I am writing to express my concern at the announcement that in future the magazine will not be published in January or August. My reasons are twofold.
While most Forward in Faith members will have lots of contact and no doubt mutual encouragement from fellow members in the larger cities, this is certainly not the case in the smaller towns and rural areas of the UK, where the monthly arrival of New Directions is a vital lifeline – indeed, often the only contact with orthodox Anglican belief and practice which a member of Forward in Faith will have. In the diocese where I reside there are, to the best of my knowledge, no priests in post who are orthodox in belief and practice, and the Scottish Episcopal Church makes no provision at all for traditionalist believers, whether clerical or lay. In fact, most traditionalist believers up here are not made to feel welcome in their parish churches. New Directions is therefore a vital link.
Secondly, while peace for the most part appears to have broken out in England, the future of traditional orthodox belief and practice for future generations has still to be secured. Monthly copies of New Directions being sent to each English diocesan bishop is a constant reminder of our existence, and is an integral part of the process of building an Anglo-Catholic future. It should not be jeopardised in any way. Indeed, we should be taking every opportunity to spread the word that Forward in Faith is here to support traditionalist Anglicans.
In conclusion, I can only urge all fellow members of Forward in Faith to go out of their way to recruit new members, as this will, in time, I trust, remove the financial deficit and permit New Directions to appear in every month once again.
Ian M. Miller
Galashiels, Selkirkshire