Infinity of Little Hours

I am reading an interesting book entitled An Infinity of Little Hours: Five Young Men and Their Trial of Faith in the World's Most Austere Religious Order. It is the true story of five men and their life and experiences in the English Carthusian charterhouse of Parkminster in the early 60's. It was recommended by a friend, who had also recommended it to a mutual friend of ours who is soon going to be testing his vocation with the traditionalist RC Benedictines in Oklahoma. (A curious recommendation since the Benedictine life is very, very different from the Carthusian life, as anyone who knows or has read anything about monasticism will tell you.) It is a good book and fun to read, and I have not found it to be in anyway negative towards the Church or the monastic life of the Carthusians. It is quite simply a portrait of these five men.

In reading a book like this it is sometimes tempting to wonder why anyone would want to devote his or her life to such a vocation when it seems so unnatural and austere - especially with an order like the Carthusians. But we simply cannot always probe and grasp someone else's vocation or God-given spirituality. God calls different people to different types of jobs in life, and gives people different spiritual compositions, so one can't (in most cases) say, "That vocation is stupid. The way you mortify the flesh is worthless. Your Lenten discipline is not good enough." I get so sick and tired of hearing idiotic nonsense like that... mumbo jumbo that suggests that everyone is the same, and God speaks to everyone in exactly the same way all the time, and deals with everyone the same. What a bunch of nonsense. But I guess we're all guilty of thinking that way about others from time to time. I know I am.

If a person feels a call from God to test a vocation to the religious life, or to some other task - such as being a missionary - he MUST obey that call and test the vocation, and everyone else around him just has to accept it, even if it doesn't make much sense at first. The life of a continuing Anglican priest is an utterly meaningless vocation, and a waste of time and talent, to a lot of outsiders, and to those who do not have the calling. Yet it is my vocation, and the way that God has called me to work out my salvation. The same is true for those in the religious life.

Blue Christmas

No, I am not talking about "blue" vestments used in some churches in Advent, but Christmas services here at St. Francis. The turnout, even though it was higher than last year (thanks be to God!), was lower than I had hoped - especially in the wake of much advertising and two big newspaper articles. That goes to show that newspaper articles do very little to help churches like us. There is just too much other stuff in the news, etc. for an article or two - even if big - to translate into visitors.

Looking at the parish register, I think that a major part of the problem is that back in 2000 the church changed the time of the Christmas Eve service from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. 6:00 is the worst time for ANY evening church service no matter WHAT time of year it is. Dinner, work, and the commute always trumps church! Next year the service will be later. Plus, I think people prefer to go to late services on Christmas Eve anyway, and ours would be too early even if no one was doing anything that night.

Otherwise it was an okay service. We actually had some good music, amazingly enough, thanks to the organist from a nearby Episcopal parish filling in for us. And it was GREAT to spend the night with our beloved parishioners (sans the college students, who are all away for the holiday).

Another Newspaper Article

The Roanoke Times ran a story today called "Pastors Reflect on the Meaning of the Season" for which I was interviewed. The cool, but also funny, thing is that I made the front page of the print edition of the magazine - for the second time in one month! The readers may think that the parish owns the newspaper after seeing me twice in so prominent a place in such a short time.

They interviewed several ministers from different churches and traditions, and took shots of several of them, but only me and the baptist minister made it in! He is on the front page of the e-version.

This is all great publicity for the parish! Thanks be to God!

Avery Cardinal Dulles, RIP

One of my favorite theologians, Avery Cardinal Dulles, died recently. The LA Times had a pretty good obituary on him. In seminary some of my classmates referred to him as Avery "Dullest" because his books were so heady, and we had to read a lot of them, as well as a lot of his articles. But I always though he was really exciting to read! All of his writings had a profound impact on me, but especially his books: The Craft of Theology; Models of the Church; and Models of Revelation. The last one was so profound and enjoyable to me that I actually had him autograph it when he came to Baltimore preach and celebrate the Eucharist at St. Ignatius Church downtown... he seemed to think it strange that he was being asked to autograph such a book! They are all great books and should be read by all seminarians... especially your more rigid, fundamentalist types. (Roman, Anglican, or otherwise)

Avery Dulles' books were so balanced, polished, and professional. He never talked down about Protestants, Orthodox, or Roman Catholics that he didn't agree with. In fact, he always treated their traditions, beliefs, and positions with utmost respect and dignity. He had the peculiar ability to see the best in people and positions that even he didn't fundamentally agree with. And he was able to look critically at his own Church and tradition. Needless to say, many of those qualities are sorely lacking in your average "convert" to Roman Catholicism today. Because of his faithfulness to the Roman Church and the papacy he was given the red hat back in 2001. He will be greatly missed.

"Rest eternal grant unto him, and let light perpetual shine upon him. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercies of God rest in peace."

Blast from the past

This is a picture from my confirmation in 1997 at St. Stephen's Church in Timonium, MD. Left to right is the Rev. Guy P. Hawtin, rector; me; the Rt. Rev. John T. Cahoon, Jr., bishop; and the Rev. Chandler H. Jones, curate.

Preaching

I find that I get the best reaction to sermons that have some practical instruction in them. "Try doing this. Think of these three things. This week, when something happens - try to react this way." Etc.

(Not that one preaches simply to get a "good reaction", or compliments afterwards, but those reactions often indicate that somehow something I said (or even didn't say) "connected" with the person.)

Most rank-in-file parishioners are very pragmatic, and they want to see how the faith, and that particular Sunday service, "relates" to every day life. They enjoy having a "homework assignment" of sorts... a definite "charge". I find they get bored with too much pure doctrine and theology. It ends up being a waste of time on my part to craft a sermon that is fit for a Medieval disputation, and a waste of time on their part to sit through it because they can't follow it most of the time. Plus it can take away from the centrality of the Holy Eucharist. The sermon is supposed to support and point to the mass - not utterly usurp it, and be so long and boring that people do not pay attention for the rest of the service.

Still, the preacher must expound on the faith and teach the teaching of the Church. The great error of liberal religion is that it is "atheological" and "adoctrinal", which is why so many of the mainline churches have fallen into such damnable heresy. He must simply beware that if he gets to "heady" he will lose the people and not be doing them any service (though he will be doing himself a great service by stroking and showing off his massive ego).

The preacher must also beware of speaking in too many vagaries: i.e. speaking so ambiguously and in such generalities that he ends up saying nothing at all, or so that his words can be interpreted in any way under the sun. I would categorize broad phrases like "put God first in your life" this way. True, we want people to think about the sermon and engage it critically, spiritually, and in other ways, but we also have to provide some order and direction for their thinking.

Detailed exposition on dogma, doctrine, and theology is better suited for Sunday school classes and church study groups. For sermons it is best to have one or two strong theological points to show forth and explain, and to try to give parishioners some practical way to apply that doctrine, or way to think about it during the week in relation to their larger spiritual life.

If we simply teach rote dogma and doctrine, and do not teach people how to live a spiritual life, and practice their spirituality, then we have failed.

New North American Anglican Province

Reading the reports on the new north American Anglican province has been very interesting, but has left me with a number of questions:

1) What does the new province hope to gain since they would still be in communion with TEC and the other heretical provinces in the Anglican communion by virtue of being (or trying to be) recognized by the ABC as a new province? If they are in communion with the ABC, then they are in communion with TEC - they are "kissing cousins." That is how Catholic ecclesiology works.

2) I thought that some of the U.S. dioceses (such as Fort Worth) were now under Venables. But now I read that they are in the new North American province. Which is it?

3) What about the differences over WO and liturgy? How is having zero common theology and zero common prayer supposed to add up to anything substantial, and how is that supposed to be a return to classical Anglicanism?

All in all, like the contemporary Anglican Communion in general, the creation of this new province seems to generate more questions than answers.

Thank you, St. Joseph!

