Clarification on the APA's Diocese of the West

Dear friends,

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

JGA+

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fr. Glenn Spencer
All Saints Anglican Church
Charlottesville, VA

Student Organization Showcase @ VA Tech

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

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

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

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

There were a few other interesting things too:

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

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

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

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

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

Lots of literture that no one is reading...

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

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

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

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

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

"Re-post" from August 2006

The Anglican Federation

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

On another note, I was looking at 'members' section, and went to the AMiA's website, and it is very nice looking. Why do so many other Anglican jurisdictions have such bad looking websites? The best that I have seen so far are the AMiA's and APCK's (a big improvement over their last one). The APA's, REC's, ACC's, and ACA's are really bad and unprofessional looking. They reflect badly on our churches. The continuing churches might not be able to errect a bunch of stately new parish churches everywhere, but we could at least hire professional web designers to make a nice looking websites for the national church instead of all of this "mom and pop" stuff.
++++++++++++

Why re-post this? Because the APA's provincial site has actually gone from just "pretty bad" to "awful" since then. If you don't believe me just go to it and look at it. It looks like a liquor store window.

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

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

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

There is the difference.

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

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

Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen

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

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

Settled in Blacksburg

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

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

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

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

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

The Practicing Congregation

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

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

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

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

The Perfect Bulletin: A Deep, Thought-Provoking Theological Reflection

I have been reworking the bulletin of the church where I'll be going in a couple weeks, and like most rectors/vicars I am trying to create the "perfect" bulletin. But honestly, I don't know if it can be done. In fact, I think it would be easier to find Bigfoot (see photo to the left) or the Loch Ness monster.

To me the perfect Anglican bulletin is one that helps people not get lost during the service, does not replace a Prayer Book in the pews, is not a multi-page extravaganza, and gives the parishioner something to do during the week (not a crossword puzzle, but something to pray for, or a list of daily parish events).

But really, I don't know if such a bulletin could possibly exist. Yes, maybe it would be easier to find Bigfoot. The reason I say that is this: in my mind a good bulletin has all of the above attributes. But I have seen parishioners who are lifelong Episcopalians, who grew up on the 1928 BCP, who attend absolutely straight-28 Prayer Book services, who still get lost during mass! So honestly I don't think there is a foolproof bulletin design/model.

Maybe we'll just have to use an overhead!

Spiritual Direction

I will be sad to leave behind a good spiritual director when I move up north. I have had to leave them behind before, but a new one was always available to take his place. At this point I do not have any contacts for a new one, but I will keep looking.

Spiritual direction is very important - especially for priests. Priests have no pastor. It would be quite easy for a continuing Anglican priest to spend his whole ministry with no spiritual father in God! And I'm sure that that's the case for most of the priest out there, which is probably why the church is the way it is. So what is one to do? I guess you just have to go out and look for a starets. Leave no stone unturned. Go outside of your tradition if you have to. Find someone. Find anyone. But be sure that you will be searching by yourself.

Salve Regina

"Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary Most Holy."

The rector recently had this lovely statue of the Blessed Mother installed in the chapel at St. Mark's. It originally comes from an old Roman parish somewhere in Baltimore, but came to us via the Conrad Pickel Studio here in Vero Beach. A devout couple purchased it from the studio and generously donated it to the church.

Now when we pray the Angelus there will be a statue to look at! Thanks be to God.

Coat of Many Colors

Okay, so the Roman Catholics are not the only ones who can play schmaltzy tear-jerkers. This is me doing a cover of Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors" during my last visit to the local homeless shelter, The Source. I have had the pleasure of ministering there for the last two years, going once or twice a month to play music and preach.

Modern Day Erastianism?

The World Youth Day coverage on EWTN was just too much to bear. I though I could handle the awful "show tunes"used at mass. And I though I could handle the "chip & dip"/self-intinction being done by priests and deacons coming up for communion (not just laity, but clergy who should know better). But when I saw the tacky "Australian flag" vestments being worn that was just too much. I had to change the channel. It's not that there is anything wrong with that great country, or its gorgeous flag. I just don't think design elements from flags look good pasted onto vestments.

