"The Monastery" - Great New TV Series

There is a great new program on Sunday nights on The Learning Channel called “The Monastery”. It is about five men who are at a crossroads in their lives who go to the Monastery of Christ in the Desert to live with the Benedictine monks there for forty days and forty nights. They are supposed to be looking for clarity, purpose, and meaning in life. The first episode was last night. One guy, an ex- Hollywood screenwriter, has been in recovery for 30 years; another is a 23-year old combat-wounded vet from Iraq; there’s a guy who is a former Satanist that came to know the Lord and now wants to be an Episcopal priest; there’s an ex-gang member who now helps kids get off the street in Massachusetts; and there’s a paramedic/ex-Marine. They are all at varying stages in their spirituality. Some believe in God, some do not. Two are lapsed Catholics, and two are “nothing”.

It is fascinating to see how they adjust to monastic life. They live just as the monks do and swear obedience to the abbot while there. The strict routine is very hard for them – even the ex-Marines. They cannot deal with the silence and stillness very well, either. One guy – the veteran – admits that he can’t sit still for more than two minutes, so obviously he has a hard time with the services. I wonder how their lives will change, if at all, after the forty days are up? The most interesting thing to me was seeing the incredible stupidity and arrogance of the two ex-Marines (no offence to anyone out there serving, or who has served, in the armed forces). The one guy is just a kid with no education, so his idiotic ramblings are to be expected. The older one (who now serves as a paramedic, and witnesses lots of death and violence that he is trying to come to grips with) is bitterly cynical about everyone and everything. All he does is insult everyone, and make sarcastic remarks every few minutes. They are constantly challenging the rules of the community in small ways, prompting the monks to have meetings with them, and get them back into line. All in all it is quite interesting, and I highly recommend it.

The thing about this new series that makes it near and dear to me, though, is that I took a weeklong retreat at this monastery back in 2000 when I was in seminary. Many of the people on the show I met – the abbot, Prior Christian, Brother Andre, Father Joseph (he was just visiting the monastery for the first time when I was there, actually) etc. In fact, I still support the monastery when they send out their letters asking for financial help. That period when I visited the monastery was a very difficult time in my life. I was alienated from everyone and everything, abandoned by all but a few friends, and to a large extent by my family, who didn’t want me to be in seminary preparing for the priesthood. I was an outsider at the seminary, and an outsider at work. My girlfriend dumped me at a bar a few months earlier. I was dirt poor… so poor I could barely afford to eat and buy the most basic supplies I needed to get by (I was so poor I had to sometimes steal rolls of toilet paper form work because I couldn’t afford to buy any!). Top all of that off with living alone, and having to read and write papers all the time for seminary, and you have the recipe for serious and major funk. My life had become like a Hank Williams song. So it was under those circumstances that I decided to take a cleansing pilgrimage/roadtrip/retreat to Christ in the Desert. I drove with friend from Baltimore to Abiquiu New Mexico in my old beat-up 1986 Buick century sedan (the radio didn’t work, neither did the dashlights, so we sang songs to each other on the trip out and back). I chain-smoked to occupy the time. On the way out, we swung through Oklahoma City to see the destruction from and memorial of the infamous bombing. When we finally arrived at the monastery we were warmly received by the brothers. There was no direction or guided retreat from the brothers, and guests were not required to go to the services. You literally just make reservations, and show up, and then you’re on your own. We were, however, required to help do work around the grounds. In my week there, in addition to cleaning, I dug a trench and laid some electrical conduit, and helped pour the foundation for their refectory. And of course you have to eat with the monks since it takes an hour to drive out to the main road, and another hour or so to get anywhere near civilization. The atmosphere at the monastry was beautiful and serene. There was no electricity, no noise allowed… no nothing. Just God, and the chanting of the Psalms and prayers ascending up through the canyon to Him in the vastness of the sky. The liturgies were beautiful – in fact, that was where I first learned to read chant notation. The long road trip out and back; the solemn prayers, chants, and liturgy; the hot sun and dry desert; the cold nights; the hard physical labor; eating joint meals in silence with the brothers; and the quiet and lack of technology cleansed and healed me. It made me see that somehow God was bigger than all of my problems, and that His love was like a vast ocean washing over me, and through me. My life was changed by going there; I hope that happens with these guys on the cable TV show. When I returned home from the monastery, the troubles in church and life were only just beginning, and I went through another dark night of the soul. But I am convinced that had I not been to Christ in the Desert I would not have survived that difficult time to come.

Bad Vicar Video

Go to Remnant Anglican and check out this hilarious video from YouTube. It wouldn't be so funny if it weren't true! As one comment noted, it makes fun of obnoxious, angry, stand-offish priests, and also loosy-goosy new-ager/"spiritual" people.

Biretta Tip: Jeffrey Baus

ACA Votes to Join FACA

The Anglican Church in America voted recently to join the Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas. Read about it here. Soon, by the grace of almighty God, the corporate disunity of the continuum will be a thing of the past. Thanks be to God.

On a slightly related subject, the bishops of the APA and REC have issued a wonderful pastoral letter on unity in the Church. The official title is: True Unity by the Cross of Christ For the Spread of the Gospel. I invite you all to read it here. My own bishop, the Most. Rev. Walter Grundorf had this to say about it on the APA wesbite:

Feast of St. Michael and All Angels
September 29, 2006

To: Clergy and Leadership of the Anglican Province of America
From: Bishops of the REC/APA

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Enclosed for you to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest is the recent Pastoral Letter issued jointly by the Bishops of the Reformed Episcopal Church and the Anglican Province of America. I hope that you will not only carefully read and consider this letter yourself, but will share it with your parishes. It is critical that those of us who call ourselves Traditional or Classical Anglicans come together for the cause of the Gospel and take seriously our Lord's words about being one. Our Lord did not offer unity as a suggestion, but as part and parcel of the Gospel. We must logically begin with unity among fellow Traditional Anglicans with whom we share much in common. Overcoming fear in dealing with other Anglicans seems to be the most difficult part of this process. We must work our way through our unfortunate experiences of past failed unions, trusting in the healing of the Holy Spirit to move us on in the power of Christ's Love (II Tim. 2:7).

We are in the midst of a battle for the heart and soul of Anglicanism as we have received it. There is much heartbreak and confusion among so many who are disillusioned by the established church and are looking for safe harbor. People who are searching are further confused by the plethora of churches on the internet that claim to be Anglican. How does one choose when all continuing churches appear to be the same?

By forging relationships with legitimate Anglican bodies, we hope that those who are in searach of a faithful jurisdiction will find us. I pray that the Lord will lay it upon all of our hearts to consider well the responsibiity we have in attaining unity among our fellow orthodox Anglican breothers and sisters. May we find in the Cross of our Lord Jesus that perfect unity.

Faithfully yours,

(Signed)+Walter H. Grundorf

The Most Rev. Walter H. Grundorf, D.D. Bishop of the Diocese of the Eastern US, Presiding Bishop APA

Jesus Christ - The Exemplar of the Sacraments

I am reading John MacQuarrie's fun little book A Guide to the Sacraments, and in it he makes an interesting point on how Jesus Christ is not only the author and minister of the sacraments, but is also the exemplar of them. That is to say, he posseses annd exemplifies the grace which they bring about in whoever receives them.

Building on the work of Kenan Osbourne, he comes up with a chart to show what he means:

The Baptized One/Baptism - Jesus - Faith
The Confirmed One/Confirmation - Jesus - Perserverence
The Really Present One/Eucharist - Jesus - Self-Giving
The Reconciler/Penance - Jesus - Penitence
The Priest/Orders - Jesus - Service
The Lover/Marriage - Jesus - Love
The Healer/Unction - Jesus - Wholeness

In reference to baptism, for example, MacQuarrie writes: "Just as Jesus understood his own baptism as that solemn moment when he must embark on the high mission to which the Father had called him, fortified by the Holy Spirit that now rested upon him, so one who receives Christian baptism is called to follow in the way of Jesus and receives the same spirit"

Regarding penance, we understand that, as representative man, the new Adam, Jesus is the reconciled. He writes: "If we try to get away from our all-too-individualistic ways of thinking and see Jesus Christ in solidarity with the whole of humanity, then it will not seem strange to us that even as he justifies the whole race by realizing God's intention of humanity, so he also takes the sins of the race upon himself and repents of them."

