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Report
9 March
23. Smug, arrogant, condescending,
pompous, shallow, supercilious. These
and other like adjectives all came to mind two sentences into the Anglican
Dean’s sermon. He was telling us that
George Bush had betrayed American and Christian values -- because someone who
had resigned from the administration had said so. Susie, no GWB-admirer, was having the same
reaction. “Shall we walk out?” she
asked. I, who am, but not wanting to
make a scene (no guts), said “No, let’s stick it out.” It’s of course no surprise that these sorts
of opinions are widely held in NZ and elsewhere. But, it was still upsetting, doubly so just
after scripture had been read saying only He knows what’s in a person’s
heart, etc. We declined to take
communion after the sermon because our hearts were not at all right for
it. Susie confronted the Dean after
the sermon; I tagged along. She said
she came to church looking for comfort, not politics. The Dean said he wasn’t being
anti-American; indeed many of his American acquaintances held similar
views. I asked if he had ever preached
on Saddam Hussein’s values. Nope. More was said, but it’s all a blur now, and
he sort of apologized for upsetting us. Susie’s
take: We chose this church for worship
today because of the locality, reputation and beauty of the cathedral knowing
that it was an Anglican Church and probably had more ritual than we
wanted. However, this of all Sundays I
felt the need as a Christian for comfort through the Word and being
surrounded by other Christians. Even
though I know the climate of NZ is making it a little uncomfortable for
Americans at this time, it seemed that a place of worship was the place to
be. Now, I can’t base EVERY place of
worship on what we heard this a.m., but I must say I was in tears early on
and wept openly as I talked to the Dean.
I just felt (in my heart) that as an American I had to tell him that I
was openly disappointed because I had come for the Word, Christians seeking
peace and not a political sermon. He
was a little taken aback and said that the sermon was meant to be reminding
us all of our heritage. I said that he
probably wouldn’t understand until someone flew an airplane into the Rob:
I’ve studiously avoided political discussions and situations here. Just teaching statistics, ma’am. So, I don’t want to get on a bandwagon now. But for this prelate, comfortable in his
rectory and circle of like-minded friends while presiding over a dying,
dwindling, increasingly irrelevant force in New Zealand life, to tell us he
has looked into George Bush’s heart and found it wanting was too much. Now, I don’t know Bush’s heart either, but
I think it is entirely possible that human freedom, dignity, and opportunity,
and the eradication of terror, rank high on his list of values. You can recognize and even respect that
even if you don’t agree with his methods and are not convinced of their
effectiveness. People
say you never feel more patriotic than when you’re out of the country. We’ve been asked by some of you what it
felt like to be an American here at this time. I haven’t really tried to articulate it, or
even think much about it. That’s
changed. Sad to say, in spite of
what’s in the papers and TV every day, this is the first time I wished I
wasn’t here. But, we’ll put this
behind us and continue to have a good and educational time. We’ve
had a busy and fun couple of weeks since our last report and will soon update
you on that. Just had to share our
feelings on this episode while it’s fresh in our minds. Be
of good cheer. Rob
and Susie |