The Holy Eucharist

I do a mass followed by class ("Mass & Class") on Tuesday mornings at St. Mark's which has been very well attended and very successful, thanks be to God. The last little series we are doing in the class portion before I move is on the Holy Eucharist. I am basing it on the book "Christ, The Christian, and The Church" by E.L. Mascall. Some parishioners have a daughter who was brought up Anglican but now attends a non-denominational church in Texas, and they suggested that we study something to help people equip themselves to explain and defend the liturgy, and the centrality of the Holy Eucharist to such folk. No doubt there are many people out there like that.

The Holy Eucharist is rooted in the life of the Trinity. Within the Blessed Trinity exists the only true, acceptable, and perfect worship of God: God offering God to God. Humanity is brought into this via the incarnation. The Eucharistic sacrifice is the sacramental manifestation of this. The sacramental Body of Christ is offered to God through the mystical Body of Christ; Jesus, the ascended Lord, worships God the Father through His all aspects of His glorified body. As St. Augustine said: "The mystery of yourselves is laid upon the altar."

What we need to do as Anglicans is develop a stronger eucharistic devotion. The mass is the most sacred and wonderful mystery in the world, and it gets neglected, and put aside all too often in favor of gimmicks, church marketing techniques, etc. I really believe that we need to preach and teach more on the Holy Eucharist, and promote other forms of eucharistic devotion (such as prayer vigils before the Blessed Sacrament) in order to revitalize classical Anglicanism. Doing so not only will help people appreciate and understand that doctrine, but also related doctrines, such as the apostolic succession, the sacramental priesthood, the Church, and more.

Spiritual Garbage Men

I have heard lots of metaphors for the priesthood - the most prominent being "alter christus". But the most interesting one that I have heard lately is from Dr. Peter Kreeft in his talk "Women and the Priesthood". In this talk he says that priests are "spiritual garbage men". The priesthood, which is of and for the Church, exists for the salvation and sanctity of souls, not for personal empowerment. He says: "Like Christ, they [priests] are sewers, who drain off the world's sins. They clean up our spiritual garbage, and wash dirty, smelly feet like Christ did before He died." Being a "garbage dump" is the essence of priesthood. Listen to the lecture. It is quite good.

GAFCON

Here is a really good statement and summation of GAFCON.

Putting the Cart before the Horse

As I prepare to leave St. Mark's and take my new title at St. Francis, there is a lot that I am mulling over in my head in terms of planning and the future of the new parish. Obviously one can only plan so much from afar. With the weekly schedule, for instance, one has to get a feel for the parish, and what times work best for people for masses, classes, and such before deciding that all weekday and holy day masses will be at noon, or whatever.

But it is possible to think in generalities, so I ask myself the question: "What do I hope to accomplish as rector of St. Francis? What is the point of it all?" And the answer is not anything like: grow the parish into 300+ people; get new members; start a great youth ministry program and other 'programs'; become an anglo-catholic/anglo-papalist liturgical museum; fulfill the MDGs established by the U.N. The answer is none of those things. The answer is to be found in the pages of the BCP, in the ordinal, specifically. There the vocation of a priest is laid out. A priest is to be devoted to the glory of God and the salvation of souls. (p. 560) A priest is to work for the perfecting of the saints. (p. 538) A priest is to be a shepherd of souls, and to lead men to everlasting life. (p.539) A priest is to be a messenger, watchman, and steward of the Lord. He is to teach, and to premonish, to feed and provide for the Lord's family; to seek for Christ's sheep and for his children in this world that they might be saved through Christ forever. (pp.539-540) I will not type out the whole charge here, but would commend it to anyone who is interested. That is my number one purpose as a priest: to help people get to heaven, and God willing to make it there myself one day. If a priest doesn't build his ministry on that basic foundation, everything else he does will come tumbling down. If he does build off of that, everything else will develop naturally at the appropriate time. The parish will grow; youth ministry will be developed; programs will be initiated; the holy sacrifice of the mass will be the most glorious thing this side of heaven. Why? Because Christ, when He is lifted up draws all men to himself (John 12:32). Those things will all come about if I, and the people of the parish, are faithful in our various vocations, and if we keep the main goal in mind: salvation from sin, hopelessness, and death through the Lord Jesus Christ. All of these things are means to that end.

