Letter of the Day - Praying for Parliament

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I WRITE in response to a letter written by Rev. Ernle P. Gordon 'On Composing a Prayer for Parliament' appearing in the May 19 edition of The Gleaner. The goodly Reverend starts off with lavish praise for his hero, Prime Minister Patterson, likening him to a prophet. Who else did that and gave cartoonists in Jamaica a great idea? None other than our own Governor-General. Wrong move Rev, you're setting up your hero for more ridicule.

I have a few questions for the Rev. First and foremost, if he felt so uncomfortable saying the prayers at the opening of Parliament last year, then surely as a 'Man of the cloth' he should clearly have declined the assignment. The fact that he actually spoke those prayers, out loud yet, reeks of hypocrisy.

Secondly, since anything else he has ever written is always loaded with anti-English/European sentiment, can I humbly ask him what he's doing in the Anglican Church in the first place? Is it not another name for the Church of England, founded by good, old Henry VIII when he got booted out of Rome for being a bit of a ladies man, to put it mildly?

If the new book of prayer for Anglicans in the Caribbean has omitted the prayers for the Queen, why not take out the name 'Anglican' altogether? What's the point of retaining it bearing in mind the Queen still heads up the Anglican Church as Defender of The Faith, etc. A bit like the Catholics leaving out prayers for the Pope! Forgive me if I find this all a touch nonsensical.

Take the Queen out or leave her in; why don't they just get on with it one way or the other? Anybody would think she's sitting in Buckingham Palace frantically wondering whether she'll remain the Head of State in a tiny island nation or not. When are the likes of Ernle Gordon et al ever going to join the real world?

I am, etc.,

CLAIRE WILD

Stony Hill P.O.

Kingston 9

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