One gets the idea of where MacQuarrie would go with the rest of the sacraments. This is just an amazing concept to me - Christ being not only the author and minister, but also the exemplar of the sacraments. So obvious, but something I had never even thought of or heard articulated before.

Great New Blog

Here is a link to the one of the best and most useful Anglican blogs I have seen to date:

http://anglicaneucharistictheology.blogspot.com/

I highly recommend that everyone who has an interest in Anglican eucharistic theology read this blog.

(Biretta tip: Jeffrey Steel)

Deep Theoogical Reflection of the Day

I was watching a rerun of the Dukes of Hazzard the other day and noticed that there is an uncanny resemblance between Boss Hogg and the pope.

The pope dresses in all white and wears a fancy hat; so does Boss Hogg.

The pope rules over the Vatican City; Boss Hogg rules over Hazzard County.

The pope has the Vatican as his HQ; Boss Hogg has the Boar's Nest.

The pope has a fancy car - the popemobile; Boss Hogg has his white convertible with the steer horns on the front of it.

The pope has a fancy chair - the throne of St. Peter; Boss Hogg has a fancy chair - his barber chair

The pope is surrounded by smoke - incense; Boss Hogg is surrounded by smoke - cigars

The pope has his doctrinal enforcer/watchdog - the head of the CDF; Boss Hogg has his - Sheriff Roscoe Pete Coltrane

The pope speaks English with a heavy accent - so does Boss Hogg

The pope has people that cause him a great deal of trouble and try to usurp his authority - schismatics, heretic, etc.; Boss Hogg has the Duke boys.

The pope is sort of friends with the ABC, who has a big bushy beard and a big church/communion that he can barely keep together. The two go way back, but the pope would really like to see the ABC and his communion submit to papal authority; Boss Hogg has a similar relationship with Uncle Jesse (who has a big bushy beard). He is always scheming to take over Uncle Jesse's farm, which is constantly teetering on the brink of financial disaster, and lock up the Duke Boys.

Is this a coincidence? Could the Dukes of Hazzard serve as a metaphor for the church in an even larger way? What about Daisy Duke, Cooter, and the General Lee? What about Roscoe's pet basset hound that rides around with him? The possibilities for theological reflection are endless. Hmmmm, I think I know what I am going to do my ph.d about. Yee haw!

My New Hero - 81 Year Old Man Building a Cathedral

There is very little that I read in the news that takes me by surprise, and that I think about for days and days after I've read it. Like most Americans I suppose I have been desensitized to all of the violence and disaster that most news programs focus on, so I read a news story and forget it the next day. This story is different, though. When I read it I thought, "This guy is my new hero."

The man, an ex-Trappist monk in Spain (who is 81), is building his own cathedral. He's been working on it with friends, family, and other helpers for around 45 years. He has no architect, no construction experience, no money for such a huge undertaking, no building permits, no permission from the Church (but also no prohibitions). He just started building a cathedral. It is made out of whatever he can find and get - old tires, bicycle parts, leftover construction material, etc. He didn't have enough money to rent a crane to lift the frame for the dome into place, so he and his six nephews hoisted it up using pulleys made from old bicycles. It looks pretty good so far... actually it looks amazing considering all of this.

Visionaries like this blow my mind. It shows just how amazing the human spirit is, and what a man devoted to God can do, or will try to do. This man is a saint, and a true artist. Maybe someday I too will build a cathedral.

Good Scripture Scholarship

I am almost finished reading The New Testament and the People of God by N.T. Wright. I can't wait to read the next two books in the series, and then see where he takes the the whole project (it is supposed to be a total of five volumes). This book, and his whole method, is so refreshing after spending years at the "brainwash center" (i.e. the "tepid and centrist" Roman Catholic seminary that I attended) being force fed warmed-over Bultmann with a big greasy slab of J.P. Meier of "A Marginal Jew" fame, thrown in on the side.

One of the reasons that I like N.T. Wright so much is that he really seems to take the texts themselves seriously and as essentially reliable historical documents. And even though he does this, he also pays attention to the fact that they are biased "interpretations", so it is a very balanced approach overall. He sets the NT in its historical context - where it came from, and what it lead to - instead of spending page after page going over the intricacies of "Markan priority", or some other obscure feature of NT studies. In other words, he gives the reader a big picture of the worldview of an ancient Jew and Christian, and so brings the sacred texts to life in a new way. He also corrects some faulty notions along the way, such as Bultmann and others' understanding of "apocalypse", seeing it as something that is very this-worldy rather than as a cataclysmic destruction of the universe (alien to Jewish thought). Needless to say he backs up everything he says with immense erudition and scholarship.

It seems to me that other NT scholars focus on the wrong things in their work a lot of the time (Meier, for example). While they purport to believe in the texts as "powerful theological stories" they never seem to get around to talking about the stories themselves and what the stories are trying to teach. They spend too much time deciding what "did and didn't actually happen", and rehashing and rexplaining old theories like the "messianic secret" for the millionenth time. That stuff does have its place, and should be studied by students and scholars, but all too often that becomes the end goal in biblical studies rather than the story that is being told.

So if you are tired of how biblical studies have been done for so long, do not despair. Read N.T. Wright. You will be plesantly surprised.

I'm not a web designer, but....

Here is the website for my new parish:

www.stmarksvero.org

Alphabet Soup

I am reading Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, which is the story of his involvement in the Spanish Civil War. It is a great little book. Last night I read a passage that reminded me of continuing Anglicanism. He wrote:

"The revolutionary atmosphere of Barcelona had attracted me deeply, but I made no attempt to understand it. As for the kaleidoscope of political parties and trade unions, with their tiresome names - PSUC, POUM, FAI, CNT, UGT, JCI, JSU, AIT, - they merely exasperated me. It looked at first site as though Spain were suffering from a plague of initials. I knew that I was serving in something called the POUM (I had only joined the POUM militia rather than any others because I happened to arrive in Barcelona with ILP papers), but I did not realize that there were serious differences between the political parties. At Monte Pocero, when they pointed to the position on our left and said: 'Those are the Socialists' (meaning the PSUC), I was puzzled and said: 'Aren't we all Socialists?' I thought it idiotic that people fighting for their lives should have seperate parties; my attitude always was, 'Why can't we drop this political nonsense and get on with the war?'"

He goes on in the same vein. This passage instantly reminded me not only of the alphabet soup of traditional Anglican groups, but also how distracting it all is from our mission to fulfill the Great Commission of Our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

Our Plans vs. God's Plans

Many people going into full time Christian service present God with a little list explaining to Him exactly what kind of ministry they will be doing at the various points in their lives. They tell God that they are going to serve as a missionary for three years, and then pastor a parish for five years, then go to grad school and do a research degree in something, etc. They have it all figured out and are "informing God" of the way things are "going to be."

It can be rather comical, then, when we realize that God will have His way with us no matter what we have planned. One might think that he is going to go into a full time teaching ministry, for example, when all of sudden God calls him to go and serve a parish... even if he is scared to death of parish work. Or one might think that she is called to be a homemaker and administrative assistant, when all of a sudden God calls her to the mission field. God will have His way with us no matter what, as the stories of the bible - from Joseph to Saul of Tarsus - teach us.

The point is to always be open to where and how God is calling us to serve. Just because we may not have opportunities in the area of ministry that we have imagined we'd serve in doesn't mean that God cannot or will not use us in some other way. He may intend for us to doing something very different than we've imagined. Just as He called Moses, who had speech impediment or something like that, to be His spokesman before pharoah, so He may be calling each of us to serve Him in some previously unimagined way.

Buildings

It is a great joy to serve as curate in as beautiful a parish church as St. Mark's APA. Many, but by no means all, continuing church buildings are rather modest to say the least, and I have worshipped in a lot of these "modest" buildings. But honestly, it never bothered me that much. Worshipping the Lord in a small, rented building, basement, etc. is as wonderful and as valid as worshipping the Lord in a cathedral. As long as there is a valid sacrament, and the word of God is truly preached, I am fine. Everyone has to start somewhere. St. Mark's once met in a metal shed-like structure out by the Vero Beach airport!

I truly believe that many (not all) people do not consider joining "continuing" churches because the buildings are often very modest. Yes, people today are that shallow. They are more concerned with externals, and are not willing to go help start a new church with their time, presence, or money. One wonders if people of this mindset would have become Christians in ancient times, when there were no fancy buildings, organs, vestments, and you could possibly be killed for being a believer. Probably not.

Picasso in the Vatican?