My wife and I buried this St. Joseph statue in the front yard of the house in Florida and did the novena to help get our house sold a few months back so we could move to Virginia. What happened? Well, in the midst of the Florida housing slump, in a little, dare I say "crappy" starter house that are a dime a dozen, we sold our house in a mere two months for the full asking price, in cash, without an inspection! In addition to this, during that two month period we had about two weeks when our house was without representation and in real estate limbo because our agents were switching companies. That, my friends, is divine intervention! St. Joseph really interceded for us... as did St. Jude, I suppose (sometimes these guys work in tandem I've determined).**

My former boss, the rector of all Vero Beach, Fr. Ward, was gracious enough to dig up the statue and mail it to me so I could, as the the tradition demands, put in a place of honor in our new home (the vicarage of St. Francis)! So here he is. Thank you, St. Joseph!

** Oh, and I guess I should also mention that we had the area's top real estate agents and real estate attorneys working for us as well! That helps a lot too!

Who is the best bishop of all?

Here is a thought-provoking quote from Bp. Latimer:

"And now I would ask you a strange question. Who is the most diligent bishop and prelate in all England, that passes all the rest in doing his office? I can tell, for I know who it is. I know him well. But now I think I see you listening and hearkening that I should name him. There is one that passes all the other and is the most diligent prelate and preacher in all England. And will you know who it is? I will tell you. It is the devil.” He is the most diligent preacher of all others. He is never out of his diocese. He is never from his cure. You shall never find him unoccupied. He is ever in his parish. He keeps residence at all times. You shall never find him out of the way. & call for him when you will, he is ever at home. He is the most diligent preacher in all the realm. He is ever at his plow. No lording nor loitering can hinder him. He is ever applying his business. You shall never find him idle, I warn you. Where the devil is resident and has his plow going, there away with books and up with candles, away with Bibles and up with beads, away with the light of the gospel and up with the light of candles, yea, at noon day, up with man's traditions and his laws, down with God's traditions and His most holy word. Oh that our preachers would be as diligent to sow the corn of good doctrine, as Satan is to sow darnel or cares. There was never such a preacher in England as he. The prelates and preachers are lords and not laborers, but the devil is diligent at his plow. He is no unpreaching prelate. He is no lordly loiterer, but a busy plowman. Therefore, you unpreaching prelates, learn of the devil to be diligent in doing of your office. If you will not learn from God nor good men to be diligent in your office, learn from the devil."

Article in the Roanoke Times

Here is an article that the Roanoke Times did on St. Francis Anglican Church and my arrival. In the print edition the article is entitled "Renaissance Man of the Cloth". That's kind of snappy sounding!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

JGA+

"Kneeling"

I can always tell when I am at the altar whether or not people in the pews are really kneeling. If they are sort of slouched over and leaning forward a lot I know that they probably have their butt resting on the pew. Some people, of course, just refuse to kneel in church - it is easy to pick them out. They either can't or don't want to. But no matter who does what in that regard, I never get on anyone's case about it. Why? Because I think we have way too much kneeling in our services. I sympathize with most of these people. Plus, I refuse to play "liturgy police" with folk, and brow-beat parishioners into doing my bidding.

Excessive kneeling is the worst thing about continuing Anglicanism. I remember that I couldn't wait to be ordained in part because I got so sick of kneeling during the service. The idea that kneeling helps put one into an attitude of prayer... well, that may be true for some people but I have yet to meet anyone who that actually works for. Too much kneeling makes your knees and back hurt, and when you are in physical pain that is more distracting than helpful in worship. Plus, the constant "up and down, up and down, up and down" of the old Prayer Book service is confusing and just plain bothersome. The part where it is silliest is at the end of the mass. After everyone has taken communion, they sit. Then they kneel for the "Prayer of Thanksgiving"; then they stand for the "Gloria" (having the Gloria at the end of the mass is a whole different issue); and then they kneel again for the blessing. Then they stand for the recessional, and then (in some places) they kneel while the candles are extinguished. And on and on. It is really just too much. Besides the fact that it is painful, annoying, and confusing, kneeling was not the posture of ancient worship. People worshiped mostly standing.

The Roman Church did it right in their Novus Ordo where they have everyone stand for the mass except for the readings, where they sit, and the Canon of the Mass, where they kneel. That is what we need to do. I think that we do indeed do certain things better than the Romans, though. For instance, kneeling to receive the Body and Blood of Christ is non-negotiable; the ad orientum celebration of the rite; no girl "altar boys", etc. That is the sort of stuff that is great about our tradition. It is a very manly and solemn tradition. But kneeling as much as we do is over the top in my opinion. It has been my experience that it actually drives some people away from our parishes. At some point we need to ask ourselves what parts of our tradition limit our effectiveness and growth and should be done away with.

"Philosophy - is talk on cereal box..."

What is the best background to have before starting theological studies? Philosophy, without a doubt. After that I think it would be classics (because of the emphasis on Greek and Latin). Like many of my interests my philosophical background is spotty and unconventional. I took a couple of philosophy classes in college, and had to take several courses in seminary. Several good friends who studied more philosophy also helped provide something of an education in that area. Now I enjoy reading philosophy perhaps even more than theology. Overall, I find that it constantly helps me address certain questions that arise in various contexts - such as in classes at church.

My main interest for the past year or so has been Thomism. I have read a couple of books on St. Thomas, as well as some surveys. The surveys have been especially helpful because they situate St. Thomas in the larger context of Medieval philosophy, which helps you see the arguments on a broader level, and realize that the Angelic Doctor is not the last word on every subject. It is tempting, when a question in a class arises, to simply quote St. Thomas. But it is not accurate to suggest that his theory on a particular subject is the official teaching of the Church, which can happen if you are not careful! I learned my lesson on this when doing a class on angels at St. Mark's (very successful, by the way - that is a good topic to do a class on at church... people are fascinated by that subject). I said, following Thomas, that angels are not a species. Each angel is its own species because they are immaterial, and matter is the principle of individuation according to St. Thomas. But I later learned, in reading a book on Medieval philosophy that the Franciscan school (Bonaventure and Duns Scotus especially) did not hold to that idea. Angels were in different species (at least in Bonaventure... I am still studying Scotus). Not that anyone really cared... but it is a matter of integrity and accuracy!

Anyway, all of that is to say that one cannot nor should not pass off, either on purpose or by accident (no pun intended), certain philosophical theories on what are ultimately speculative matters as "church teaching". Still, being able to present a certain philosopher's explanation as a plausible one to consider on some subject (such as the where evil comes from) is helpful. Thus a priest should be conversant in philosophy.

Random Reflections on the Daily Office

One of the aspects of the my 1928 BCP and "continuing" Anglican formation for which I constantly give thanks is the strong emphasis that was placed on reading the daily offices of Morning and Evening Prayer. These offices contain thousands of years of prayer: going from the Hebrews all the way down to the contemporary Church. When one prays the offices, instead of he grasping them and their spirit, the opposite is true - they grasp us. And they fold us into this great tradition prayer from the people of God, which, like a river, carries us down stream towards the new heavens and new earth, and our eternal home. In times of spiritual aridity, being in that stream keeps us alive and moving in the right direction.

I am convinced that it takes several years to really even begin to learn to pray and meditate on the divine office. Those who have been especially important to me in terms of learning to become a priest (CHJ+, RU+, MLW+, RD+, CM+, among others) have all emphasized the great importance of praying the Divine Office. It is interesting to note that when the English Church was at one of its lowest periods spiritually speaking (during the Age of Reason), the daily, public recitation of the offices corresponding declined... though, granted, there was also major clergy shortage during this period. I think the renewal of classical Anglicanism, and continuing Anglicanism, is going to come out of the Prayer Book and especially the regular, consistent use of the daily offices by both clergy and laity as Cranmer envisioned. If prayer (specifically "common" prayer) is not the ground and foundation of all that we do, then any edifice that we try to construct, no matter how good our intentions, will come crumbling down.

Experience and common sense has taught me that, besides the mass, the offices are what make a person truly Anglican. Many people whom I have known who've left the Anglican fold have not been grounded in any way in the daily offices, or even the Prayer Book for that matter, even though they may have attended a "traditionalist" TEC parish. I remember years ago one such person telling me that he was going to begin reading Morning and Evening Prayer.... this after he had been a pretty devout traditionalist Anglican for several years. But it is hard to leave the Church for supposedly greener pastures when you are doing what the Church is supposed to be doing. Because when you do that, the pastures here stay continually green and lush.

