(Father Reagan - please forward this to your contacts on your address book).
       To all my brother clergy, and devout brothers and sisters in the 
Anglican laity:
I guess it is better for someone to think of Jesus as their "homeboy" than 
not think of Him at all.
I      t's a start. Though how one can go from Christ our Saviour who 
experienced the terrible passion, and rose from the dead, to Jesus our Homeboy is 
beyond me.
How can we adapt to pop culture in our minds, so that others can go from 
Jesus our Homeboy to Christ our Saviour, in their minds and hearts?
Maybe it shouldn't be beyond me. Maybe that is what our calling is. 
I must confess to a cultural "block" and not relating to the modern mindset 
and pop culture. Mossback classical Roman Catholic school and Protestant 
Seminary education, plus 74 years on this planet, I  guess.
       I think specifically of some of my children and grandchildren and my 
inability to communicate  to them that Jesus is Lord, in conversation, in 
addition to by example.
Yet I am able to do so for those other than my family members, whenever one 
has reached the pits, and is ready for a hand up -- or when one is at least 
nominally a Christian, to be able to make them a better one.
I have a feeling that this is not only my individual failing or shortcoming 
or whatever, but an experience common to many of us "seniors" who are 
traditional Anglicans; There is indeed a cultural gap existing  between practicing 
Prayer Book Anglican Chritians who are also, for example,  lovers of Bach; and the 
unchurched  who are lovers of the Beatles, just to cite one example of the 
culture. And don't even mention hard rock or rap, which is if not demonic, then 
incomprehensible to this superannuated WASP.
       Public school education has succeeded in squeezing God out of our 
American children's lives to the point that they don't know who He is or who Jesus 
was and what happened to Him and why.
Maybe Mel Gibson's picture is a good starting point, and parishes of UECNA 
would do well to have classes for inquirers advertised as follow-up to seeing 
"the Passion of The Christ"  so people can learn why Jesus is The Christ and not 
just a Jewish man called  Yeshua who has been surnamed Christ.
How do we bridge the cultural gap to express this and not lose our "place"?
The Rev. Dr. Peter Toon, of the Prayer Book Society, in a recent issue of 
"Forward Now" the Newsmagazine of Forward in Faith/North America deplores the 
"dumbing down" of our worship with the Book of Common Prayer, and high culture 
King James Bible in order to -- do what  -- reach our next door neighbors who no 
longer share our culture?  Or the kids in the "'hood"? Of course, he is 
English, with a Doctor of Philosophy from Oxford.
       I think one way is for us seniors, with the young who will share our 
American culture, is to continue to worship with the Book of Common Prayer and 
Authorized Version (or the old RSV in the Offices); and not hesitate to use a 
"dumbed down" version in Bible study and evangelism in order to communicate 
the basics of the saving Gospel of and about Jesus Christ to young people and 
others "out there".
I know that there is some Methodist material on the market (see Cokesbury) 
for Christian education; and evangelical Christian book stores are full of 
"Jesus stuff", but these appeal to kids already living their lives in evangelical, 
fundamentalist, or pentecostal church sommunities already.
       Those communites have set up a new "counter-culture" of their own, to 
include home schooling. They have, in effect, pulled their children out of 
contact with non-Christians or nominal Christians or Roman Catholic and mainline 
Protestant Church Christians on a regular basis into a spiritual "ghetto". 
Is this the answer?  Is this what we, on an adult and worshipping level, are 
doing also?
       And we and "fundies" don't talk to each other. We have more in common 
with Roman Catholics and Missouri Synod Lutherans than we have with 
fundamentalist and pentecostal Protestant Christians, whose cultural "lowness" we 
ignore, if not deplore.
       Meanwhile they are out there, making contact, with the unchurched, and 
bringing kids into mega-church communities, ignoring denominational "labels" 
(though creating new ones), and "growing" Christians. And churches.
What should be our response, on a parochial level to these challenges and 
opportunities for evangelism?
       One way is to train more lay persons in the faith, in Christian 
education, and evangelistic outreach in our own parishes. Then reach out, even in 
concert with other denominational activies, if we are too small.  Anglicans can 
relate both to Roman Catholic and Missouri Synod Lutheran neighbors, and 
perhaps join in some of their evangelistic activities, without giving up their own 
denominational identity.
But we need to do something! 
       Other than sit around wringing our hands and tut-tutting and playing 
the game "ain't it awful" in response to the idiocy and evil taking place in 
the church of our former persuasion, or other than "stealing sheep" from their 
local parishes.
       Think about it.
       In Christ
The Rev. Canon Owen J. Loftus, Jr., St. Jude the Apostle Church School 
====================================
DLReagan+

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