Here is an article from Zenit on how a curator is trying to find a suitable to Picasso to add to the Vatican art collection. The rub is this: why would the Vatican want art by someone who painted hardly any religious art, and basically completely objected to the moral dictates of the Christian faith? If you ask me, though, that should not be an issue. The collection should hold great art that has Christian themes as its subject matter.

I suspect, though, that many people would object to a Picasso being placed in the collection because of his abstract style of painting, which they wrongly assume is contrary to Christianity in some way. But really they should not think this way, as it was Aristotle who thought that the best art was that which imitated nature perfectly. Abstract art is not anti-Christian in any way in and of itself. In fact, some of the best Christian art is abstract (e.g. icons), that is to say it is an abstraction of something in nature (abstraction in art is different from non-objectivity in art). Medieval art is also very abstract and out of proportion. So the idea that the best Christian art is that which best represents the natural world simply doesn't fly. In fact, we have no way of knowing how well men such as Leonardo, Strozzi, Poussin, and others really represented what they were painting, as we do not possess photos of those who sat for them.

The Vatican collection (which I have been to) has wonderful examples of art by artists such as Bernard Buffet and Ben Shahn (not even a Christian) who painted in a very abstract manner. So why not add a Picasso to this collection, if a good one can found?

Reappraisal of the AMiA's Policy of Ordaining Women to the Deaconate

Here is a link to an article written by the Rev'd J.S.S. Patterson regarding this important issue. The article is on the side bar of his parish's website in .pdf format.

(Biretta tip: Fr. Chandler Holder Jones, SSC)

Update and New CD

Sorry I have not posted anything recently. We just arrived in Vero Beach, Florida on Monday. After going through seven straight days of moving "hell" (packing, unpacking, etc.) things are finally beginning to calm down a bit. There is no internet connection where we are staying, so I have to drive a few miles to Panera Bread to use their free wi-fi network. I hope to go back to regular posting soon.

I will leave you all with this. Just before moving I bought a new CD by the Choir of King's College called "Gregorian Chant". It consists of the Sarum mass for the Octave of the Nativity of the BVM, and first vespers for the same. It is a gorgeous recording (I think they do Gregorian Chant very well), and it contains the entire service, including the chanted Epistles, Gospel, preface, etc. I recommend it!

School's Been Blown to Pieces

Someone stole my most recent copy of New Oxford Review from the mail (theft of mail is big problem in my experience in Baltimore ), so I had them send me another. And I am so glad I did, because in this issue is an article in it on the sorry state of Catholic Schools here in the U.S. As a former Catholic school teacher myself, it really hit a nerve. The man's basic point is that the schools are not teaching "official" Catholic theology.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore's policy is that anyone can teach in a Catholic, so long as it is not the religion class, which must be taught by a "practicing" Catholic. So at my school, me, and two other students were the only Catholics. The science teacher was an armchair Buddhist. The English teacher was some kind of Baptist (a woman) who was also an "ordained minister". The principal was a Lutheran - which officially was in violation of archdiocesan policy (the principal must be Catholic, so they just gave her a different title). The other teachers didn't even go to church. So it was a real grab bag.

The problem with this approach is that it assumes faith and "religion" doesn't have any impact on other fields of study. It seperates faith and life. But religions are always part of a larger worldview, and the different elements in a worldview build on and interact with each other. One need only watch the evening news to see how the scientific establishment and the Catholic Church go at it over issues like embryonic stem cell research and so on. How important, then, for the science teacher to be in tune with Church's teaching. So, the archdiocese's "open" policy is really not very wise in my opinion (unless of course they want to continue to ruin the Catholic Church, which maybe they do). It undermines the wholistic mission of the Catholic Church. Conservative Protestant/Reformed schools are much better in my opinion in hiring people who "tow the party line". Why the Catholics don't do that, and don't see the benefits in it is beyond me.

Church Insurance Program

Does anyone know which continuing Anglican jurisdictions have insurance programs for clergy and other employees? The APA and REC do not. I think the ACC had one at some point. What about the others (APCK, DHC, ACA, etc.)? I have been doing some research on this and would like to know. Thanks!

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.

Resurrection Window

This past weekend I had the privledge of celebrating the Holy Eucharist at St. Mark's Church, Vero Beach, where I will soon be serving as curate. St. Mark's has a gorgeous set of windows by artist Lyn Durham who is one of the top painters in the American stained glass field. I will be posting pictures of the various windows for everyone to see them. Here is the "Resurrection" window. This is only the center lancet. It is actually a tryptych.

You would be surprised at how many people in churches never look at what is in their church building. When I was in the stained glass field, I would point out details of windows to vestrymen and pastors, and they would be amazed at what I'd show them. Of course, if they only took a few minutes to actually look at the art up close they'd see those things too. It is like people never taking time to ponder a doctrine of the faith, like the resurrection, or the afterlife. They have in their mind a set idea of what the doctrine is all about, but because they never actually think about it beyond what is already in their own mind, they often have erroneous ideas (like "heaven" being a big golden main street with lots of mansions on it), or they don't fully appeciate whatever doctrine it may be.

May God grant us eyes to see, and ears to hear, and the grace to always be looking.

Add Your Parish to this Map

Go to this site and add your continuing Anglican parish to this map. It takes just a second.

New Mindset for Evangelism

I have written before that it is sometimes frustrating to be Anglican in the sense that Anglicanism can be hard for the outsider to understand. People don't know if it is protestant, or catholic, both, or neither. And then if they do know something about it, one must go through and explain how "episcopal" and "Anglican" are the same thing, but really they're not, and so on. So the whole thing can be very frustrating and confusing at times.

Well, now I have decided to change my mindset regarding this, and turn frustration into opportunity. Instead of being mildy annoyed at always having to explain the Anglican way (since people know so little about it) I try to see it as an opportunity to get in protracted conversation with someone about the Lord Jesus Christ. This is especially good with the unchurched. They might not have any interest in Jesus, or in going to church, but they always seem to have a curiosity about "something new" that they haven't heard of before (like Paul on Mars Hill in the Acts of the Apostles). Already this mindset as yielded some good conversations where I was able to present the claims of Jesus Christ clearly and unequivocally. And naturally the convesation turns to the doctrines of the faith, such as sacraments, the scriptures, etc., so a whole variety of topics can be discussed all based on the question, "Anglican? What's that?" So I would definitely encourage us all to use the fact that people know so little about Anglicanism as a springboard for a conversation about Jesus. The same can be done with the current Episcopal Church crisis.

I don't think we do enough one-on-one evangelism, where we actually sit down with someone and tell them who Jesus Christ is, that He died for them, and that the church is the ark of salvation, and so on. Who says that only Baptists or whomever can evangelize one on one. We can do it too, and we should, as we're all called to bear witness to Our Lord.

St. James the Average on tour?

A few years ago I used to play banjo and do some singing in a rockabilly/roots band. We played regularly at two bars in Baltimore, doing mostly covers of the Grateful Dead, Johnny Cash, Gillian Welch, Merril Haggard, traditional "Americana" types of songs, and a lot more. Occasionally we'd play a parties as well. But as time went on, a few guys moved away, and the rest of us got too busy to jam regularly. Some of us got married, one got ordained... so now we hardly ever get together to play at all. Anyone who's ever played in a band has experienced this, I'm sure.

It seems that the only time we do get together is when I get some of the guys to come and play at the Presbyterian Home of Maryland, where I do an Evening Prayer service every few months. One time, I got the bright idea of getting the remaining guys together to play some special music. It was also a chance for me to preach the Good News to the bandmates, but that is another post. So the band went and played a rockin' medley of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", "I am a Pilgrim", and "Were you there (when they crucified my Lord)?" It went over very well, and I was surprised that some of the octagenarians even knew who Johnny Cash was. The second time we went back as a band months later, we just did an entire concert for them, which was a blast - that's where the picture is from. That was the last time we played out.

Well, today I got an e-mail from our former bass player who lives up Boston now, and apparently he posted some of our music online. A promoter discovered it and has asked us to consider playing some shows at some larger venues in the Baltimore-Washington area! What a crazy life this is.... Anyway, that would be lots of fun, and we might even make some money at it, but unfortunately St. James the Average doesn't have time for one more thing to be added to his schedule. And I don't think they would let me play in my collar, so count me out!

Priest-Artist

Here is an article on me and my art in the Baltimore Sun. The reporter got some of the dates wrong, but it is a confusing story, so that's okay.