Perhaps one of the unintended results of the liturgical movement in the Anglican world was marginalization of the offices. While it is good that the centrality of the Eucharist was affirmed by this movement, to set the two services against each other is a perversion of Cranmer's spirit. The great wisdom of Cranmer in revising the breviary to make Morning and Evening Prayer was eventually seen by the Roman Church, which revised her breviary in a similar manner after Vatican II, creating an option for "Morning and Evening Prayer" in the Liturgy of the Hours. On the heals of this came the recommendation that Roman laity pray the Liturgy of the Hours, joining in with their clergy. In Baltimore, where I used to live, there were several Roman parishes that had groups that met to pray their divine office.

Organization Matters

This is the sort of stuff that we "original" continuing Anglicans should have done a long time ago. If we had we might actually be somewhere today!

Conjugal Love Requires an Heroic Spirit

One of the books I have been reviewing for use in marriage prep is Von Hildebrand's "Marriage: The Mystery of Faithful Love." There is one section which I thought was the best of the whole book, so I am going to quote it at length here:

"Certainly this decision involves a great risk; and when the choice of a spouse happens to be based on an illusion, the indissolubleness of marriage may prove a great cross for one or both consorts. But it lies in the nature of conjugal love to be bold, heroic, not to shrink back from taking risk. All great things on earth are connected with risk. Without risk, human life - in statu viae - would be deprived of all grandeur and heroism. Do not religious vows imply a similar risk? If the vocation proves itself an illusion, the religious state can become a heavy cross, a burden hard to bear. Yet an heroic love of God is willing to take such a risk, even desires to take it.

Marriage is not a bourgeois affair, a kind of insurance for happiness, providing a way of escape from every eventual cross. Does not love as such carry with it a great risk of suffering? In attaching our hearts to a person, do we not run the risk of enduring terrible sufferings, through misfortunes that may happen to our beloved or separation from her when she dies? Should we then abstain from love in order to prevent the possibility of great sorrow?

He whose life is dominated by the intention of avoiding any possible cross excludes everything that gives human life grandeur and depth. He will never know real abandon - never know real, deep happiness. Remaining in a mediocre self-centeredness, he will never be able to do aanything without a certain reserve; he will always provide for a possibility of retreat.

All life is overshadowed by death: "Media in vita mortis sumus." We must never forget that we do not live in Paradise, but that as a consequence of the Fall of man, we live in a world which is permeated by a deeply tragic element, where happiness is necessarily wrapped up with tribulation.

The redemption of the world by our Lord has not suspended disharmony and banished suffering, although He gave a new meaning to suffering by making it a means of penance and sacrifice. he transfigured it by the Holy Cross behind which shine the rays of eternal harmony.

Thus, in this fleeting, earthbound life all that is great and important is connected with risk,and calls for a holy boldness, and heroic spirit of unconditional abandon. The law of all great things in statu viae is expressed in the words of our Lord: 'No man putting his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.' (Lk. 9:62)

Of course all great decisions, insofar as they carry with them great risks, should be deeply considered before we undertake them. Entering into marriage calls for a realization of the great and decisive step which it represents, and requires profound self-examination. The objective form of marriage must correspond to the deepest meaning of marriage as the most perfect and intimate union of love, and cannot be conformed to the case of a failure.

Against this background the unspeakable shabbiness and stupidity of a trial marriage clearly appears. Trial marriage is in itself contradictory to the nature of conjugal love. Anyone who even considers trial marriage has never experienced conjugal love.

Marriage is the most intimate communion of love in Jesus and for Jesus, a community which belongs to Jesus and brings about the sanctification of both spouses. In it, two persons are one in one flesh and have been allowed to participate in the creation of a new human being by God. This community has been elevated to a Sacrament as an image of the union of Christ and the Church."

A Great Used Book Find

I love used books stores, and the thrill of the chase in trying find old classic Anglican books. Like most continuers I have turned used book shopping into an art form, and have a particular technique that I follow to find good books that will be useful for my vocation. And generally when I go used book shopping I find at least one old Anglican book.

One of the places where I have never found a decent used Anglican (or any other) theological book is antique stores and antique malls. They often have books - sometimes lots - but it's almost always stuff that is either fluffy trash, or simply something I just don't need. Well, all of that changed today.

At an antique mall in Radford I found a MINT condition copy of the Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary for sale for $10! I mean, this baby is more mint than a cargo ship full of Tic-Tacs and Altoids! I carefully combed through the whole section of books (four walls) and at the VERY end found this book. What a joy! My own personal copy, which I got for free by another stroke of luck years ago, has been slowly falling apart for some time. I know you can get through the Prayer Book Society on a CD Rom, but there is something about owning the actual book.

Now I don't know what I am going to do with my old one!

Organist Wanted

Our organist quit on us a few weeks back. She is a brilliant young student at VA Tech doing a double major in two very difficult scientific fields, so she just doesn't have time to devote to developing the music of the church. Thus, we have posted a job description at the university and I have been pursuing some leads. This is what we would call in the IT consulting world a "risk". It is a situation that, if it escalates and gets out of control, could hurt or even derail the "project".

We have several problems related to all of this: 1) very few people study the organ anymore; 2) piano players are everywhere, but, like guitar players, there are more mediocre ones than competent ones available; 3) our music is very demanding - a total of 15 pieces of of music at a Holy Communion service; 4) our music is becoming more and more obscure - Anglican liturgical music (and even good classical music in general) is alien to most people; 5) we have little money to offer a musician, so they have to do it for a ministry and because they are passionate about it. These are big things, but God is bigger. We will pray, advertise, ask around, and see what happens. This is a good gig to have - we just need to find someone else who sees that.

The reason there is a shortage of organists is because organists themselves (even if they are bad) do not "proselytize" others, and try to get others excited about learning the instrument. Serious and good musicians have a way of getting others excited about learning an instrument. It is the same with encouraging vocations to Holy Orders - you have to talk about it and generate excitement about it, otherwise no one will care. That, by the way, is why there are so few Roman priests these days. The continuing churches have generally done very poorly in developing musicians to play for her services. Just as we do not print Prayer Books, have Sunday School materials, seminaries, hymnals, etc., so we do not have a strategy to raise up and develop organists from within our ranks.

So what will we do if we can't find an organist? I don't know yet. Maybe we'll do all Gregorian chant, or no music, or maybe some contemporary music. I odn't know yet. I actually am not opposed to having good contemporary music in churches. When I was a member of the Roman communion I attended the 9:00 contemporary service at my parish - a large, wealthy city parish. They had a schola of four men that sang all of the music in harmony to a piano played by the music director, and it was very good. The thing with contemporary music is that, like with all other music, it must be done well and taken seriously to sound good, and you need a trained music director/musician to make that happen. In some ways I think having good contemporary music would help transform this place even more.

If anyone has any leads or ideas please let me know!

Post-Election Wrap Up and Thoughts

What are my thoughts on the election? I am a republican, but I voted third party because the republican party has long ago strayed from its roots. My vote was not a throw-away vote by any stretch of the imagination because I voted according to my conscience. I could not bring myself to vote for anyone who supports nation building and international meddling (and who is only partially pro-life). Neither could I bring myself to vote for someone who is pro-death and believes in the redistribution of wealth (and also believes in nation building, incidentally). In my opinion McCain and Obama were the same candidate. If more Americans voted third party and weren't seduced by the talking heads on CNN and the other news shows into thinking that there were just two candidates then maybe there would be real "change", and "change you can believe in" in this country.

I wish the new president success overall, and will certainly pray for him as the Scriptures and BCP require. He'll need all the prayers he can get. Honestly, I think his election is going to polarize the nation even more - another reason we need a third party. (I think McCain's would have polarized us too, but less, since people are so used to Bush and company already.) If Obama tries to reach across the aisle as he says, he will no doubt run into lots of trouble and grief from his own party and people as he certainly will from the "right". An interesting article from the Wall Street Journal (I stopped reading that rag the New York Times a long time ago) says that that same spirit of bi-partisanship is one of the things that undid Bush.