I think that churches get it completely backwards when they talk about "growth" and "programs" before they talk about Jesus Christ, and glorifying Him, and worshiping Him in spirit and in truth - in word and in sacrament.

Anglican & Episcopal History

A guy at St. Mark's subscribes to the journal "Anglican and Episcopal History", and he gives his copies to the church when he's through with them. So naturally I have taken to reading them, and let me tell you there is some great stuff in this journal. Recently I read an article by Alan Hayes, a professor of church history at Wycliffe College in Toronto, Ontario about tradition in the Anglican liturgical movement (1945-1989). The article traces how the importance of "tradition" developed and became more and more pronounced as time went on in the Anglican liturgical movement. The fruit of all those years of study of liturgy and "tradition" was the radical liturgical changes of the 70's and 80's. But then he goes on to say that confidence in the "tradition" rediscovered by liturgiologists began to erode, as the postmodern/post-liberal understanding of history shows these "liturgical discoveries" to be constructs that reflect more the current state and mind of the church rather than revealing anything "real" about the liturgies of the past. He also argues that the interest in the "inculturation" of the liturgy has helped people see that there is more to liturgy than what "happened" in the Mediterranean in the first four centuries. He talks at length about "lex orandi, lex credendi" and the problems associated with that in this sort of horizon. But I can't say anything about that now for lack of space. In the end, the liturgical archaeologists/scientists succeeded in re-creating Anglicanism based on their faulty and biased presuppositions and research.

When I studied this stuff in seminary (and when I read about it now) - the "Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus", etc. - I always was suspicious of it. How does one take a snippet from one ancient writer and form a whole new liturgy around it? And just because something was done centuries ago in the ancient church doesn't mean that it is right or wise to adopt that practice today. The liturgical movement, like the ecumenical movement, has been nothing but a spectacular failure in my opinion. If people would just leave the liturgy alone and let it organically change and develop like it always has everything would be so much better in the church and in the world.

Rule of Life for Young People

At synod I met with my former rector, who, like my current rector, is a superb Catholic and excellent priest. He told me of a book he's reading by a priest named Branscombe written, oh I don't know - years ago - that deals with youth and confirmation. (NB: Unfortunately I deleted the e-mail father sent me with the full name of the book. Though when I did have the title I looked for it online and called Anglican Bibliopole, but could not find a copy for sale anywhere.)

The author (I am told) makes the argument that many kids leave the church after confirmation because they never developed a spiritual life. They have been taught a bunch of important facts and doctrine, their spiritual development has not been given enough attention. So he says that kids need to be taught how to develop a rule of life as part of their confirmation preparation. Sounds like a great concept to me. What good is a bunch of facts and religious knowledge if it is not practiced?

So I decided to give my Church school class a summer project: to develop and implement a rule of life. When we went over it, and when I explained the rationale behind it, they seemed very interested and excited. The kids are already great little catholics (e.g. when, as a class, we did the "Beating of the Bounds" on Rogation Sunday they spontaneously began chanting the Litany.), but this will help them lay the groundwork for years of spiritual growth. And hopefully when they get to be older, they will have such a strong spiritual foundation that they will not get into too much trouble. We'll see what sorts of things they come up with.