Clericalism is back.

Recently, I had an interesting discussion with a person about "diversifying" the leadership in churches (and this person's home church in particular - not an Anglican parish). As our discussion went on, it became apparant to me that this person was equating leadership and ministry entirely with the ordained ministry. In his mind, women should be "ordained" because they have a right to be leaders and ministers (in a generic sense of the word) as do men.

I suppose this was interesting to me because the more rigorous opponents of a male-only pastorate/priesthood usually cite clericalism (i.e. the priest/pastor does everything) as being one of the great evils of Christianity... a holdover from Medieval times. But what was so intriguing was that advocates of women's "ordination" are actually perpetuating this evil of clericalism and taking it to new extremes. The person I was talking to seemed to think that one had to be ordained, and lead sacramental acts, to take positions of leadership, service, and ministry in the local and larger church! That is clericalism at its most extreme. In reality, one does not have be ordained to "minister" in the name of the Lord (sacramental acts excluded, obviously). We are all called to serve and minister, and to help bring God's Kingdom into greater realization here on earth in whatever way we can.

Gentley, I tried to point out that Mother Angelica on EWTN is a perfect example of someone who has leadership over a lot of things (a global Catholic television network - that's a pretty big deal), yet she is not ordained, and is even opposed to "ordaining" women. There are the multitude of educators, charity providers, political leaders, etc. who all serve God without being ordained. The list of women who minister in the name of the Lord without being ordained could go on forever. It is not required to be ordained to serve God. In fact laity are required to serve God by virtue of their baptism and confirmation as much as the ordained are. Now obviously, the church has by divine institution a sacramental priesthood and ministry; that goes without saying. But I think to suggest that one haas to be ordained to serve God, start and lead ministries, witness to the truth of Jesus Christ to people, etc. is false. To suggest that is simply to promote clericalism.

Dominus Vobiscum

After a lovely spaghetti dinner last week, I decided to sit back and relax by drinking some lemoncello and watching "The Godfather". Then, I suddenly remembered that my vestments would be ready on Saturday! So when Saturday came around, my wife and I got in my Fiat, popped a Puccini CD into the CD player, and drove up to Philalephia to Renzetti & Magnarelli to pick them up. (I almost took my Ducati motorcycle up, but am glad I didn't, as there was lots of rain that afternoon.) On the way up we stopped by Little Italy in Baltimore to have some prosciutto and mozarella for lunch. When we got to Philly, we picked up the vestments, and they look great! On the way back, we stopped for desert and each had a cappuccino and some tiramisu.

Here is me in my red set from today's mass for St. James.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem on Communion

Here is a delicious quote from St. Cyril of Jerusalem (circa A.D. 387) on communion in both kinds and reverence for the sacred species. This quote comes from A Manuel for Confessors by Belton.

"Make thy left hand a throne for the right, as for that which is to receive a king. And hollowing thy palm receive the Body of Christ, saying over it the Amen. Hallow then with care thine eyes by the touch of the holy Body, and partake of it, giving heed lest thou lose any part of it; for whatever thou shouldest lose would evidently be a loss to thee as from one of thine own members. For tell me, if any one gave thee grains of gold, wouldest thou not hold them with all care, taking heed lest thou shouldest lose any of them and suffer loss? Wilt thou not much more carefully be in thy guard lest a crumb fall from thee of what is more precious than gold and precious stones? Then, after thou hast made thy communion of the Body of Christ, draw near also to the cup of His Blood, not stretching out thy hands, but bending and in an attitude of reverence and worship saying the Amen, hallow thyself by partaking also of the Blood of Christ."

Artist Blog

Okay, there is one more new blog that I want to highlight, and that is my art blog. Sometimes I have so much more to say about art and culture than I do about life as a continuing Anglican, so I thought I'd start this. This new blog will have a link to my art website (which is still being updated), as well as other art-related organizations. Obviously it will touch on theology and the church here and there, as I am a priest-artist, but the overall thrust of it will be art... and my art in particular.

To the left is one of the icons (Virgin Eleousa) that will be in my upcoming show.

Fare thee well, Baltimore

In almost a month, my wife and I will be packing our bags and moving down south to Vero Beach, Florida, where I'll serve as curate of St. Mark's Anglican Church.

I will certainly miss Baltimore, as I have lived here all my life (though I was actually born in Miami). Some of the things I will miss the most will be church-related people and things. I'll my spiritual director and confessor, Fr. Charles McClean, SSC, along with everyone else at Mt. Calvary Church. I'll miss making the rounds to the various Choral Evensong services around town. I'll miss being so close to New York City and Washington, DC. I'll miss being near to the Icon and Book Service (Washington), as well as The Newman Bookstore, which is the greatest theological bookstore on the planet. I'll miss spending hours snooping around the dark recesses of the fantastic library of my alma mater, St. Mary's Seminary. I'll miss walking up the street and looking around at the Episcopal bookstore, St. Bede's, and laughing under my breath at all of the weird New Age stuff they get in. And there is so much more that I will miss that I don't have space to mention.

All of that may sound boring to some, and maybe it is. But to me it is all so exciting and enriching. It's those simple things in life that make it so wonderful and worth living. I think that many people would be much happier and more fulfilled if they took the time to appreciate the finer points of their own life as God has given it to them. When we are thankful for the little things in life, and strive to live a life of simplicity, we begin to be transformed. Slowly we cease to be concerned about gaining more possessions and power. We slow down, and find ourselves with a mind and soul that is able to contemplate greater things... the things that are really worthwhile, and that do not fade away, such as love, relationships, and God.

Blessed with Vocations

As I mentioned in my report about the recent APA Synod, we have been blessed with lots of vocations to Holy Orders in recent years. When the church has clergy that means that it has the manpower to go out and minister and evangelize. We have been blessed not only with candidates in general, but with good candidates who are personable, professional, well-educated, and committed to serving our risen Lord.

My own parish of St. Alban's seems to be a "vocations" factory. Just yesterday I learned of yet another talented and well-educated man who is interested in going to seminary and possibly pursuing ordination. So after me, and the man and his family that just left for Nashotah House, that means we have 3-4 men in our parish alone who are at various stages in the discernment process. Why do we get so many? Well, we pray for more vocations at every single mass... that's got to be the main reason, obviously. God always answers prayer. Also, the rector is a very holy man who takes his work extremely seriously, and that goes a long way in attracting men to offer themselves for the sacred ministry. Indeed I've been in parishes where the rector doesn't take himself or his priestly vocation seriously, and it reflects in the health of the parish and level of vocations.

I truly believe that God is doing a great work in the world, and that He will use us traditional Anglicans to help accomplish it. In fact, I think that God is setting the stage for something big, as He is getting many men ready to preach the Gospel and administer the sacraments to a world that desperately needs them.

Pray for vocations. Pray for priests.

Greater Organization on the Blog

I have just created a new catagory of links that lists cross-jurisdictional Anglican unity organizations and partnerships around the country. If you have one in your area that has a website, please let me know and I will add it to this list. One of the things that I hope to do is organize the links in a better way and add additional catagories so that this blog can be used as a resource by others, and also be an instrument of unity in some small way.

And another new one....

Here is another Anglican blog that looks like it'll be really good: Glad to Be Anglican

The blogger, The Rev'd David Beckamnn, is a priest of the EMC out of Chattanooga. I am partial to people and things from Chattanooga, as I attended Covenant College for a few years way back when. The APA has a parish nearby in Knoxville, Holy Cross Anglican Church, whose vicar is the Rev'd Ralph Waterhouse (and also a fellow motorcyclist).

It is nice to see that classical Anglicanism is alive and well in the Tennessee Valley!

Another Roman Catholic TV Docu-Drama

Recently I received the latest newsletter from the Monastery of Christ in the Desert in New Mexico, where I took a retreat while in seminary years ago. It said that they participated in a documentary for the Learning Channel, which will air in September or October, where they let five men and five women come and live with them in the monastery for fourty days. It should be pretty good. Initially they were reluctant to participate, but since they have they've found that a lot of good has come from it.

This monastery is a great place to visit, by the way, and I highly recommend it to all who are interested. They are a really friendly bunch of people, and they do the liturgy amazingly well.

Two New Blogs

Here are two new blogs that look like they will be intersting to follow. The first is by Joshua Mahar, a student at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, and the second by my longtime friend and associate, Jeffrey Baus, aspirant for the Diocese of Quincy, and student at Nashotah House.