Dead Flowers

The beautiful potted mums that I placed on the front steps of the church have finally died... on election day, nonetheless. How appropriate.

Wedding Bells

Weddings and marriages are all that's on my mind lately. We were away this past weekend, back at St. Mark's, so I could bless the civil marriage of some young parishioners that we got to know while ministering there. And I have also been working with a young couple (VA Tech students) here at St. Francis preparing them for their upcoming marriage. They are not members of the parish but are having their wedding at Truro Church. Truro let them come here for their pre-marital preparation. I am not doing the wedding - just meeting with them for preparation.

I realized recently that now that I am in charge of a parish I have to have a definite policy, plan and course of study for those preparing for marriage. My former spiritual director gave me all of his marriage policy material from when he was rector of a flagship ECUSA anglo-catholic parish, so that is what I used to develop this parish's "wedding" policy (it is pretty much the same thing as what he gave me). But for the course of study/preparation this is what I give in terms of reading assignments:

1) Read and discuss the APA canons for Holy Matrimony - signing the appropriate forms and fulfilling all of the requirements.
2) Read and discuss order for "Solemnization of Holy Matrimony" from the BCP along with the propers for a nuptial mass
3) Read and discuss the various New Testament Biblical passages dealing with Holy Matrimony (1 Cor. 7; Eph. 5:21-6:4; Col. 3:12-24; 1 Pet. 2:13-3:22)
4) Read and discuss chapter on Holy Matrimony from "The King's Highway"
5) Read and discuss a book (no fewer than 200 pages) on marriage.

I use these readings as a basis to discuss the nature of sacramental marriage. The last one (#5) is what I am still working on. I have about five books that I have carefully selected, purchased, and am going to read to be the "official book" that I require those preparing for marriage read. The other books, along with a few that I have read already, will be part of an optional "recommended reading" list. The required number of meetings is four.

As for the psychological mumbo-jumbo - since I am not trained in that field and am not Dr. Phil ("How's that workin' for ya?"), I am staying away from the personality tests. Why? Because I honestly don't think those things are very helpful. They are certainly not biblical. And their scientific validity is a bit dubious in my opinion. But other practical day-to-day things, like who handles the money, can be discussed in the context of the scripture passages and other readings.

So, that is basically what I do to prepare people for marriage. Like all things in the ministry and in life it is a work in progress. Every priest should have a format/plan ready, though, and not wait till a couple comes to him to begin thinking about what he'd have them do!

I wonder what other priests do to prepare folk for Christian marriage?

Pet Blessing Video

Here is a video segment that VT News did on our pet blessing. This was actually an additional pet blessing that was done on the 5th after our 10:00 mass, which is why I still have my chasuble on. The producer's camera man didn't show up, and she didn't quite know hwo to work the sound, but overall I guess it came out okay. She cut out a lot of the interview for time's sake, so the part where I talk about the metaphysics of Duns Scotus and how it relates to the phenomenology of the animal soul with special consideration of the tropology of animal blessing rites was left out. Oh well... maybe they'll get it in next year.

"80% of life is 'just showing up'."

That quote is attributed to Woody Allen. The older I get the more true I find it. I'd slightly modify it for church work: "80% of ministry is just being there." For me the key thing to a reasonably successful ministry so far has been just "being there" for people: answering the phone when they call; returning phone calls; returning e-mails, calling to check up on people who haven't been around in a while; visiting the sick. That stuff, and remembering peoples' names is helpful too, goes a long way.

But recently I have expanded this idea of "being there". St. Francis church is now open for prayer and mediation Monday - Thursday 8:00 - 2:00 (while I am here for my office hours). The daily services are done in addition to this. I started this because I noticed a problem: we do not get many visitors for Sunday services, yet we have probably a couple hundred cars and people driving and walking by the church each day. Why don't they visit on Sunday? While there are different many answers to that question, one of the things I thought was that people want to slowly get their feet wet in religion. The pressure of a really intimidating church service is not always what they want right away. But they can learn to like it if they slowly "wade in"; if they would just come inside just to see the place and feel God's presence, they might come back for a service. So now the doors are unlocked and the light in the sanctuary is on to give the place a sacred glow. Soon I will start playing some choral music in the background to help give the place a greater sense of holiness. As for the outside, at the beginning of the month we put some very colorful mums on the front steps which makes the place look more inviting, and which many people have commented on. In short, I want everyone in town to come in here to pray and refresh their souls. That is one thing I have always loved about European churches, and some of the big churches here in the states - how they are always open.

So, slowly, it has been working - at least to get people physically into the church. Several folk have stopped in to pray and just check the place out. Not tons of people, but I am very thankful for the few we have been starting to get. Now if we can get them to come on a Sunday or to one of the weekday services, and then to keep coming back we'll be doing great. I realize that not every parish can do this. We are a city parish at a big intersection one block from a huge university, and there is lots of foot traffic, so it appears to be working for us. But "being there" for people is what counts. We can't touch people with the reconciling love of Christ if we are not there for them.

Funny Story

We have a sign that I put out in front of the church everyday that says: "Mattins 8:00, Mass 12:00, Evensong 5:30". I have to use those older terms instead of "Morning and Evening Prayer" to save space on the sign. The sign is out there so people know to come in for those services if they wish. One of the first things I did upon arriving was start the daily offices and a daily mass. We have gotten a few people for these services - a couple parishioners a couple times a week for the offices, and some guests for the masses. We do get good turnout for Prayer Book Holy day masses - thanks be to God. Once I start teaching more on the importance of these services we'll get more people.

So here is the funny story. Last Monday I rolled out of bed freezing cold as usual to get up and read Morning Prayer. I threw on my cassock, turned on the lights in the church, and put the sign outside. I thought it would be just me, so I got ready to begin at the stroke of 8:00 when I hear the side door open. "Oh, it's Eleanor." I thought - a parishioner who comes sometimes during the week. Well it wasn't Eleanor - it was a visitor. It was the music minister from the Methodist church down the street, whom I had met weeks earlier at an ecumenical ministerial association meeting. She came in asking, "Am I late?"
"No, you're just in time."
"Good."
So I basically walked her through the liturgy. "We start here. Then we read this on this page. Then we say this together." Etc. She did a great job following along for the first time. After we finished she said, "I was driving down the road taking my kids to school, and driving back to start my day at church when I saw the sign 'mattins'! So I said to myself, 'Mattins!' And I pulled over and ran inside as quickly as I could!" You should have heard the excitement in her voice. She went on, explaining how the contemplative liturgy of the BCP really suits her spirituality, and how she wished she had something like this go to after the tragic VA Tech shooting... because she didn't know what to pray on her own. She also commented on how moving it was to use the BCP with the worn out, yellowed pages at the Te Deum - a sign that so many people had prayed that before. She talked about the "regularity" of the service, and how special that is. On perusing the BCP she went by the Ordinal and commented, "Oh, so this book is not just a service book, but governs the whole life of the Church."
"Yup."
Isn't Anglicanism easy?

So, long story short, now she comes every morning. She picked up the service completely in three days time. I don't know if she'll join, and being an ordained minister in her tradition and a choir leader I don't think she will. But it really doesn't bother me because we are simply Christians praying the prayer of the Church together. Our tradition and liturgy will enrich her spiritual journey in untold ways.

It is refreshing to see how the service of the Church still speaks to people, is easy to pick up if you give it a chance, and refreshes the soul. It was also interesting that their parish is closer to the Episcopal parish than us, yet she came to us - all because we are actually having a service and doing what the Church is supposed to be doing. Amazing how that works.

Basic Christianity

I have been doing the Fr. Homer Rogers "Basic Christianity" course here at church for several weeks and find it to be too pedantic and boring. I went out on a limb trying - I usually just develop my own studies - but this came so highly recommended that I decided to try it. What the heck... nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Overall the course is is very Catholic and highly intellectual, which I personally like, but it is just a little heavy for a church class. It assumes a familiarity with philosophical language that most average people just do not have. And the lecture format is just plain boring. After a long lecture most people are too glazed over to offer any positive or negative feedback. Interaction is the way to go.

