Should these windows be British racing green forever?

I puzzled over the lack of chimneys. In the absence of the internet (it was 2003 and internet cafes were few and far between) and not being fluent in French or Malagasy, I could only ponder until I met some Canadian missionaries in Fianarantsoa. By strange coincidence, they were good friends of my friend Heather who lives in Jasper, Alberta but that’s another story. “Why do Malagasy houses lack chimneys?” I asked.

“Good question,” the woman said. “We’ve been trying to persuade people to install chimneys because they have horrible lung diseases through inhaling smoke from dirty coal. However, people just won’t put chimneys in because the ancestors won’t let them."

“The ancestors won’t let them?” I said. “The ancestors are dead!” In Madagascar you attain the status of ‘ancestor’ once you die. Then you get to live in a concrete block tomb as a cloth-wrapped bag of bones for the rest of eternity, or as long as concrete blocks last.

“Every significant change to custom requires questioning the ancestors. When people ask whether they can have chimneys, the ancestors say, ‘We didn’t have chimneys so we see no reason for you to have chimneys either.’"

“Wow," I said. It’s hard to challenge the opinions of dead people.

It’s also hard to challenge the opinions of live people. In our townhouse block, someone recently asked the committee whether they could replace their single glazed windows with double glazed windows in a different style. The complex was built 30 years ago; the windows have muntins dividing them into little pieces and are English racing green in colour. I dislike muntins – why would anyone willingly break up a nice piece of see-through glass with little criss-crosses? Muntins were created when big pieces of glass were expensive to make. Over time, they became seen as attractive, in fact they are considered essential to 19th century European architecture. However, our complex is not from the 19th century.

The formal committee response was that neither the colour of the windows nor the presence of muntins can be changed because it will alter the ‘architectural integrity’ of the building. As a committee member, I argued we should at least question the owners at large, because every person who installs new windows will become another advocate against change given they’ll have spent a lot of money on windows they don’t want to replace for thirty years.  The committee chair told me it would be too expensive for people to change windows now. I suggested immediate cost issues could be alleviated by giving owners a timeframe over which to make the change (5 years?, 10 years?); this idea was ignored. There’s never going to be a cheaper time to replace windows and doors…I guess we are stuck with our muntinned green windows forever. The only good thing about no replacements is I painstakingly painted every little muntin white on the inside because English racing green did not go with our furniture, or the white windowsills and architraves.

Moving on from window colour to the rather more significant news about of Catholic deacons: yesterday the Vatican News announced, “The Petrocchi Commission says no to female diaconate, though judgment not definitive.” The previous Pope set a commission in motion to consider whether women can be deacons in the Catholic church and it said no, based on  historical research and theological investigational (though it was noted more research is required for a definitive judgment).

The Vatican report summarised arguments for and against female deacons. Supporters argue the Catholic and Orthodox tradition of reserving diaconal ordination (as well as priestly and episcopal ordination) for men appears to contradict “...the equal condition of male and female as the image of God,” “...the equal dignity of both genders, based on this biblical reference,” the profession of faith that “...there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, for you are all ‘one’ in Christ Jesus,” (Galatians 3:28), and social developments “...which promote equal access for both genders to all institutional and operative functions.”

The opposing side considers: “The masculinity of Christ, and therefore the masculinity of those who receive Holy Orders, is not accidental but is an integral part of sacramental identity, preserving the divine order of salvation in Christ. To alter this reality would not be a simple adjustment of ministry but a rupture of the nuptial meaning of salvation.”

Only twenty-two people, from a small number of countries, submitted on the debate. The Commission examined all the material received but decided the lack of representation meant these opinions could not be considered the voice of the Synod, and much less of the People of God as a whole. The Commission has expressed the hope that “...women’s access to ministries instituted for the service of the community might be expanded.” Excellent, women can continue doing good for the community without formal recognition; nothing new there.

The basic problem of female deacons appears to be, if women are ordained as deacons and deacons are considered part of the priesthood (as opposed to only for ministry), logic says women would have to be accepted in all priestly roles throughout the Church: that’s a lot of steps too far for the Catholic church. So out of the pale the opposition proposes women deacons could impede people going to heaven. That would indeed be a big deal, if you believed in heaven and hell.

Airports, chimneys, windows, deacons, science systems…is change good? Or not? It might depend which side of the window you’re on.