As one who is both an Anglican and a Calvinist, I must take exception to Michael Richerson's letter [TLC, Nov. 8]. I grew up in the Presbyterian Church, and in my teens and early 20s was a member of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. While attending graduate school at the University of Virginia, I went to an organ concert at St. Paul's Church, across the street from the university. As I listened to the concert, I picked up the Book of Common Prayer. (This was in 1969, so it was the 1928 BCP.) I read the services of Morning Prayer and Holy Communion, and the Thirty-Nine Articles. As I read, I said to myself, "Why, this is what I believe!" Most scholars will say that the Thirty-Nine Articles are a moderate Reformed document. Furthermore, the articles were intended to be a statement of faith, setting limits to what may be believed by faithful Christians.

I was confirmed, and then some six years later ordained, although I had not been seeking ordained ministry when I was confirmed. Although I was challenged on my convictions in seminary and by the commission on ministry, I was never told to abandon the faith of my upbringing, and I never have. Indeed, my ministry has confirmed to me both the truth and the usefulness of Reformed theology.

It is not an easy thing to be a Calvinist in a church where many are ignorant of their Reformed heritage, and others seek to ignore it. There are certainly other expressions of the Christian faith which, for a variety of reasons, have fed into the "stream" of Anglicanism. Nevertheless, Anglicanism and the Reformed faith are not incompatible. If they were, then the churches of North and South India would not be part of the Anglican Communion, for they resulted from a union of Anglican and Presbyterian ministries. Nor would we be able to enjoy the works of the Rev. J.I. Packer, theologian and author of Knowing God, nor the many works of the Rev. John R.W. Stott, noted Bible expositor and long-time rector of All Souls' parish in London. There are many other faithful pastors and teachers in the Anglican Communion, past and present, who would own the title of "Calvinist"; space forbids me to list them.

Mr. Richerson may not like the presence of Calvinists in the Anglican Communion, but Calvinists have been part of the Communion since the Church of England began, and we are still part of it.

(The Rev.) Charles F. Sutton, Jr. Trinity Church Whitinsville, Mass.