A Life Learning Grace: Sursum Corda

Remnant Anglican

Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Hass

Here is wonderful society that all Roman Catholics, and certainly any other Christian interested in good liturgical music, should join. Membership is free.

Gordon-Conwell Seminary Starting Anglican Clergy Training Program

Read all about it at Virtuosity. Too bad some other seminaries don't start similar programs. I believe the APA tried to set something up with RTS in Orlando, but it fell through, or is in limbo. The ACC tried to set something up with St. Mary's Seminary (School of Theology) and Union (Richmond) years ago, but that fell through as well. The difference, though, is that this program has been initiated by Gordon-Conwell. Those other attempts were initiated by the churches, I believe. So kudos to Gordon-Conwell. They are not only trying to serve God's kingdom, but also making a smart financial move. Why not try to cash in on all of the Anglican clergy who need training? Not everyone can go to Trinity or Nashotah House, you know.

It seems like a lot of conservative seminaries are missing out on the whole body of traditional Anglicans. There are a lot of us, and we need seminaries to go to. There is no viable continuing church seminary, except maybe the APCK one (which doesn't admit students from other jurisdictions). And I don't know how viable that place really is. So many of these places are simply missing out on a lot of prospective students, which is incredibly idiotic from a business perspective. All they need are one or two Anglican professors to start with to make an Anglican "house of studies", or something.

The place that is making my vestments began making outfits for the non-denominational black church years ago. You should see some of the unusual garments they make for the leaders of these bodies. They had been making Roman Catholic vestments for decades - a small, family owned firm, but branched out at some point. Some might laugh at them for serving these churches, but I applaud them. It shows good business sense. And as a result, they are a thriving vestment maker and have really good prices. So I don't know why more seminaries don't do that. Again, it just seems like they are really missing out on more income and greater building of God's kingdom.

Alternative Primatial Oversight: Remaking Anglican Ecclesiology?

One of the interesting aspects of the "TEC" dioceses pursuing this relationship with the Archbishop of Canterbury is that it would make those dioceses similar to Roman Catholic dioceses in the sense that RC dioceses answer directly to Rome. It is still not the same thing, obviously, but kind of tilts in that direction. Desperate times call for desperate measures, I suppose.

What will cantaur do? Personally, I see him as part of the problem, and have no idea why anyone would want to be under him. He is clearly a brilliant theologian, but he doesn't strike me as being a very good and decisive leader. Nonetheless, I offer my prayers for TEC, and especially those conservative dioceses and churches within that fold.

St. Karl Rahner

There is a fascinating discussion on Pontifications about how the Roman Catholic Church needs to "get over Rahner". The Pontificator says on one of the comments that readers of his blog would most likely not agree with the theology of Karl Rahner, or his contemporaries, such as Schilldbeeckx, Lonergan, David Tracy, and (obviously) Kung. And I imagine that he is probably right! And yet Rahner is taught in all of the Catholic seminaries, and has been for a long, long time. How very interesting.

We were force fed all those guys mentioned above, and especially Rahner, in seminary. I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard the Rahnerian phrase "transcendental openness" in my classes! His thought permeated every single class - from fundamental theology, to liturgy, to moral theology. For those of you who do not know, Rahner was a student of the philosopher Martin Heidegger, so he builds his theology on those categories, much like the Anglican, John MacQuarrie (who translated "Being and Time"). Many traditionalists believe those ontological categories are unsuitable to serve as a basis for Christian theology.

Honestly, I don't think Rahner is going anywhere in the Catholic Church. He has been taught in the seminaries for so long already, and was a major influence during Vatican II (indeed he was peritus - the theological expert - for almost all of the German bishops during that time). And insofar as the Catholic seminary system is built around the documents of Vatican II, he is going to be around for a long time. So in a word, if one is Catholic and does not like Rahner, he must simply learn to deal with it, and accept the fact that his priest and bishops are probably ardent disciples of Rahner - preferring him over St. Thomas Aquinas.

I suppose it is hard for converts to the Catholic Church to accept how the theology and method of the church has changed so much in the 20th century. Usually converts read only the books on a particular faith that they wish to read, and they develop in their mind some Platonic ideal of the way the faith they're converting to is supposed to be. But then they get discourgaged and disillusioned when, after converting, they see it's not really the way they envisioned it in their minds. For example, if one limits himself to only reading books by Ignatius Press, watching EWTN, going to an Indult Mass (or some more tradtional Novus Ordo mass), he may very well have an unpleasant surprise when he sees how the church actually is in all of its breadth and diversity. Incidently, people do this when converting to any number of faith traditions. It happens with Anglicanism too, so I am not just picking on Roman's here. Zealous converts to another faith tradition, would do well to seek out the wackiest stuff that people of that tradition have to offer, and to familairize themselves with it, so they will not surprised by anything coming down the pike.

For all of the Dearmerites out there...

My wife's boss asked me to come by and bless their new office today. Unfortunately, I forgot to get my cassock, lace surplice, stole, and biretta from church after Monday's mass of the Visitation. So the reverend clergy at Mt. Calvary Church lent me some vestments at the last minute (excluding a biretta, but that doesn't invalidate the blessing).

After the blessing I noticed that the green stole was made by the historic Warham Guild of London, and whose advisory board sat Percy Dearmer himself! The stole might have come from after his time, however, as I noticed a slight flair on the ends. How fitting, though, that I forgot my biretta while wearing the Warham Guild stole! Oh, and the cassock I borrowed was of the Anglican double-breasted variety, and the surplice was a simple, unadorned Almy surplice. Alas, what is happening to me?

The Warham Guild merged with Wippell's in the 1960s, and was completely absorbed by them in 1980.

Sister Gertrude Morgan

Here is a link to great CD by the American preacher/singer/artist Sister Gertrude Morgan (1900-1980). I love stuff like this. Sr. Gertrude lived in New Orleans, and would roam the streets of the French Quarter in a black dress and white collar with a megaphone shouting, and sometimes chanting, the gospel messages through it. Often she would keep time with a tambourine. She was involved in numerous charitable works, founding two orphanages, starting churches, and starting a food bank. In 1957 she had some sort of mystical experience in which she felt that God was calling her to become the "bride of Christ", so she started wearing a white nurse's uniform (white, pure), filled her home with white furniture, and began painting even more prolifically. Her primitive, apocalyptic art is particularly interesting.

Church Planting

This is a topic that I have discussed before. At synod there was talk of starting missions in a number of DEUS deaneries, and numerous parishes have started missions (especially in North Carolina). We have even talked of forming one at St. Alban's, and even doing something collaborative with the REC in this area, but alas, it looks like I will not be around for that since I'm moving to Florida.

What I would like to see is comprehensive plan for church planting developed in each diocese. Something like, "We want to try to start X number of parishes a year; we want to appoint a diocesan missioner; we want to start a fund to support this." And so on. It is possible, of course, to start missions without a grandiose plan, and plans don't always work out. But I think that having one would at least give us something to aim for and help the whole process grow and flourish for the glory of Jesus Christ. Maybe it something that can first be developed at the parish level. We have the clergy and postulants now, it seems, to go out and start missions. And there are enough people out there to be evangelized, and people from exisiting parishes, to start small core groups that can grow into new churches. So it is not impossible. But there are still difficulties, such as paying the priest, location, etc. There are so many factors involved, and that is why I think we need a comprehensive plan.

I try to make a conscious effort to evangelize, and tell other people about the Lord Jesus Christ. We have such a short amount of time here in this life, and I think we need to use our time with others - the clerk at the store, the guy at flower shop, etc. - to share the gospel with them however we can. If we believe that without Jesus Christ the world is lost then we will, or should, try to evangelize in some way shape or form. But then it always gets back to this question: where are you going to tell them to go to church? There are no continuing Anglican parishes in Baltimore City (where I live), and very few in the region, so I end up recommending churches of other traditions half the time. If there weren't a couple of FiFNa parishes here in town, then there would be no Anglican church to direct them to at all!

We Anglicans have never believed that we are the one true church, and some might suggest that's the reason why we are slow to start new parishes and evangelize. But I don't think that's necessarily the case. It doesn't stop other groups from evangelizing and church planting, and from being very succesful at it. So I hope, over time, we in the APA and REC, and other Anglican groups, can work together to develop a comprehensive plan for evangelism and church planting for the greater glory of God.