Emotions and Anglicanism

One of the things I have noticed about being a continuing Anglican for so long is that our tradition seems to be lacking in the affective side of religion - the side related to our emotions. Our worship is for the most part straight-28 BCP, and in my experience priests rarely stray from the text of BCP or missal. While there are important reasons for not straying from our minimalistic liturgical text, the downside is that we can come across as being cold and emotionless. And I think this lack of emotion, and seeming coldness, is one of the reasons why many continuing parishes are so small, and maybe why the Episcopal Church was always historically a lot smaller than other churches. Emotions are a real side of us and something that we need to have an outlet for.

Churches of other traditions, such as the Roman Catholic Church, have an outlet for emotions in the many devotions and sacramental acts of the Church, which are ingrained in the life of the Church (e.g. novenas, rosary, confession, mysticism, etc.). Since Vatican II other aspects have been added as well, such as "evangelical-style" folk/hand-clapping music, lay apostolates, charismatic gifts, and more. On the other end of the spectrum, in the Evangelical Protestant culture, there is all of the hand-clapping, charismatic stuff, and lay ministries that is found in Rome, and there is also a strong sense (derived from Puritanism) of "the family as the house of God", the culture of doing "daily devotions" and having a prayer list, going to prayer meetings, of your daily work being a means of growth in holiness, etc. In short, examples of emotional outlets in both the Roman and Evangelical traditions abound. And while one can find examples of these types of emotional outlets here and there in Anglicanism - from the evangelical Anglicanism of a Truro Church to a catholic Anglicanism of a Mt. Calvary Church - most of the churches that I have experienced are somewhere in the gray, murky, emotionless middle in terms of their spirituality.

Most continuing Anglican parishes that I have had anything to do with have not had the type of spirituality where someone would come up and ask how they can pray for you. They do not use the phrase "The Lord" or even "Our Lord" when speaking of Jesus. They do not ask how you are doing spiritually, or have much evangelistic zeal. Now granted there are always exceptions in each parish (and thank God for them!), but by and large that type of emotional/affective spirituality is not a big part of many continuing parishes. Conversely, these same parishes do not seem to have much of a catholic spirituality either... there is no rosary group, no daily mass, no Angelus, no processions, no adoration, etc. Again, there are exceptions, as some parishes do have those things; and there may be people within a parish who get together on the side to pray the rosary or have some other form of catholic devotion. There is little to no emotion, but is that a good thing when they form such a large part of who we are?

The point is not to argue whether or not these types of affective spirituality are or are not truly "Anglican", but to say that for the most part, in our tradition, I have not seen much in the way of an emotional outlet, and I think we are weaker off as a result. And that is maybe one of the reasons why our parishes are so dinky. The only possible exception that I could think of is if you go to a parish with a fantastic music program and choir. The music of our tradition is quite spellbinding, and music, by its very nature, is emotional. But such choirs and organists are exceedingly rare in our tradition. The hymnody has an emotional element in it too, but I think it gets lost rather easily. So what we get is basically straight BCP Anglicanism, with very few changes or imagination, and it comes across as being very cold, clinical, and detached (and maybe outmoded).

It seems to me that Anglican parishes should be definitely either "catholic" or "evangelical" in their spirituality, and not wallow in a murky, broad middle. Pick one, or the other, but don't stay in the middle! There is no emotion in the lukewarm middle, and yet our affective side needs a spiritual outlet. Does this resonate with anyone else or is it just me?

Worship and Theology in England

I finally started reading Horton Davies' classic multi-volume set Worship and Theology in England. Unfortunately it is out of print, but I managed to score a set in mint condition a few years ago. If you can find a set, get it: it's really good. Davies was a professor of history at Princeton, and he spent many years working on this. It stands out from other "theological histories", such as The Panther and the Hind, because it studies English worship and theology in all of the many different denominations/churches (e.g. Anglican, Roman, Puritan, independant, Anabaptist, Quaker, etc.), and compares and contrasts cultic practices, preaching, spirituality, architecture, and music in each. It is not in the least bit polemical, and is beautifully written. I recommend this set for all postulants, and clergy, as well as for anyone interested in English religious history.