But the topics of the series and the order in which he covers them are good, so what I will probably do is follow his format but develop my own outline for the remaining classes, drawing on Fr. Rogers here and there as necessary.

Statue of BVM

This is the very statue that used to be above the front door of St. Francis when it was St. Mary's Catholic Church. They took it with them when they left and just had it installed on their new building. I don't know if they used it in their interim building.

It was suggested in an earlier comment that St. Francis is an art deco style building. I think that this statue certainly is, which would lend credence to that theory, as would some of the lines and other architectural details.

On a side note, one of my art professors in college, commenting on art deco figurative art, said that in that era artists painted people that look like machines, whereas now we paint machines that look like people... "man" is a machine that looks like a person (e.g. the Terminator).

Old St. Mary's/St. Francis

I am sort of an arm-chair architectural historian, and I love discovering the history of buildings - especially churches - and finding old photos of how they looked back in their heyday. I also like preserving the original design of buildings, right down to the decorations and accouterments, as much as possible so as to maintain its integrity. So recently I have been looking into the history of our building.

Some people think our church looks a bit strange, but really it is a perfect example of late 40's American Catholic Church architecture (current picture to the left). There was originally a statue of Our Lady in the niche over the front door, which is now in a niche in the newest incarnation of St. Mary's a little ways away. This parish had always intended to put a statue of St. Francis up there but never got around to it. I hope to get that done while here. (Anyone out there have 5k to donate to our cause?) Really, though, it needs a statue up there to soften the exterior.

I spoke with a Fr. Gallagher recently who served this parish in the 60's. He told me that the same architects designed a very similar looking Catholic church in Charleston, but I have not been able to find pictures of it. He also told me that they designed Our Lady of Lourdes in Richmond, which I did find a picture of (to the left). You can see the similarities, though the scale is very different.

As for the interior, I have only been able to get photos of it from the late 70's which I will post later. I have some calls into the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, which this parish was in till the mid-70's, to see if they have anything in their archives. The local Catholic congregation and priest have also been very helpful in getting me old pictures. I am looking for stuff from the 50's and 60's.

In searching the web, though, I did find this church built around the same time. It has lots of pictures, and I imagine that St. Francis/St. Mary's looked a lot like this place on the inside. I know that the floor and the lighting fixtures are the exact same. The confessionals and holy water fonts are the same too. In restoring our building it is critical that we do so in a way that compliments and pays homage to the original design.

The Continuing Anglican Churchman Endorses...

ACE BOOKBINDING

I just had three Prayer Books rebound by these folk, and they did a bang up job. One was my small travel Prayer Book; the other was my Sunday mass Prayer Book/Hymnal; and the other was my bedside Prayer Book. (I also have my "Daily Office" Prayer Book/Bible that I still need to get rebound.)

They use really nice calfskin leather that smells quite good and is very durable. But the best thing is their turnaround time. They get your books back to you in about one week. I had each BCP done for $75, which is a good price, especially for the fast service and top-of-the-line leather.

Blessing of Animals

We had the blessing of animals for St. Francis' day (Oct. 4th). This is a parish tradition. We were the first to do it in Blacksburg. Now every parish does it! I blessed mostly dogs, but also two cats and a parrot. A reporter saw the sign I placed in the church yard advertising the event and came and did an interview which will air on local television this Friday! All told we had about 15 people - including several visitors. Not a bad start. Maybe down the road we will turn this into some sort of fall festival.

Two Wayfaring Strangers

A couple weeks back as I was preparing for daily mass I was thrilled to be visited by two "pilgrims", Mr. Chip Byers, and his dad. They were not making a pilgrimage to St. Francis Church alone, but were on their way to their REC synod, and just decided to drop by. So they stayed on for mass, and we chatted for a long while afterwards. As they are of the "high church" party in the REC they had no qualms with reciting the Angelus, which I begin every weekday mass with. Thanks to Chip and his dad for visiting us and blessing us with their presence.

Church Nightmares

Lately my wife and I have taken to watching "Kitchen Nightmares", starring chef Gordon Ramsey (great name, by the way). It's really interesting and funny. He goes to these dysfunctional, failing restaurants, where everyone on the staff is fighting, and has lost their passion to cook decent food, and then he analyzes the whole situation, and provides them solutions on how to move forward and have a successful restaurant. There are clips of the show on "You Tube" which give you an idea of what it's like. Unfortunately since chef Gordon has something of a "potty mouth" I cannot link to one of the clips here, but if anyone if interested in looking at a clip I suppose he could find one on You Tube.

Anyway, as we were watching it the other day I thought about how fascinating it would be to have a show like this about continuing Anglican parishes (or dioceses, or provinces). I can see it now: some really successful godly, but tell-it-like-is priest, who has had years of great ministry and done lots of phenomenal work goes into some struggling, dysfunctional parish that's run by a grouchy old, misanthropic, micromanaging rector, and rakes him, and everyone else in the place, over the coals.... explaining, between all of the cursing, why no one wants to come to the church. It could be a really riveting show, but somehow I don't think TBN, EWTN, or any of the other religious broadcasting networks would carry it!

One Month

It has almost been one month since we've moved to Blacksburg. Already this city and the church has become home to us. As I mentioned earlier (I think), I am the first full time priest the parish has had in almost 10 years, so there is tons of work to do. During this first month I have gotten a lot done here, and in the next month I hope to do more. The goal, however, is to develop lay leaders to expand the work and ministries of the parish. I would also like to get more sacerdotal help as well at some point. The reason I want to do this is that work of church cannot expand with one person doing it. Leaders have to develop other leaders.

We live in the church - in the parish hall, actually (pictured above). It is called "Rutherfoord Hall", named for an ACC bishop who was instrumental in helping start the parish and also an accomplished fine artist. It is not a classic parish hall, with one large room, and several smaller ones. Instead it consists of a bunch of small rooms. When this was St. Mary's Catholic Church, the hall was where the clergy (up to three) and the housekeeper lived. So there are three small rooms with their own bathrooms and showers; an office; a parlor; and the apartment where we live (where the housekeeper once lived) - which consists of a bedroom and bath, a kitchen, a living room, and a sun room (one of Valerie's offices - she has another where she works at VA Tech). The building is divided in half by a long hallway, so it is rather dark. There is no a/c in the building, and the windows are these large, metal casement windows. It has hardwood floors, but they have been covered up by carpeting except in a few places. As an apartment and offices, it is a fine hall, but as a "dinner/gathering hall" it is not functional. There is no place where everyone in the parish can eat together for dinners, and such. We need, down the road, to knock down some walls, or add a level to the hall if we hope to grow. We also need to dramatically improve the lighting. A comprehensive parish vision and strategic plan that I hope we can develop will help us in deciding what improvements to the existing facility need to be made and when.

Some may wonder what it is like to live in the church. Well, I love it! It's small, but I like the concept of always "being there" and "being available". Interestingly, the church has done a complete 180 with me: previously they had a priest coming in once or twice a week, so the place was always closed. Now, the priest is always here, so it is always open. I can walk down the hall to my office whenever I want, so no worries about "remembering to bring something home from work". The hall connects to the sacristy and church, so, of course, I can go in and pray whenever I want. There are also no worries about getting to church late, or having to get up at the crack of dawn to drive to church for an 8:00 mass. No one really bothers us by coming by all the time, but honestly we are the type of people who love it when folks just drop by (some people are not), so it wouldn't bother me if people came by just to hang out. In fact, I hope to encourage that in order to build community.

Since we live here I am able to get to know everyone in the neighborhood (residents and students). I see them walking around, and I always stop to chat with them. It is a way to build bridges and relationships for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have recently begun going to the neighborhood association meetings, which also helps me get to know people. I want to make sure the parish and her interests are represented in this neighborhood. Also, when the church expands and grows, I want the people in the neighborhood to be on our side.