Tridentine Decrees

I was flipping through one of my seminary texts last night, one I had to read for Fundamental Theology - "Systematic Theology: Roman Catholic Perspectives" (Fortress Press), and found an interesting passage dealing with the eucharist. The author, David Powers, a theology professor from Catholic University, writes on p.280 that the Tridentine decrees were historically determined, apologetic, and defensive documents, rather than the authentic and full teaching of the Christian faith on the eucharist. He suggests that Trent itself never intended its decrees to be read as eternal, immutable, and unchanging laws.

It is always interesting to see what is being taught on the grass roots level in the Roman Church, and how it is so different from what many traditionalist RCs (especially converts, and people addicted to EWTN) believe.

The Sacramental Principle - By the Rt. Rev'd Albert Chambers

Here is a cool article by the Rt. Rev'd Albert Chambers that I found on the Church of the Resurrection's (NYC, Fr. Barry Swain, SSC, rector) website. Chambers was once the rector of this parish. More important, he was one of the three bishops who consecrated the first four bishops of the "continuing church" in the mid-seventies.

The Sacramental Principle

by The Rt Rev’d Albert A. Chambers,

Bishop of Springfield 1962-1972

Rector of this Church 1949-1962

“That they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God on the day of visitation.”

Good works do not necessarily mean the moral and ethical lives we lead. One can never tell how far-reaching the influence is of our good deeds. We would not minimize it, or belittle it. But there is another kind of bearing witness and another kind of giving glory to God which is inherent in our worship.

William Earnest Hocking once wrote, “Symbols without explanations run to theological mummery; explanations without symbols run to philosophical dry bones.” If you have two hands, why use only one?

In the Book of Common Prayer, embodying the Catholic heritage of the Church, the sacramental principle is preserved. Outward and visible signs are the effective and divinely instituted means of bestowing inward and spiritual grace. That is what a Sacrament is. Yet to use the outward and visible thing without knowing its meaning is mummery; to neglect the outward and visible thing is to lose one’s self in philosophical “dry bones”. Having two hands, why use only one?

The sacramental principle is natural and reasonable. We who are within the Catholic tradition believe it to be necessary. The inner response to the outward and visible is essential. The outward and visible augments the inner response.

We can understand better the means of Grace instituted and commanded by Our Lord if we begin with ourselves. We can call this the sacramental principle on the human level. We do not believe this irreverent or sacrilegious if it helps us to understand the mystery of the sacramental life.

We begin simply by looking at man as he is. Man lives in two worlds at the same time: the material and the spiritual.

The material world is appreciated and apprehended through the five senses: hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling, feeling with our bodies. It is a concrete world. It is made up of things. These things can be measured, described, compared. They are concrete. This world includes our bodies as well as so-called inanimate objets.

The spiritual world is invisible. It is appreciated and apprehended through the activity of the soul, the spirit, the mind. It is abstract. It cannot be measured, described, compared – though it can be demonstrated. In it are all the qualities of the spiritual life: love, goodness, kindness, truth, beauty, forgiveness, understanding, knowledge, joy, happiness, peace, and many other realities not describable. They are derived from God, who is the source and creator of them, even as he is the source and creator of all in the physical world.

The materialism of our present day may have its roots in the fact that the physical world is measurable and can be described precisely, as by the use of mathematics, whereas the spiritual world, eluding the senses, is incapable of measurement. One can buy a dozen eggs, or a bushel of apples, or weigh 160 pounds or be 5’10” in height. These are accurate descriptions. But one cannot say that he has a bushel 0f love, or a dozen of beauty, or that he is happier than someone else, or that he loves his wife more than someone else loves his wife. Yet which of the two worlds in which man lives is more important?

Without belittling the physical world (which would necessitate belittling our own bodies) we recognize the fact that the material, physical world is transitory and temporary, whereas the spiritual world is eternal. This we emphasize in order that we may have the proper perspective and may maintain the proper emphasis in our living.

Man’s life in these two worlds is fulfilled through the sacramental principle on a human level. That which is within must be expressed by that which is without. So we use the outward and visible as the means of communication. A thought in the mind or a feeling in the heart is expressed by the outward and visible. Life is lived day by day through the use of these outward signs.

Speech is a sacrament on the human level. It uses a physical apparatus to communicate the ideas or thoughts or feelings that are within and are invisible. The written word is a sacrament on the human level, because it, too, is a vehicle of communication – the means by which the unseen becomes visible. An embrace, a kiss, a handshake: these all partake of the sacramental character. Everything we do or say uses the outward and visible thing as the means of expressing that which is within.

There is a further observation. Not only do we express ourselves through the outward and visible, but we are also impressed by it. Speech, the written word, the embrace, make their impression upon us as we receive the communication intended for us. “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” A symphony, a landscape (to take the obvious) impresses us – “does something to us –for us” Thus we respond to people, their attractiveness, and the outward and visible manifestation of their characters.

The whole process of communication is thus in reality a simple one. This is the way we are created. It is a process so simple and natural that we accept it without thought. The physical world gives us the tools and instruments with which to express ourselves one to another, and by which we are impressed one by another.

Is it unnatural therefore to expect that God would use this natural process in his relationship to us, and that we should use it in our relationship to him? We should not be surprised, therefore, to find sacraments in his Church, instituted by him, commanded by him, to be a means of Grace, a means of communication by which we meet him, by which he expresses himself to us, by which we are impressed by him. And we should not be surprised to find these same sacraments a means through which we are privileged to express ourselves to him, and by which we strive to impress him with our response to his love for us, our worship and our devotion.

Because He is pure spirit and we are bidden to worship him in spirit and in truth, should we limit him to “spiritual mental telepathy” and reject the outward and visible means which he might use? This would seem to be unnatural and unintelligent, to say nothing of its being disobedient. He did command – “preach, baptize, teach”. He did say – “Do this in remembrance of me”.

We rejoice in the sacraments of God’s Church, because his sacraments are means by which he communicates his life and power to us. We rejoice because he lets his sacramental grace pour into our hearts to bring the miracle of rebirth and the remission of sin in Holy Baptism; the Heavenly food in the sacrament of the Altar, the living bread which comes down from Heaven; the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation; the blessing and sacramental grace in Holy Matrimony; the special gift of the Holy Spirit given in Holy Orders; the absolution and forgiveness of sins in Sacramental Confession; and the healing power of God in Holy Unction. He uses these means of communicating to man his love, his gifts, his resources. They are also a means by which man lifts heart in adoration and worship to the throne of Grace.

There is another fact, related to this principle, for which we in the Catholic tradition stand, and about which there is much ignorance. It is the use of outward and visible signs in our worship. Merely to illustrate, without attempting to give in any way an exhaustive list of them, we cite a few of the “externals” of our worship.

The use of incense in our worship has an ancient and noble history. Incense is the symbol of honor, or purification. It reminds us that our prayers are rising to the throne of Grace – “let my prayer be set forth in thy sight as the incense, and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice”. The use of incense comes to us from the Jewish Church where it was always part of their worship. It was because the early Christians would not burn incense – just a grain of it – to the Emperor that they were martyred. The use of incense is not meaningless. To burn it to the living God is to pay honor and tribute to him. Its use is abundantly justified.

The bodily acts of devotion common to our heritage are significant: the genuflection, for example – “at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, of things in Heaven and things in earth”. We bend the knee to honor his presence when we come into that Presence; we bend the knee to honor him as we approach to receive at the altar rail the Christ who gave himself for us. We stand to honor men of earth, we kneel to honor the King of Heaven.

Making the sign of the cross is also an outward and visible sign, reminding us that we were signed with the cross in Holy Baptism, and that we are not ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified. In the early Church the sign of the cross was a secret symbol by which Christians identified themselves to each other. We can thank God that today we can openly and joyfully sign ourselves with the cross in the name of the Blessed Trinity, thus reminding ourselves of God’s presence and bearing witness to our faith in him. There are many other bodily acts of devotion which assist us in our worship because they partake of the abiding principle of daily living, using outward acts to express inward realities.

In our worship of God we use many outward and visible signs. The vestments, the Altar Frontals, the stained glass windows, the beauty of Church architecture and decoration – these all have their rich heritage and meaning, and they all partake of the same principle – to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. They are means by which we express honor to him, by which we beautify his holy temple, by which we respond to his love. They all make their indelible impression upon us as they help to lift us to his Presence.

