The post involves her reaction to a statement, from a maker of coverings who is Protestant, regarding Roman Catholics. The post then goes on to provide a helpful list of some Roman Catholics who are fine makers of quality headcoverings. The author kindly, and generously, included us in the list.
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| By Nevit Dilmen [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons |
That is, making sure that my readers understand that we are Anglo-Catholic, rather than Roman Catholic...in case readers would wish to stop following the blog, or buying veils from us, on that basis. As I stated in my comment to this blog post (which I have copied for you later in this post):
While we love, respect, and honor Roman Catholicism, we do understand that there may be some Roman Catholic Christians who would not wish to have their veils made by non-Roman Catholic hands, and we want to respect and be sensitive to that.
I hope that readers will understand that I am putting this out there not because I want to differentiate myself from Catholicism. I am honored when I am, at times, mistaken for Catholic, and don't mind it one bit. However, I don't want to unintentionally mislead anyone who has missed our welcoming statements which make clear that we are Anglicans, and who may not want to read the blog, or wear our veils, on that basis.
As I stated in the blog post comment, we are very open to comments, criticisms, or suggestions as to how we might better serve our beloved Roman Catholic visitors (and Orthodox visitors also). We do not wish to offend our Catholic (or Orthodox) Christian sisters and brothers.
This whole post brings to mind a snippet from an anime that my daughter likes to watch, which depicts a character who represents England, sitting in a bar, rather inebriated. (Not that I advocate sitting in bars inebriated.) England (who is, of course, Anglican) is lamenting the complexities of the Anglican identity and whines:
"Am I Catholic or Protestant? I don't know!"
The Anglican / Anglo-Catholic readers of this blog will surely appreciate the humor, because we live it daily!I understand that there may be some of you who had not previously read my "Whom Are We?" statement on the sidebar, or our Welcome Message, and may find this information to be new, and wish to leave us. We hold no ill will toward you for it, and wish you well, dear friends. By the same token, there may be Protestant readers who are offended by this post. Anglicans tend to, unintentionally, do that: stand in the middle of the road and offend people on both sides, even though we didn't at all mean to! I just wish that we Christians would stop hurting one another, and am wounded when hurtful remarks are made from either side.
It is my most sincere prayer that the community which visits here will continue to come together, in the Spirit of Christian love and charity, to learn from, (or at least learn to appreciate and respect), one another's Christian traditions,...and stand together in mutual love and respect, as we, together, call Jesus Lord.
My comment on the blog post follows:
I am so honored and grateful to be included in this list. I am also offended and hurt by the statements of Protestants who fail to see the truth and richness to be found in ancient and historic Christianity. I often liken them to teenagers, who are just beginning to feel some small taste of their “adult oats”, but are still so very limited in their understanding and full of arrogance, that they become elitist in their ignorance.
In the interest of full disclosure though, I have to tell you and your readers that we are Anglo-Catholic, not Roman Catholic. I know that “Anglo-Catholic” is a term that offends some Roman Catholics, and I apologize, but I do not know how else to portray our Christian orientation accurately. We are Anglicans who fully embrace the historic practices and traditions of the Catholic church, and worship in the rich tradition of the church of England. As such, --while we embrace Mary and the Saints, recognize the Pope as being one of the Bishops that hold primacy, and engage in practices such as the praying of the rosary--,we are part of the Anglican Communion.
Because I know that we look very much like Catholics, whom we love and respect, I have included a couple of “welcome” statements in our blog:http://liturgicaltime.blogspot.com/, to try to make clear whom we are. I have done this, not because we wish to differentiate ourselves from Roman Catholicism, but only because I fear that there may be some Catholics who would not want their veils made by non-Catholic hands…and I want to be fair to their sensibilities. We consider ourselves to be “cousins” in the same Christian neighborhood with Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox….members of the same Christian family, yet living in different houses,…. but I understand, respect, and am sensitive to the fact that this is not the Roman Catholic position with regard to us.
If anyone has any suggestions, criticisms, or comments about how we might better serve our Roman Catholic visitors to the shop, we are very open to the input. We do not wish to mislead or offend our Catholic Christian sisters and brothers.
Thank you again for including us in this list. I affirm your reaction to the above statement. I will not be the least bit offended if you remove us from the post. I would, in the spirit of Christian charity, understand your position if you were to do so.
Pax Christi,
~Michelle @ Liturgical Time
~Michelle @ Liturgical Time
A related post from My Broken Fiat is here.
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I don't know any Catholics who would stop buying from you because you're not Catholic! As a Catholic woman, I am unconcerned with businesses religious affiliation, so long as they are respectful of my own. Garlands of Grace lost customers because they implied that Catholics do not have the means to salvation. Your respectful and kind post lacks all of the arrogance and ignorance that made hers sting!
ReplyDeleteI am with Martha on thinking few Catholics would have a problem buying from you. I in-fact go to an Anglican-Use Catholic Church. I think if I accidentally wandered into one of your services, I wouldn't really know the difference until you hit some of the slight differences (like at the consecration.)
ReplyDeleteWe, as women, are already faced with so much criticism for covering our heads. To hear a headcovering BUSINESS speak out against our Catholic faith was just a slap in the face.
ReplyDeleteI would hope no one would ever NOT buy from you simply because you're Anglican. You make beautiful products!
Thank you so much for your kindness with the post. The women above already expressed my sentiments. I love your blog and respect your faith all the more for the openness you have toward others, I would have no problem purchasing headcoverings from you!
ReplyDeleteI will be more than glad to buy my headcovering from you. I grew up Episcopalian. I grew into becoming Catholic at a later age. God Bless you and thank you.
ReplyDelete