Query about address

[storkrn]

Mark Mandel wrote:
>Only slightly apropos is the reverse shift of "Reverend". Back in the early Neolithic I learned that "Reverend" was not a
title on the order
of "Mr." or "Doctor" or "Professor", but an adjective like "Honorable",
so that the proper way to use it was "the Rev. Jane Smith" (okay, I'm
retrojecting a little there) or "the Rev. Dr./Mrs./Ms. Smith". "Rev.
Smith" was being specifically ruled out, but it's common today

My minister calls herself "Rev. Valerie" (that's her first name).

Beverly

As the daughter of the Reverend Jeanette McGlinchey Burton and the Reverend Richard Burton I can verify that the form of
address is a "hot potato" among the clergy. The denominal pastors disagree on whether or not to consider Rev. Smith a valid
form, though my mother always said she was only Reverend Mrs. Jeanette McGlinchey when addressing an envelope! The
non-denominational pastors have opted for "Pastor Smith" or "Pastor Valerie" to get past this issue.

Sharyn Hay  storknurse