Christ Church Cathedral in the Diocese of Montreal has developed porous edges. I had to curb my rejoicing at the news that the Cathedral is taking on water and will soon be a fitting metaphor for the church to which it belongs – a decrepit heap of rubble – because that’s not what having porous edges means in Anglican-speak.
The astute Rev. Rhonda Waters has concluded that up until now, people didn’t come to church because they couldn’t find the door; hence the attraction of a church with porous edges – we can all ooze through the walls.
To make this even more enticing, the Cathedral recently screened a musical documentary about “a transgender indie singer who grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home on the Canadian prairie.” It’s called My Prairie Home; other, less pastorally sensitive authors than I might have yielded to the temptation to replace the trailing “e” with a different vowel.
From here (page 3):
People are no longer familiar with churches and what goes on in them, quite the opposite in fact. As a result,we need to create edges that allow people to peek inside, to slip in and out at their own pace, to test our spaces and our communities without an invitation and without a commitment.
[….]
My Prairie Home, a porous-edge event designed not only to create an opportunity for people to check us out but maybe to surprise them as well. My Prairie Home is a musical documentary about Rae Spoon, a transgender indie singer who grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home on the Canadian prairie.
At this point this might as well be your job, David. You’re not actually saying anything anymore. You’ve transformed into an erudite Rush Limbaugh with a theological bent.
I do wish you’d show up at Christ Church, though. You’d enjoy the music program, if nothing else.
Now Rhonda Waters is an _Anglican_ priest in _Québec_, which is also somewhat significant here. Getting French speakers to cross the threshold of an Anglican church is a very specific challenge. Rhonda’s the kind of energetic priest who goes out and does things. With a smile. That’s like a smirk, but honest.
Sorry, I don’t understand. What is an ‘indie singer’? Transgender I know of. And I don’t understand the ‘porous edge’ thing. Would somebody enlighten me?