Integrity

Many people that I come into contact with around town and beyond seem mildly and perhaps scandalously amused at our slavish devotion to the old Prayer Book and its sidekick, the Authorized Version of the scriptures. Their use is often viewed as horribly antiquated and an obstacle to growth, and maybe it is. Nonetheless, we continue to proudly and intentionally use them almost down to the very rubric. Why? Well not only because our canons require it, and because it is biblical and Catholic, and because we like it (I could go on), but also because the our very identity as a branch of Christ's One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church depends on it. History shows that if one strays from the Prayer Book, strange doctrine and even schism inevitably follow. The Methodists are a perfect example of this. Even though John Wesley was a loyal high churchman, and regularly took the sacrament up until he died, he laid the groundwork in his movement for eventual schism from the Church of England by tinkering with the liturgy - specifically with the introduction and toleration of extempore prayer and creating additional liturgies to be used alongside the Prayer Book. Eventually he "ordained" his own successors to keep the movement going. His own selective use of the Prayer Book which he so highly valued bore bad fruit. For shortly after his death the movement stopped using the Prayer Book altogether and became its own tradition.

I wonder if the neo-Anglican jurisdictions that have recently broken from TEC will not go down the same path. The folk from those churches, while usually well-meaning and devoted to God, seem to treat the BCP as something that is negotiable... and that to be an Anglican doesn't mean you have to use the Prayer Book. Even now, when I visit such churches and meet their clergy, they seem like they re not quite Anglican... more "non-denominational" with (in most cases anyway) episcopal ordination and a quickie eucharist tacked on to the end of the service. Inevitably when engaging such folk in conversion I find that they do not use the Prayer Book in their parishes... maybe bits of it here and there, with some other stuff thrown in for good measure. Will these churches be the new-new dissent 25-50 years down the road? Will they be the Methodists of the 21st century? To be Anglican means in large part to use the Prayer Book in the public liturgy of the Church as well as in your private devotions. Cranmer did not start a new church. He did not write a confession of faith, or a systematic theology. What he did was reform the liturgy for the English Church. How someone can claim to be part of that trajectory and not use her liturgy is utterly beyond me.

Longevity Matters

Interacting with fellow clergy here in Blacksburg has been an interesting and valuable experience. One of the things I have learned is that most of the mainline church pastors have been here in Blacksburg for around 10 years. Generally, the longer the pastor has remained the same, the more stability the congregation seems to have - even if the pastor has some strange and heretical views. That helps explain the the lack of stability at this parish - for the longest time there was no abiding pastoral presence here, so the place just slowly unravelled.

Discipleship

A fellow minister here in town made an interesting point recently regarding church growth. He said that he prays for his church to grow only so much that everyone in it can still be adequately discipled in the faith, and so no one falls through the cracks. I that is good to pray for as one of the shortcomings of really big churches, whether they be Protestant mega-churches or Roman Catholic parishes, do not always do well in helping their parishioners grow in personal faith and devotion to Christ... too many people just fall through the cracks. What is scary about our parishes is that this often happens even though we are very small.

Paul O'Dette Concert

Last night my wife and I saw Paul O'Dette in concert at the Radford Guitar Festival. This was a special treat as this man is widely considered to be the greatest lutanist in the world. He played pieces by Holborne, Johnson, and (of course) John Dowland. I love early, Renaissance, and Baroque music. It is very ordered and restrained, yet full of emotion and melodic complexity. As I was listening to him play last night the music reminded me of the Book of Common Prayer. It too is very ordered and restrained, yet quite emotional at the same time. I would not be so quick to say that this "restrained emotionalism" is an "English" characteristic as much as it is a characteristic of the Renaissance in general. From an amateur classical guitarist's perspective this sound is common among Spanish, Italian, German, and English lute composers, and I imagine the same is true in religion and other areas.

New Edition of the 1928 BCP Published

The Anglican Province of America has just published a 4" x 6" personal edition of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer in bonded leather. You can buy here for the low price of $25 USD. 

Barack Obama gets it wrong (again).

Those of you who have been on Mars recently may not have heard that our president, who on the campaign trail once referred to pregnancy as a "punishment", signed an executive order allowing federal funding for stem cell research. This involves the destruction of human embryos which are "left over" from fertility clinics so that their stem cells may be harvested and used to research treatments and cures for various diseases. What has been so frustrating listening to his commentary as well as that of some of the news networks is that they say that 1) this is "sound science", and 2) that the Bush policy put political ideology over science. First, there is no evidence that I have heard of that harvesting these stem cells will lead to any miracle cures. They have decided a priori that embryonic stem cells (and no other kind) are the source of miracle cures, therefore that we have a "moral obligation" to destroy these human beings and use them to save others. But they have not proved that these stem cells will do anything to help anyone! And second, the Bush policy put morality - not political ideology - over over science, which is precisely what we need. This language that Obama is trying to throw out there is quite dangerous and I have seen it in the church. He suggests that abortion and infanticide is a "political", not moral issue, and people in the church pick up on that and start to believe it. Therefore when you discuss abortion from the pulpit some people accuse you of bringing "politics" into the church. This is a moral and scientific issue. It is Obama who is putting politics over science. There are other types of stem cells that may be used for this sort of research, as well as other human-made cells that scientists are developing for this type of research. Yet Obama has to use tax payer dollars to fund this scientifically dubious and morally wrong research, getting a whole bunch of people (like me) worked up when he doesn't have to.