Call these “extra” aids to worship, but never forget their importance. They are simply means by which man can express himself in love and adoration to the God who created him, and by which he can pay him honor. They are means by which he can impress God of man’s response to his love. They also are instruments by which God expresses himself. These outward and visible instruments are made a means of communicating through which God expresses himself and impresses men.

These are good works. These are the things which we can behold. These are things and means by which we can glorify God. To deny them is to deny the means God has put at our disposal in order to deepen our life with him, to respond to his love, and to offer him worship.

The Suffering Artist

There is a an article in the news about a London art exhibit that explores the myth of the suffering artist. The curators suggest that artist depression and angst was triggered in part by the church and state buying less and less art, which caused artists to sell less work. Now, there may be something to that, but that's not what I wanted to write about today.

The article got me thinking about the various "Christian Arts" organizations, such as CIVA
and others that purport to help artists and the church reconnect. I have been involved in a number of these organizations, as well as with secular art organizations, and let me tell you they usually do nothing for artists. They have been, in my experience, a big waste of time and money. The church is still buying art - I know, because I used to sell stained glass windows, and I sold a lot of it. But the whole process is tied up with the contracting/bidding world, which most artists know very little about. And the people that run these arts organizations do not seem to know anything about the whole bidding and contracting process either, so individual artists never get the chance to show their work to the building committee, and thus never sell anything to churches. So they, and the leaders of these arts organizations, end up just kind of sitting around and whining about how no one in the church cares about art anymore. Well, that's just not true. Churches are still buying lots of art. Many clergy and laypeople would be open to buying work (such as vestments) from qualified individual artists, just as they are open to buying it from big, impersonal organizations (such as Almy), but they just do not know how to find these artists. So the whole process it rather depressing for everyone. The two need to be able to connect, but these organizations do not make that happen.

I actually have a proposal to address this problem that I will share with the world later - an idea I have been working on for years. But for now, if you are an artist like me, think twice before sending in your membership fee to join these organizations. They really will not help you sell your work to churches, or to anyone else for that matter

APA Provincial Synod Report

My wife and I just returned from the APA Provincial Synod, and I thought I would give a report on it. It was held in Merrilville, Indiana, which is where the pro-cathedral of St. Andrew of the Diocese of St. Augustine is located (DSA hosted the synod). For those of you who do not know, the APA is comprised of three dioceses: the Diocese of the Eastern US (DEUS, Bp. Walter Grundorf, Ordinary), the Diocese of the West (DOW, Bp. Richard Boyce, Ordinary), and the non-geographical Diocese of St. Augustine (DSA, Bp. Larry Shaver, Ordinary). DEUS itself is further divided into about nine deaneries. I do not know if there are any deaneries in the other dioceses. Before the provincial synod, the three dioceses had their diocesan synods.

The theme of the synod was “Faith and Mission”, and it was abundantly clear from the proceedings that the APA is thoroughly engaged in “faith and mission” on a variety of levels. There was lots of good news to report. Donations to the dioceses were up significantly. There are several new buildings going up (or that went up) since 2004 (four in DEUS). The provincial standings are as follows:

Total Parishes and Missions: 67 (up from 54 in 2004)
Total Members: 6,000 (up from 5,000 in 2004)
Total Deacons and Priests: 126 (up from 94 in 2004)
Total Bishops (active and retired): 10
Total Postulants: 30 (in various stages and in various programs)

(NOTE: The bishops read through the lists so quickly that I barely had time to write the standings down, so please excuse any inaccuracies. In the future, it would be helpful if a handout were distributed that contained the vital statistics.)

Visitors included some REC clergy, Bp. Royal Grote (REC), Fr. Amos of Abp. Akiola’s American church, the Rt. Rev’d Archimandrite Lev of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (representing the Ecumenical Patriarch), as well as a delightful SSC priest of the ACA out of Detroit. Fr. Amos read an official greeting from the archbishop. Highlights from the last two years include the Covenant Union with the REC and the Anglican Province of Nigeria; and the Common Cause Partnership, which includes the APA, REC, FiFNa, AMiA, and the ACN. The Anglican Federation, which the APA and REC started as a way to get the various “continuing” jurisdictions to work together without actually having to unite, and which has Abp. Gregory Venables serving as primatial patron, has attracted the interest of the Diocese of the Holy Cross and the ACA.

Various Items of Interest:

Positive reports were given on APA mission efforts in India, Fiji, Haiti, and elsewhere, though it would have been nice to have everything laid out in an information sheet or something. I personally knew nothing about the Church in India or elsewhere. Now I would say I know a little something. I think that the more people know about such missions, the more likely they would be top donate more time and money to them. Other mission efforts include supporting the Anglican Relief and Development Fund, which was established by the ACN as a way to provide support for needy people in third world countries, and so the people in those places do not have to accept money from heretical ECUSA dioceses.

Bp. Shaver, noticing the lack of young laypeople present, recommended that each diocese appoint a task force to get more lay youth out to the synods.

Bp. Grundorf noted the success of the APA/REC pension fund. Every parish has to contribute 10% of their clergy’s stipend to this fund (this is over and above their pay). This will provide financial security and great benefits for clergy down the road. To date there is still no diocesan health plan, but various people have been reviewing available options here and there.

As for clergy and clergy-related news, I was impressed at hearing of all of the various clergy retreats and quiet days that were held in the various deaneries (in DEUS). That shows how committed the clergy of the APA are to spiritual growth and development. Church planting and evangelism is very high on the list of priorities, with new missions forming regularly. The missions that have been formed in the last two years are doing extremely well and growing. There are plans for missions in a number of different areas around the country. And since God is blessing the APA with many vocations, we will, Lord willing, have the manpower to bring these missions about. Related to vocations, the Board of Examining Chaplains of DEUS require seminary degrees of all candidates for Holy Orders. That is a good policy to have.

Music for the liturgies was provided by the choir of St. Andrews School, an APA classical school out of California. They did a phenomenal job of leading the Anglican chants at Matins and Evensong, and singing special music during the synod mass. There special music piece by Tallis at the synod mass was particularly delightful.

I was blown away by an impromptu performance of the American songbook by the Rt. Rev’d Robert Samuel Loiselle on a grand piano in the lobby on Thursday evening. +Bob was an entertainer on Bourbon Street for many, many years, and it really shows. He is a great singer and an astounding pianist. I wish I had my video camera!

There was nothing extremely disconcerting that happened, though a few things did bother me. The liturgies were all pretty sloppy – especially the daily ones – which was very unfortunate. Organizers didn’t adequately manage time limits of speeches and sermons, so various events went on longer than necessary. The logistics of the liturgies was poorly thought out: when to kneel/stand; how to receive communion; where to have them; where to sit; etc. Here in Maryland we managed a much more diverse group of people at the joint APA/REC Holy Eucharist on Trinity Sunday Evening, and it went extremely well, and everything ran right on schedule. Why? Because we carefully planned everything out. Planning always pays off. It troubled me to hear of one DEUS parish that had begun using “altar girls”. I think that sets a bad and dangerous precedent, and I shall be most disappointed if other APA parishes follow suit. Personally, I don’t think many will, but one can never be too sure. Having more informative handouts and passing out updated clergy/church rosters would have been nice too. There is a lot going on, but the word doesn’t always get out. We need to work on that. Those who took buses from the airport to the hotel ran into numerous difficulties (my wife and I drove, so we were spared all of that).

So overall, the health of the church is good and the synod was fine. Basically, we are a small but growing bunch of traditional Anglicans striving to be faithful to where God has called us to be, and trying to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in word and sacrament. May God grant us His grace and mercy to be a light for Him in this world, and to lead more and more people to His blessed son, Jesus Christ, the one and only savior of the world.

St. Mark's Church, Vero Beach, Florida

Per some requests, here are a few pictures of the interior of St. Mark's Church, the APA parish where I will be serving as curate beginning in September. There is another chapel that I don't have a picture of, and I do not have close ups of the fantastic stained glass. But this gives you a general idea of of the place. This building was erected in the last couple years, and it shows what can be done when people give generously of their time and resources for God's work.

New Anglican Blog

Here is a new Anglican blog that looks like it will be very good:

http://anglicancleric.blogspot.com/

I had the priviledge of meeting the priest/author at the APA synod. He was wearing a sharp looking "Canterbury cap" at the synod eucharist. I'd never actually seen one in real life before. Hmmm, maybe I ought to buy one too!

APA Synod this Week and Other News

My wife and I will be out in Indiana this week at the APA synod. I'll try to send an update, perhaps. I don't know that there is anything pressing on the agenda, which is fine. "No news is good news", as the old saying goes.

