AUMBRY

A WORD spoken, a priest desires an object in the Sanctuary and a reaction follows. A number of our friends have sent written responses spelling out why an Aumbry has no place in the church. The following is the beginning of my response.

Reflecting on the readings for Good Friday I must come to this issue of the Aumbry from the prayer of Jesus for Unity among the Believers.

There can be the appearance of unity when all sit under a flag – called “Anglican” – and do not address any differences. We don’t ask so we don’t know. As I read the Gospels and reflect on the message of the whole Bible this is not the unity spoken of by Jesus. It is unity in the Truth and under the Holy Spirit. Is there a ‘climate’ of love here (in this parish church) for the discussion of difference? I suggest we must be assured of this before we as a community of faith can truly move forward.

The setting of an Aumbry in that part of the church called the Sanctuary is by symbol, declaring more than simply putting something in a place for practical reasons. Placement in an Anglican church has definite symbolic meaning.

Language also speaks more than the word used. “Priest” and “Minister”…“Lord's Table” and “Altar” …. “Lord’s Supper”, “Holy Communion”, “Eucharist” and “Mass” all define the person, the object and the event in very different ways.

The Anglican Church, despite King Henry V111, began as a Protestant Church specifically seeking to correct serious errors which had arisen in the Church of Rome. We are heirs of that protest and as Anglicans we have by way of the Book of Common Prayer and the 39 Articles of Faith sought to be faithful to Scripture in the expression of that faith once delivered to the Saints.

Where does an Aumbry fit into this setting? Does it fit with "Priest … Lord's Table … Lord’s Supper?" Aumbry certainly fits with "Priest .. Altar … Mass."

Aumbry is a location for the Reserved Sacrament. Reserving the Sacrament is specifically denied in the 39 Articles as it was associated with a view of the bread and wine held erroneously by the Church of Rome.

However there has always been a concern to include members of the congregation who, because of illness,are not able to attend the service. They were to be taken the Bread and Wine to include them in the gathering … as if the service was not concluded until they also had taken communion. The notion of community/gathering is an essential focus of the Communion service. We are not taking bread and wine as individuals we are sharing bread and wine as the New Community that is declaring to the world and each other that we are bound together by the sharing in this meal AND acknowledging that the death of Christ is the basis for that unity.

At Kenmore we do have an object called “Altar” but which many accept as “Table” for the sake of peace rather than perhaps the unity hoped for. As there is an expectation for those entering the ‘sanctuary’ to bow, the placing of an aumbry in that sanctuary would lend itself for some to consider the aumbry and its contents to have more significance than is appropriate.



My prayer is that as I send this to the Priest it could allow for more openness and willingness to address areas of real importance.

# There is a need to consider where "Sanctuary" is located in a building. Where is the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is within each baptised Christian then the Sanctuary is the whole building and NOT a particular section occupied by Cross, Altar, Priests.