Fr. Michael McInerney - Benedictine Monk & Architect

Thanks to a former St. Francis parishioner who is an architect and architectural historian I learned who the architect of our unique building was. His name was Fr. Michael McInerney, and he was a monk out of Belmont Abbey in North Carolina. This noted architect significant designed churches, schools, and hospitals, and is considered the main architect of the "American Benedictine" school of architecture. He also designed various church appointments, such as sanctuary lamps and chalices. He lived from 1877-1963, and his work is divided into three major periods: a neo-gothic period where he used lots of brick; a romanesque period where he used lots of stone; and a late, more modern period that used very minimal artistic ornamentation and had flat roofs. Our building is from the last period and is pictured in the back of a little booklet on him as the "classic example" from his late period. Like all artists there are common themes running through his work from all periods, such as long-stemmed stone crosses set into the facade of the building (we have two such crosses on the exterior of our building). All of his work is very simple and minimal. He was so successful as an architect that he kept the Belmont Abbey and college financially solvent during the Great Depression.

This building makes more sense to me now that I have this booklet about the architect. It is very Benedictine, which is actually perfect for an Anglican parish since Anglicanism is very Benedictine in its spirituality. (NB: this was originally St. Mary's Catholic Church, for readers who did not know that from earlier posts.) I will be putting up pictures from the book and more commentary about the architect on the St. Francis website when I have time at www.stfrancisblacksburg.org 

Ecumenical Overload

I am a member of two ecumenical ministerial groups here in town. One is dominated by more mainline churches, and the other more conservative, evangelical churches. St. Francis has been warmly welcomed by both. These groups are very important, because not only does it provide emotional, professional, and spiritual support, but also networking opportunities. The first group is sponsoring a series of ecumenical Lenten services that we are a part of. The second group is new, and while we probably will not do joint services, we will pray for each other and offer each spiritual support and counsel in a spirit of Christian charity. 

This is a new thing for St. Francis. From what I have heard it has historically been something of a standoffish church, which was largely the culture of our former jurisdiction. That spirit has done nothing but weakened this and many other continuing Anglican parishes over the years. Like a nerdy guy trying to get a date, we can't possibly grow or spread the Catholic faith if we do not put ourselves "out there" in various way. This is just one of these ways. And while we are certainly not in doctrinal agreement on many issues with the ministers in both of these groups, and cannot share in the sacraments, we can work together in other productive ways. And we can also learn something from each other. I have really appreciated the insights into building and sustaining a ministry in this unique college town that I have gained from the AMiA and PCA clergy that I have met with, as well as from the UMC, Roman Catholic, and Baptist clergy. As clergy we face many of the same issues, such as church-hopping, and people not establishing membership at a parish.

So I am looking forward to more interaction with these folk as the years go on! I think that our parish will come out stronger because of it - especially in our anglo-catholic convictions.

Anglicans and Pipe Smoking

Recently I have begun to smoke my pipes again. I started pipe smoking when I was in college, and stopped while going through seminary to become a chain cigarette smoker, and then I decided to quit smoking altogether. But now I have the urge to puff on the old pipe once in a while. The aroma is pleasing; the wafts of smoke are mysterious, and the pipe itself is an old friend. Pipe smoking has always struck me as being a very "Anglican" thing to do (i.e. C.S. Lewis to the left). Maybe its the antiquarian nature of our classical Prayer Book tradition. Smoking pipes or cigars in moderation is a wonderful, contemplative experience. I am fortunate to have a great tobacco store right up the street from the church that I can walk to.

I am blessed to have amassed a nice collection of pipes over the years. For the longest time whenever I would travel to Europe a new pipe was the gift I would get myself. My favorites are my old Charatans (an English pipe); my gorgeous Ben Wade (Danish); and my Peterson "Sherlock Holmes" Series pipe - the Mycroft. I have some nice French pipes and a Dutch pipe too, as well as some inexpensive ones that have purely sentimental value. I would like to get a nice Savinelli at some point (an Italian pipe).

One thing that I have learned over the years in choosing pipes is that you have to pick one out that looks good on you. In other words, picking out a pipe is like shopping for a pair of glasses or a hat. What looks good for a short fat man (e.g. a classic "Bulldog" style pipe) may not look good for tall skinny guy. You have to choose a pipe that matches your face and build. I happen to like straight sandblast pipes. The few bent pipes I have do not look on me and don't feel right, even though they are quality, expensive pipes, but they might look great on other people.

So to all Anglican (and other) pipe smokers and aspiring pipe smokers out there, if you are going to invest a hundred bucks or so on a decent pipe make sure you take the time to pick one out that compliments your facial features. Take a mirror with you to the tobacco store so you get the right one.