somewhere with an Anglican school in the parish, though, so I've really enjoyed the chance to take chapel services and be a part of the school community (and not just as a parent).

 

[RileyG]

About 145 around the country, apparently. Nowhere near as big as the Catholic school system, but probably the next biggest group of schools with a denominational affiliation. This parish is the first time I've worked somewhere with an Anglican school in the parish, though, so I've really enjoyed the chance to take chapel services and be a part of the school community (and not just as a parent).

How interesting!

 

[Shane R]

Are you asked many questions regarding theology or spirituality?

Not by the regulars. It's the enquirers who have those questions. Often the people who aren't sure if they want to be part of a church. Or people coming from a very confessional church environment.

 

[RileyG]

Did you study different theologies in seminary?

 

[Paidiske]

Yes. Not only were we expected to engage with the diversity of academic thought, but I had the enormous gift of studying at an ecumenical college. So we shared classes with students and lecturers from a pretty broad range of denominations. Mostly it worked (although for one subject - on ministry and sacraments - there was a very tightly negotiated agreement that it was team-taught by lecturers from three different denominations, to make sure those students heard the perspective of their own tradition!)