The church has been without a full time priest for so long that it has not had an "advocate" when it's needed one. So for example, a sign of ours on Main Street was torn down a few years back, and it was never replaced. And also, the city changed our parking signs, and no one ever did anything about it. And on, and on. But now that I am the "father" of the parish, and live here, all of that is going to change. I will fight for this church and these people, and for the faith once delivered to the saints.

(Note: The parish has had dedicated laity over the years, including one man who was very devoted to the parish and did a lot for them, so I do not want to downplay their contributions and leadership. The commuting vicars also were as dedicated as they could be considering the circumstances, so neither do I want to downplay their important contributions.)

Being the "father" of the parish is my central metaphor or slogan, or what have you. This parish is my family, and God has placed me here to be their spiritual father. Thus, as I would fight for my own family, and care for them, so I will do that for St. Francis. That is how every priest needs to view his ministry, I guess. It really transforms the reason and way you do your work. Many parishes, just like natural families, suffer from "absentee fathers"... men who aren't around, or just aren't engaged, or are merely collecting a pay check. Even in some of our continuing parishes!

Well, have to run and shower and pray. Today is my day off, and as usual all I am thinking about is church, church, church! I promise I will post pictures soon.

Clarification on the APA's Diocese of the West

Dear friends,

The area dean here in Virginia asked if I would post this on my blog.

JGA+

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A Letter to All Saints & the Deanery of Virginia
The Very Reverend Glenn M. Spencer


You may have heard or read about the events that have occurred over the past several days within the Anglican Province of America’s Diocese of the West [DOW]. On September 4, 2008, Bishop Richard Boyce, long-time Diocesan Bishop of the DOW, announced to Bishop Grundorf his intent to leave the APA effective immediately, and to merge his entire diocese into the Reformed Episcopal Church [REC], subject to the REC’s approval.

This action has been publicized on-line and has generated much discussion, not all of it fruitful or accurately presented. Based on the articles available on-line, one might conclude that the APA is splitting, or at least facing a significant crisis. I can tell you without hesitation that this is not the case. However, I would like to address these legitimate concerns, and to provide a more accurate explanation as to what is happening, why I believe it is happening, and where we at All Saints Anglican Church and within the APA’s Deanery of Virginia stand.

What Has Happened Over the Past Several Days. By way of background, the APA is a canonical jurisdiction that consists of three dioceses: The Diocese of the Eastern United States [DEUS], the Diocese of Mid-America, and the Diocese of the West [DOW]. We in Virginia are a part of DEUS, and our Diocesan Bishop is Bishop Grundorf. In addition to his role as our Diocesan Bishop, Bishop Grundorf also serves as the Presiding Bishop of the APA.

On September 4, 2008, Bishop Boyce of DOW wrote a letter to Bishop Grundorf. Bishop Boyce stated that he intended immediately to leave the APA and to transfer not just himself individually, but his entire diocese, consisting of maybe twenty parishes, into the REC. Bishop Grundorf correctly responded to this letter by informing Bishop Boyce that an orderly and canonical procedure exists for any such transfer, and that Bishop Boyce had not followed that procedure. Based on the extraordinary circumstances with which he was faced, Bishop Grundorf, as provided by our canons and as shepherd of our church, immediately relieved Bishop Boyce of his position as Diocesan Bishop and appointed an interim administrator for the DOW. Further, he explained the mechanism whereby individual parishes and priests within the DOW, if they wished, could transfer into the REC. He reaffirmed that all DOW priests, clergy, and laity remain in good standing with the APA and have its full support.

While Bishop Grundorf is disappointed with Bishop Boyce’s decision, he has not forbidden a transfer for those desiring it (contrary to what some on-line articles have suggested). Instead, he has insisted that proper procedure be followed for any parishes and priests of the DOW wishing to transfer to the REC. He has reiterated the canonical impermissibility of a bishop unilaterally removing his entire diocese from the APA’s jurisdiction. His goal is an orderly transition in a charitable manner that does not bring scandal on the church.

Bishop Grundorf is absolutely correct in his response. Dioceses cannot, as a body, leave the jurisdiction of the APA. There is simply no canonical mechanism whereby that may occur. Instead, the canons allow for individual parishes, and individual priests, to transfer to another jurisdiction based upon their individual requests for transfer, or “letters dimissory.” As the several articles on-line indicate, Bishop Boyce insists that canonically he retains the full right to move his diocese into another jurisdiction; he is simply incorrect in his reading of canon law. I would be happy to discuss this further with any one who wishes to discuss canon law in more detail.

Why Bishop Boyce has Taken This Action. While I cannot read into the heart of Bishop Boyce, I believe it is fair and appropriate for me to address why I believe he has attempted this maneuver. My impression is that two factors have contributed to his decision.

a. Common Cause Partnership. First, and perhaps most apparent, is Bishop Boyce’s stance, vis-à-vis Bishop Grundorf’s, on what our relationship should be with Common Cause Partnership [CCP]. As you may recall, in January 2008, Bishop Grundorf made the decision to adopt a “wait and see” approach to the APA’s possible affiliation with Common Cause Partnership. This decision was wise, pastoral, and correct. While we share many goals and beliefs with members of CCP, the majority of those jurisdictions who belong to CCP approve of women’s ordination and include women whom they believe to be validly ordained to the priesthood. The issue of women’s ordination goes to the heart of the priesthood and to the validity of the sacraments; it is a position with which we cannot in good faith align ourselves. This issue is still being sorted out within CCP, and Bishop Grundorf believes that the best approach is to let it become settled, and then make a final decision as to whether alliance with CCP is in his flock’s best interest. Further, while CCP currently is only an alliance of various Anglican jurisdictions, it has all appearances of the precursor to a jurisdiction. Many of its leaders have made clear their intent to make it one giant jurisdiction, the North American Anglican Province, under the oversight of the Global Anglican Fellowship Conference (GAFCON). Its members would thus lose their own identity, their individual canons and Constitution, and become a part of the jurisdiction of CCP. This is no small matter, particularly if that giant jurisdiction contains women “priests.” We all desire unity and a common cause with other Anglicans; the question is at what cost, and at what point do we slip into heterodoxy under the purported banner of “unity.”

Bishop Boyce, unlike Bishop Grundorf, has for years strongly supported alliance with CCP. Without question he believes that Bishop Grundorf made the wrong decision in adopting a wait-and-see approach. The REC, unlike the APA, is a member of the CCP. Therefore, one reason I believe that Bishop Boyce is attempting to merge into the REC is so that he can become a member of CCP.

b. Inability/Unwillingness to Comply with APA Canonical Requirements. At the most recent APA Synod, in July 2008, our national registrar, Fr. Bill Perkins, announced that he had never received from DOW the canonically-required credentials and documentations from the diocese’s priests, and from the bishop himself. Properly documented credentials are the prerequisite for a priest to minister within the APA; yet this diocese under Bishop Boyce’s leadership simply had never provided that information. At this past Synod, it was made clear to Bishop Boyce and to all clergymen in the APA, that no one will be permitted to continue as a clergyman-in-good-standing without presenting his required credentials and documentation to the registrar. Bishop Boyce’s inability or unwillingness to correct this disorder, as well as several other irregular practices within the DOW, may have been another impetus for his action last week.

Where We Now Stand. First, the DOW has not left the APA. No canonical method exists for a diocese to leave our jurisdiction; it simply cannot by law occur. Instead, two bishops (Diocesan Bishop Boyce and Bishop Mott) have left the APA, and likely at least some of the DOW parishes will follow. Others will remain within the APA/DOW; several parishes have notified Bishop Grundorf that they have no intention of leaving the APA or the DOW and feel that they were left out of Bishop Boyce’s decision-making process. For those that do depart, where they end up (the REC or another jurisdiction) remains to be seen, as the REC has not yet addressed Bishop Boyce’s request. Only time will tell how this issue settles. Bishop Grundorf intends to give parishes adequate time to determine where they stand, then to call an extraordinary Synod to reorganize and elect the appropriate officers.

