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.