New Church Life May/Jun 2014 | Page 18

n e w c h u r c h l i f e : m ay / j u n e 2 0 1 4 Heinrichs says. But that effort might better be applied to the way folks in the New Church are taught to view the Old Church. Rob Earle Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania Getting it Backwards? To The Editors: When sermons were sent to the isolated, I remember asking the Rev. Karl R. Alden, why did the typist change the format by putting the sermon first, followed by the passages from the Word, and then from the Writings? He said the typist found it easier. This annoyed me as a new member and student of the Academy. When preached, the Word is quoted first, then the Writings, and the sermon last. For some 60 years this lapse of judgment has prevailed. I wonder how many other traditions of the Church are followed blindly because someone “found it easier?” I understand the sermons no longer are mailed out because they are now on the Internet. I wonder, is this “lapse of judgment” followed there, too? If a person who looks to the sermons as a bridge to the Church has to read the end first and then go back to the sermon, it is counter- productive. I am one of the few who has no computer so I’m “left out in the cold” by the decision to stop sending the sermons. I would, however, like to thank those who sent them all those 50 or so years. We isolated appreciated the Christmas Crèche sent to isolated families as well – now stopped also, I understand. This was a central point of our childhood at Christmas time, and was carefully packed up for use each year. This program was so special to our isolated children. Loraine (Lemky) Noakes Orofino, Idaho 226