David Kalvelage's statement about the Kuala Lumpur Statement [TLC, June 22] is dead on. His further explanation of the average Episcopalian's awareness of anything beyond the walls into which he finds his way, if he does indeed find his way there on a Sunday morning, has been my own reflection for many years. It's often painful to face the truth, but there it is.

On the other hand, anything that goes on beyond those Sunday morning walls has also been a mystery to me. Diocesan affairs might be a little familiar, but beyond that ...

I have often been mystified by the system of provinces in the Episcopal Church and have never understood what their function really is (it seems rather like one's appendix: It's there, but we really don't need it?). At least that has been my impression for many years. It's most likely because this element of church administration is so invisible to me as a layman. And, I might add, that local clergy have been responsible for allowing this condition to have developed over many years, and may even have fostered this attitude.

Richard F. Mullen

Brookline, Mass.