Second, Bishop Boyce’s unfortunate action, while disrupting to some extent the peace of the church, has no palpable effect on All Saints or on the deanery of Virginia. We remain, as do all member of DEUS and the great majority of parishes within the APA, committed to our Presiding Bishop and to our church. We do not see this event as an emergency or as a crisis. It is, as I said, unfortunate; however, Bishop Boyce’s departure, and the departure of any individual parishes and priests who may wish to request transfer, may in the end be better for all concerned. We do not count our strength or our success by numbers, but by our feasting on the sacraments, commitment to the creeds, and faithfulness to the Prayer Book. There will be times of numerical growth, and there will be times when our numbers may dip. This is a natural part of life in the Church, and nothing to fear. Our jurisdiction is not splitting or fracturing. Some parishes from DOW will request to transfer. But others will remain. The APA by God’s grace is strong and solid; we are, and will be, fine.

Third, as many of you know, we are in communion with the REC. I do not know whether that will change, though I doubt that it will. Quite frankly, the REC has yet to comment or take action upon Bishop Boyce’s request to join them. It is probable that they had no notice of his action ahead of time and, as several of Bishop Boyce’s own parishes, were caught by surprise. Regardless, we remain in communion with the REC, and within a few days Bishop Grundorf will issue a joint statement with the REC concerning this matter. I will provide that to you when it is released.

Conclusion. While this matter has been presented on some websites as a crisis or a threat to the APA, it simply is not. It is unfortunate, but it will be resolved. I hope this letter has shed some light on these issues and has answered some of your questions. As always, I am available and would be happy to talk to any person or groups about this matter further. My new email address is frgmspencer@gmail.com.

Fr. Glenn Spencer
All Saints Anglican Church
Charlottesville, VA

Student Organization Showcase @ VA Tech

The other day we had the student organization showcase at Tech, so VTAU ("Anglicans United at VA Tech) was there in all her glory! To prepare for the event, people from the church baked and bought gobs of cookies and purchased several cases of bottled water. We got our big tri-fold sign out of storage and I updated it, replacing some bad verbiage with some better stuff. We printed up tons of Holy Cross tracts on various subjects, and printed a flashy new brochure about the parish. All in all it was a great event. We got to talk to lots of people about the Church, our student ministry, and the parish.

Every student group on campus was represented. They seemed to place most of the Christian groups in the same area. To our right was some Baptist group, to the left were Adventists and more Baptists. Then there was some group called Alpha Chi; Campus Crusade, InterVarsity, and more. The Episcopalians were there too, and I guess the Roman Catholics were somewhere, though I didn't see them.

Towards the end I got into discussion with a nice young man about baptism and the Church. He was newly baptized, and part of a group called the International Christian Church, or something like that. He asked why we baptize infants, and that lead to all sorts of other questions about basic fundamental theology, such as how we are to read and interpret the scriptures (with the Church), what sacraments are and do, why we have the liturgy, and so on. It was a good conversation, and hopefully it expanded his mind a bit. It helped me see that when discussing that doctrine, to explain myself better, it is probably best to first establish what baptism means and does, and then go on to discuss who then qualifies to be baptized and at what age. If we believe that it is a free gift of God's grace, and the means by which He grafts us into the Body of Christ, and unites with Christ in His death and resurrection, then it is much easier to see why we believe in "baptismal regeneration". Anyway, so I gave him a Holy Cross tract on the Church and sent him on his way after a bit.

But there was something more important going on while we were discussing baptism. What did I use to explain the teaching of the Church? I went to the BCP and explained the sacrament from there, using the rite itself and scriptures that are read during a baptism. When other questions came up about related doctrines we looked at the rite for confirmation. And we ended up looking at Psalter, the Order for Holy Communion, the Ordinal, etc. In short, we ended up doing a tour of Catholic theology through the BCP. That was all I needed! And that is what Anglicanism is about: lex orandi, lex credendi. You know, I have to feel sorry for "Anglicans" who are not wed to their Prayer Books. They can sit through a thousand High Masses and know absolutely nothing about the Catholic faith, all because they do not know the Prayer Book. If we know or Prayer Books we know the Bible and the Catholic faith. The reverse is also true. Anyway... I think VTAU is going to be doing an in depth study of the Book of Common Prayer this fall!

There were a few other interesting things too:

1) In our immediate area, even with two Baptist groups, we were the only one that had a King James Bible prominently displayed... in fact, I didn't even see any of the others with Bibles at all! I made sure to bring several BCPs and a Bible to the table, because that is what we are about.

2) These evangelical mega-"churches" refer to themselves as "inter-denominational" now... not "non-denominational".

3) These same groups have a new "game show evangelism" strategy. One was doing a thing where if you came to their meeting that night you had a chance to win an I-Pod. Another, run by a church in town, offers you $10 for visiting their church on Sunday and filling out a comment card! (I kid you not... I have a copy of the flyer.)

4) I noticed another disturbing trend with some people from these evangelical campus, inter/para/non-denominational groups: several folk that I spoke with questioned the doctrine of Original Sin! Yikes. What have we come to? See what happens when people stop reading the Bible and the Fathers and give away I-Pods and listen to U2 instead?

5) I had my picture taken with the Hokie Bird.... I'll post it soon.

Lots of literture that no one is reading...

So when I moved into my office at St. Francis I immediately began clearing out the twenty tons of junk that had collected over the years... old Almy catalogs, unused offering envelopes from 1990, tons of old bulletins, off-centered Christmas cards, and more. Tons of useless debris. It was awful. I ended up with three huge (lawn and leaf huge) trash bags being hauled out to the curb. The few things worth saving in terms of parish history and archives ended up fitting into one cabinet!

But amongst all of the garbage I found some treasures. I found a bunch of classic anglo-catholic tracts, Mandate magazines, Touchstone, and Christian Challenge magazines that could all be put to good use. They were obviously procured at one point with the intent on handing them out because they had many copies. But what were these fine materials doing? They were languishing on a shelf! All of this great educational and promotional material was just languishing on a dusty shelf in a dirty office with a bad, rusty lighting fixture! A lot of good that does. So tonight I got some inexpensive tract and magazine racks from Staples, and all of this stuff, freshly organized and dusted, will serve as the centerpiece to a new "information corner" in the parlor. The parish will grow if people knew something about it, and about classical Anglicanism in general!

When will the leaders of our churches and the parishes get this through their heads? People need information. We can't expect people to join us if they don't know anything about us and can't get information on who we are and what we believe! If you have information - use it. If you don't have any - get some! There wasn't even any literature in the parish I attended in seminary! Nothing. No information. And we wonder why we're so small.

And don't even get me started on what I found (and didn't find) in the "parish register" and "register of services". Gosh... for anyone out there who is mad at organized religion come to a continuing Anglican parish! It is sometimes the most DISorganized religion I have ever seen!

Maybe so many of our continuing Anglican parishes have been faltering because there has not been good lay and ordained leadership. There has been no one to set up a vision and plan for the future, and get the materials and items needed to make that happen. There have not been enough "leaders" who want to lead.

"Re-post" from August 2006

The Anglican Federation

Here is a link to the Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas which is an umbrella group to promote communication, fellowship, and cooperation among the various Anglican bodies in the states. I would encourage everyone to have look at this.

On another note, I was looking at 'members' section, and went to the AMiA's website, and it is very nice looking. Why do so many other Anglican jurisdictions have such bad looking websites? The best that I have seen so far are the AMiA's and APCK's (a big improvement over their last one). The APA's, REC's, ACC's, and ACA's are really bad and unprofessional looking. They reflect badly on our churches. The continuing churches might not be able to errect a bunch of stately new parish churches everywhere, but we could at least hire professional web designers to make a nice looking websites for the national church instead of all of this "mom and pop" stuff.
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Why re-post this? Because the APA's provincial site has actually gone from just "pretty bad" to "awful" since then. If you don't believe me just go to it and look at it. It looks like a liquor store window.

There seems to be some confusion about what constitutes a good website. There is the idea that if it has "lots of information on it" it is "good". Then there are those, usually professional designers, young/technology-savvy people, and others who realize that it is not just the amount and type of information that makes a site good, but how it is arranged for maximum use and benefit.