I have been reading about the aftermath of the PB election in ECUSA (or TEC, or whatever they call themselves now). Seems like a lot of people are pretty angry about this, and that ECUSA, in its arrogance, chose yet another course of action that would alienate as many Anglicans in the greater communion as possible. Of course, one could see this coming. Since they began "ordaining" women in the late 70's, it was only a matter of time before they'd have a female PB. Those within ECUSA who are miffed at this should have considered that a woman could eventually be elected to this post. Women are ordained as priests and bishops... so why forbid them from becoming PB? That said, it would seem that a more cautious path at this time in terms of "getting along" with the rest of the Anglican/ecummenical world would have been to ordain a moderate male, but ECUSA has not showed discretion in the past, so why expect them to do so now? What does this mean, if anything, for continuers? Who knows? Many outsiders assume that everytime there is an ECUSA meeting where they do something crazy and decide to ordain cats or something that continuing parishes get a huge influx of new members. That is not always true. Sometimes groups leave ECUSA parishes and form AMiA parishes, or they just join other denominations, or they just stay in ECUSA and suffer in silence, etc. We continuers usually do get a few new members here and there, but my experience - which is very small, mind you - has been that we do not get tons of new members. Switching from ECUSA to a continuing jurisdiction can be quite a change: we use the old BCP; we don't do "praise and worship" songs; we don't ordain women - even if they are conservative theologically (women do not even serve at the altar); the list could go on. So it is not always an easy transition. Anyway, I hope that God gives His grace to those in ECUSA and helps them figure out what, if anything, to do next.

Finally, I am thrilled to report that my old college friend, Jeffrey Baus, is heading off to Nashotah House this fall to study for the priesthood under the auspices of the Diocese of Quincy. He is a good man and wil be a great priest someday. Please keep him in your prayers, and look for his new blog he says he's going to start once he's there. He'll be joined by my buddy from St. Alban's, Don Sackett, who will be starting his master's at Nashotah this fall for the APA Diocese of the Eastern US. Don will be a good, holy priest as well.

New Curacy Position

This August my wife and I will be packing our bags and moving down to Vero Beach, Florida and to St. Mark's Anglican Church, where I will serve as curate under Fr. Mike Ward, SSA. It goes without saying that we will miss everyone at St. Alban's Joppa, MD, which has been wonderful, nurturing parish home for several years now. We'll also miss the area APA and REC clergy and parishes, Mt. Calvary Church (FiFNa), the All Saints' Convent, and everyone else, as well as being so close to Washington, DC and New York City. But this new opportunity is from the Lord, and so ultimately we are excited. We are really looking forward to experiencing new things, a change of pace, and being able to minister in the "sunshine state" in the name of Our Savior, Jesus Christ. Please keep us in your prayers.

BCP Update/Revision

On the Faith and Life e-mail discussion board, which is for APA and REC clergy, there has been discussion recently about prayer book revision. Personally, I do not think we need a major revision of prayer book. That said, I would like to see a few little additions and changes here and there if possible. Here's a few I thought of over coffee this morning:

1) Expand the kalendar to include the saints days as found in Lesser Feasts and Fasts

2) Make certain parts of the mass optional under certain circumstances as the Decalogue is (e.g. the Summary of the Law, the Comfortable Words, etc.)

3) Allow the Gloria to be moved to the ante-communion if the celebrant so desires

4) Allow for more antiphons for use with the Venite in Morning Prayer

5) Allow for a private for of confession/absolution at Morning and Evening Prayer (similar to the confiteor) for when the person is saying it privately

6) Add the form of Absolution from the 1662 English BCP used in the Visitation for the Sick, and also add a form of private confession and absolution.

7) Expand the catechism

8) Add the Benedictus and Agnus Dei (everyone adds them already anyway)

9) Add the Athanasian Creed

10) Add compline from the Scottish 1929 BCP

Continuing Anglicans: Slammed in New Book

Here is a link I found on Virtuosity that is interesting. The new "Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer" slams continuing Anglicans in one part as being sectarian and schismatic. If it is "schismatic and sectarian" to follow "the faith once delivered to the saints", to believe in the divine inspiration and authority of the scriptures as interpreted by the ecumenical councils and mind of the undivided church, to believe in the catholic priesthood, and to believe in absolute truth - especially in the moral sphere, then I am proudly schismatic and sectarian!

Good Preachers

I love watching reruns of Archbishop Sheen's show "Life is Worth Living" on EWTN. He is such a good communicator, combining great insights with grandiose gestures and a few well-placed jokes here and there. In many ways he is my inspiration as I write my sermons. I hope that one day I can be as effective a communicator for the Lord Jesus Christ as he was. (except without the cape)

It seems to me that one of the things that many traditional Anglican churches lack these days are effective communicators. A priest or deacon might be very intelligent, and have a lot of good things to say, but many times they just don't communicate their ideas very well, so parishioners and others don't go away feeling inspired or challenged, and the church doesn't grow too much. Maybe it is a lack of seminary training in that area. Or maybe the sermon is just greatly downplayed in our tradition because good, meaty sermons are thought to be too "Protestant". But the sermon is a supremely important part of the liturgy as the fathers of the Reformation believed, and as the fathers of the liturgical movement and Vatican II believed. There is quite an art to good oratory. St. Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost led to three thousand people being baptized! That is good, spirit-filled communication, and that is what the church needs in this day and age.

Icon Writing and general Art Update

Well, it has been several months since I've started icon "writing" (painting), and I making good progress in some ways, and not so good progress in other ways. So far I have done five icons, and am working on my sixth. The most difficult parts about it for me are:

1) etching the image into the wood - it is hard to get precise lines at first... sometimes the awl gets away from you, and a line gets unintentionally lengthened, or goes in the wrong direction, or something

2) painting on such a small scale - it's quite difficult and laborious trying to paint small facial features so they look good

As someone with a broad background in fine art, and especially in painting, I have found the egg tempra medium to be really great to work in. The amount of detail, and subtle textures that one can acheive with it are really amazing. I can see why Andrew Wyeth uses that medium for his major works. I might try some other types of paintings in this medium at some point. One of the interesting things I have noticed in studying various types of icons is that the east and west had an almost identical artistic tradition up until the Italian Renaissance. The work of Duccio (proto-Renaissance Siennese painter), is very similar to that of his contemporary Byzantine/Greek counterparts.

Anyway, once I am done all of these (all the icons I've done so far are 9"x12") I will try some larger scale ones, and then maybe I will have a show of them sometime next year. In other artistic news, I recently sold my "Purgatory" painting, which I did while in seminary. It was part of a series I did on the "stages of death" - the others in the series being "Alienation", "Death", "Hell" (destroyed), "Purgatory" (sold), and "Salvation" (sold). NB: I just tried to make a link to it, but for some reason it's not working. I will try to get it up soon. Anyway, it was exciting to sell this piece, as I've come close to selling it a few times. It is an interesting painting and very near and dear to my heart. In some ways it foreshadows where I want to eventually go with my icon painting.

I will be having a show in Bel Air (Maryland) in August at the Liriodendron art gallery, which will consist of recent cityscapes. More information will be posted about it in the coming weeks. And the best news of all, my lovely wife is poised to have my updated art website up in a few more weeks, which, of course, I will link to from this blog.

Ordination

This weekend a good friend of mine from my seminary days will be ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood. My wife and I hope to attend his ordination. He is being ordained in a pretty liberal diocese, but they have a new bishop who is trying to clean things up, so I think he will prosper. He is that rare cleric who is both committed to his principles and to what the RC Church teaches, but is also pastoral and can see "the big picture". I hope and pray that he will have a great ministry.

I have seen so many men prepare for holy orders, both in the Roman Catholic Church and in the continuing Anglican Churches who have "not made it". With many of them the craziest stuff seems to happen to thwart them on their way. It is as though Satan is working overtime specifically on them to prevent them from being ordained, and so from helping others draw near to Jesus Christ. The icon to the left always reminded me of this. Imagine the men as "aspirants and postulants" who are climbing up the ladder, seeking to be ordained, but devils are trying to pluck them off. And sadly, many men are plucked off.

Whenever we try to do anything good for God, and for His kingdom, we can be sure that Satan will try to stop us at every step of the way. How much more when a man is preparing for ordination, and preparing to become the "icon of Christ" - a priest.