Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Let your "yes" mean yes...


I found this on the wonderfully curmudgeonly blog Fr Mildew
Have you noticed the increasing use of meaningless Jargon words in church documents produced by various committees and even by Bishops ? Here are a few examples from the Summary of Deanery Clergy Conversations in the process of "Towards a vision for the Diocese" for the Diocese of Southwark. You could even start with the use of the word "Vision" here rather than the clearer word "Plan"
The Word "COMMUNION" is used in varying senses today. Sometimes the documents break into the ~Greek word "Koinonia" (Another dreadful example of Greek instead of English is the word "Mystagogia"...I dont know what this means myself.
"Community is community in Action"
"Koinonia is both vision and process"
"Real Life" Preaching must connect to real life !!
"Empowering" Allowing and empowering the laity. (to do what ??)
"Engaging with" Engaging with young people. (What on earth is that )
"Dimension" "Urban/Rural dimension is a challenge in the diocese.
"Reaching out" ie in Mission, or to People. How do you "reach out" ??
"People on the Edges" ...opportunities for meeting people on the edges and beyond.
"Inclusion or Inclusive" Inclusion is vital for community and mission.
Celebrate diversity and be inclusive.
I hope to include a few more in the next post which will of course give you a fresh dimension
in your faith process. Why not comment and send a few more ?


I can't help feeling that for an organisation that is meant to communicate, the Church above all, is riddled with "in" language, maybe not as much as government, but then governments want to be obscure.

5 comments:

Physiocrat said...

"Mystagogia"...I dont know what this means myself.
A mystagogue is a synagogue without a sign outside to say what it is.

"Community is community in Action"
That is one of those action art events.

"Koinonia is both vision and process"
Best to go to an optician.

"Real Life" Preaching must connect to real life !!
As opposed to virtual or Second Life.

"Empowering" Allowing and empowering the laity. (to do what ??)
Mains or battery?

"Engaging with" Engaging with young people. (What on earth is that )
Something that happens to couples in love, telephones and toilets.

"Dimension" "Urban/Rural dimension is a challenge in the diocese.
Is a term in physics - a vector. According to Einstein there are four, three spatial plus time. But modern cosmologists have postulated that there are up to eleven of them.

"Reaching out" ie in Mission, or to People. How do you "reach out" ??
Grasping for money?

"People on the Edges" ...opportunities for meeting people on the edges and beyond.
Suburban folk.

"Inclusion or Inclusive" Inclusion is vital for community and mission.
A geological term eg when one type of rock is embedded in another.

Celebrate diversity and be inclusive.
Short, tall, fat and thin, but one size fits all.

What a load of twaddle. Why do these people take themselves so seriously? Haven't they got a sense of humour, or of the ridiculous. Put it in the round waste paper basket.

Anonymous said...

Great post...i just hate all these 'meaningless' words.

Cathy said...

I don't know about the UK, but here in the States, it's become vogue for newscasters to say something "impacted" something else.

"Slumping consumer confidence is impacting the stock market..."

"This low pressure system will impact the New England region..."

We've totally lost the lovely and perfectly useful word "affect."

Oh, and there are "rain events" and storms that cause "moisture" also.

And ALL celebrities must get paid a dollar every time they use the phrase "sort of."

"It was a sort of rainy day when I stole that woman's husband...."

"There was this sort of self-indulgent atmosphere at the Oscars.

STOOOOPPPPP!!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing that!
I feel your frustration.

Guess it is all about being Church, being diocese and being parish.

Sisters and brothers, let us resolve to drop definite article whenever possible!

Gosh the tosh that emanates from the desks of bishops, diocesan curia departments, Eccleston Square and the like makes me want to do one thing - shred it!

Dr. Peter H. Wright said...

Well, many thanks to Henry for the translations.

As far as I can make out, mystagogia is the process of intitation into the Eleusinian mysteries.

I'm not sure what it's got to do with Catholicism.

I think Henry's final comment sums it up perfectly :
"A load of twaddle".

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