Let's look at an example of this. Say we took people from the first school of thought and asked them to open a modern, functional library or bookstore. What they would do is collect a massive amount of good books and throw them in a pile in the middle of a room in a large building. Then, they would immediately declare the library to be "good" because it has lots of "good books" in it... even though it is messy, sloppy, and ugly; and even though you couldn't actually find a book that you wanted to read.

People from the second school of thought would get all of the same books, and the same building, but have them arranged according to the Dewey Decimal System, some computers to look everything up,, have some chairs to sit in, and an information desk. It would look good, be well-organized, and you could find stuff you were looking for. You might even stay around and read some books that you didn't initially want to read!

There is the difference.

The moral to all of this? People do judge books by their covers, and when someone, especially a young person, comes to a site like this it communicates to him or her that the organization is run by hobbyists and moms & pops.

Isn't it awful how we always manage to give God second or third best... even in the realm of technology. Miserere Nobis!

Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen

This is one of my favorite Bach cantatas. It is one of the most profound and beautiful combinations of words and music I have ever heard. May these words be burned onto our hearts.

"Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen" BWV 12 Cantata for Jubilate
1. Sinfonia	1. Sinfonia
2. Chor Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, Angst und Not Sind der Christen Tränenbrot, Die das Zeichen Jesu tragen.	2. Chorus Weeping, lamentation, worry, despair, anguish and trouble are the Christian's bread of tears, that bear the marks of Jesus.
3. Recitativ (Arioso) A Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal in das Reich Gottes eingehen. (Acts 14:22)	3. Recitative (Arioso) A We must enter the Kingdom of God through much sorrow.
4. Arie A Kreuz und Krone sind verbunden, Kampf und Kleinod sind vereint. Christen haben alle Stunden Ihre Qual und ihren Feind, Doch ihr Trost sind Christi Wunden.	4. Aria A Cross and crown are bound together, struggle and reward are united. Christians have at all times their suffering and their enemy, yet their comforts are Christ's wounds.
5. Arie B Ich folge Christo nach, Von ihm will ich nicht lassen Im Wohl und Ungemach, Im Leben und Erblassen. Ich küsse Christi Schmach, Ich will sein Kreuz umfassen. Ich folge Christo nach, Von ihm will ich nicht lassen.	5. Aria B I follow after Christ, I will not let go of Him in prosperity and hardship, in life and mortality. I kiss Christ's shame, I will embrace His cross. I follow after Christ, I will not let go of Him.
6. Arie (mit instrumental Choral) T Sei getreu, alle Pein Wird doch nur ein Kleines sein. Nach dem Regen Blüht der Segen, Alles Wetter geht vorbei. Sei getreu, sei getreu! (Instrumental Chorale: Jesu, meine Freude, meines Herzens Weide, Jesu, meine Zier! Ach, wie lang, ach, lange ist dem Herzen bange und verlangt nach dir! Gottes Lamm, mein Bräutigam, Außer dir soll mir auf Erden nichts sonst Liebers werden.) ("Jesu, meine Freude," verse 1)	6. Aria (with instrumental Chorale) T Be faithful, all pain will yet be only a little thing. After the rain blessing blossoms, all storms pass away. Be faithful, be faithful! (Instrumental Chorale: Jesus, my joy, my heart's pasture, Jesus, my treasure! Ah, how long, ah long has my heart suffered and longed for you! God's lamb, my bridegroom, besides You on earth nothing shall be dearer to me.)
7. Choral Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan, Dabei will ich verbleiben. Es mag mich auf die rauhe Bahn Not, Tod und Elend treiben. So wird Got mich Ganz väterlich In seinen Armen halten: Drum laß ich ihn nur walten. ( "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan," verse 6)	7. Chorale What God does, is well done, I will cling to this. Along the harsh path trouble, death and misery may drive me. Yet God will, just like a father, hold me in His arms: therefore I let Him alone rule.

Settled in Blacksburg

We have officially landed at St. Francis Church. My wife and I have gone from the lovely Treasure Coast to the gorgeous mountains of southwest Virginia so I can be vicar of this parish. Since we're waiting for the sale of our house in Vero Beach to go through, we are living at the church in the apartment.

St. Francis is the original St. Mary's Catholic Church, so there is an apartment where the priest lived, as well as a few rooms where nuns lived way back when. The building dates from the mid to late 40's. It is right in downtown, and in walking distance from Virginia Tech (go Hokies!). The Anglicans bought it in the early 80's, and it was an ACC parish until a few years ago. Over last few years the congregation has shrunk, but the small, devoted core that remains is excited about growing the parish and ministering the thousands and thousands of students at Tech as well as in the community. A few "vultures" (one Anglican group which shall remain nameless and a Protestant denomination called the ARP) circling overhead have made offers to buy the building in recent years because of its great location, but that will never happen on our watch. This place shall remain what it always was: a catholic parish in the classical Anglican tradition.

It is a great physical plant. I have a nice large office, and the church is fully functional with confessionals, a baptistry, a choir loft, space for side chapels, nice stained glass of various saints, and more. It seats close to 300. There is room for classes and such. It is lacking in fellowship hall space, but we'll have to work around that for the time being. Because of its age
it has other idiosyncrasies as well (like those annoying two-prong electrical outlets), but all of that is a very small price to pay for a such a great building, in a cool town, and neat neighborhood.

We are going to be ministering at Virginia Tech, and trying to do some outreach in the town. We will also try to minister at Radford I imagine. We will be offering the full round of liturgical services and classes: daily offices, daily mass, bible studies, and more. The church is across the street from a frat house, so I will be paying those gentlemen a visit at some point to let them know I am keeping an eye on them!

Please keep the work in your prayers. I want to see this church full of people singing praises to Jesus Christ, praying, serving others, and partaking of the sacraments. If I do not write for a while, it is because I am busier than I have ever been in my life!

The Practicing Congregation

I just finished reading an interesting book called "The Practicing Congregation: Imagining a New Old Church" by Diana Butler Bass. She's a church historian who writes a lot about the renewal of mainline Christianity. One of the ways that many mainline congregations are renewing themselves is through adopting "monastic" disciplines, and emphasizing the spiritual journey and practice of the faith rather than parties, clubs, etc. (gee, imagine that). She has numerous examples of parishes from a variety of traditions that were on death's door in terms of membership, money, and everything else, but that turned around and are now thriving congregations. And one of the things that all of the churches that did this have in common is that they emphasize practicing the faith - daily services, quiet days, following the church year, fasting, labyrinths, social justice, etc.

It is nice to read, because the conventional wisdom is that liturgical/mainline churches have to give up elements from their tradition, or from the medieval/ancient tradition of the church, in order to be "relevant" to people, and to attract people. She does emphasize that some traditions have to be "re-imagined" in certain ways, and that sometimes people need to be educated as to what constitutes "tradition" in the theological sense rather than in the social sense. (She tells an interesting story of how there was a conflict in a parish where she was asked to teach an Advent study on peace, and how she had to take over a room that had, for decades, been used for the parish "Christmas Sale", and how the people who ran the sale were indignant that the "tradition of the church" was being cast aside for something as useless as an Advent study!)

Even though she's concerned mostly with the mainline churches, she does touch on evangelicals, and other groups, like the catholics, from time to time. I found a lot of her ideas and observations to be quite relevant to continuing Anglican parishes, which are often very "mainline" and classically liberal in their ethos (e.g. the parish serving as an extension of the country club, and the parish hall being the most important part of the church). There is often in our parishes a sense of: "Why should anything change? Who cares if people join us or not? Let's not do that thing you are suggesting because it is 'too catholic'. Let's have community at the expense of worship, prayer, and devotion." And so on. Also, because these traditional Christian practices are being adopted by more and more Christians of all stripes and labels, I think it shows that, with some changes here and there, we continuing Anglicans will have our day in the sun the yet. People will be attracted to (our) churches where they can grow spiritually and have devotions - and explore and practice their faith. This instead of joining a place that is more concerned with having "English Garden Parties", dances, and cocktail hour.

It is a good, short, thought-provoking book to read by some who has been studying this for years. It is not programmatic, but the examples of various turn-around churches she's given do list some of the things they did/do.