Following Up

One of the things that the clergy always harp on is the idea of putting words into action. It is not enough to simply profess faith in Christ. We must live our faith in Jesus. "Faith without works is dead." (James 2:20) Everyone seems to agree with this on a personal, moral level, but what about on an institutional level?

There are many institutions that fail to follow up words with action. One such institution is the Church. There are all sorts of ways that we as the mystical Body of Christ fail to follow up words with action. A big example of this is in the area of ecumenical talks and agreements. While I can't speak for other jurisdictions, it often seems to be the case the that we in the APA enter into concordats of inter-communion, covenant unions, and such, but then, as a brother priest put it, we "stick the piece of paper in a drawer and forget about it." While my branch of Christ's Church is to be lauded for its open-mindedness, and peace-making outlook, we don't tend to do too much after the agreement has been signed. I imagine it is much the same in other jurisdictions. There are no doubt many probably "innocent" reasons for this lack of follow-up (e.g. no larger vision, general busyness, not enough manpower, etc.).

I think that we in the APA, as well as all of the other continuing Anglican jurisdictions, would do well to remember that signing an ecumenical agreement of any sort is just the beginning. We need to take those concordats, and enact and build on them. If we are not going to use them as a starting point to accomplish bigger and greater things for the Kingdom of God, then what is the point?

New Opportunities

I have been called to serve as vicar of St. Francis' Anglican Church in Blacksburg, VA. Lord willing we'll be moving up there late this summer. We do need to sell our home, so please keep that in your prayers.

St. Francis was founded in the late 70's. They occupy a stone building built in the early 50's which was once a Roman Catholic parish. As the parish has never had a full time priest living in the community they have never really grown as they should have. Yet the place should be a booming success. It is steps away from VA Tech, has a devoted core group, and a good physical plant. They have taken a step in faith to call me, and we are taking a step in faith in moving up there in this crazy economy. By the goodness and power of God, St. Francis will be a beacon for the Catholic faith in Blacksburg, and beyond.

The Church needs to reach men and women in college with the truth of Jesus Christ more than ever before. I ask for your prayers as we make plans to move to Blacksburg to begin this important work.

Anglican Way Institute Summer Conference

The Anglican Way Institute is holding a summer conference on the theme of Finding Grace Through the Sacraments. It will be held July 2nd - 6th at the Church of the Holy Communion (REC) in Dallas, TX. This conference is especially geared towards college and career aged Anglicans, but anyone who wants to learn more about orthodox Anglicanism is encouraged to attend. I strongly encourage young people to attend this conference if at all possible!

www.anglicanwayinstitute.org

Anglican Theological Education

Recent comments about reading for orders made me think of a book that I recently bought and am reading - Faith and Freedom: A Study of Theological Education and the Episcopal Theological School by Rev. George Blackman (Seabury Press, 1967). Theological education, and education in general, has always been of interest to me, because I am a former teacher, and have also had a strange, meandering education myself. The book, which I scored at a used book store in Lancaster, PA, is a study of the early days of seminary education in PECUSA. It focuses on the founding and early histories of General, Virginia, and Gambier (aka Bexley Hall), and comes complete with books that were used, course listings, and more. Then it goes into an in depth study of the founding and history of the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, MA. It is a fascinating look into a bygone era.

In reading these histories it is amazing to see so many parallels to struggles we face today. Gambier, for instance, was equally blessed and cursed by its founder Bp. Philander Chase. General relocated to New Haven due to lack of funds at one point. Virginia was eventually shut down due to the Civil War. The Civil War also lead to the founding of the Philadelphia Theological Seminary, which was the north's "evangelical" alternative for Virginia when they could no longer send students there.

Of particular interest, though, is the history of Episcopal theological education before the advent of seminaries. Prior to 1804 men simply read for orders. Men such as Bp. White acted essentially as private tutors, and allowed postulants to use their libraries to prepare for ordination. That there were obvious drawbacks to this goes without saying. Pastoral work often prevented the tutors from spending adequate time with their students. Most received no exams along the way except the one right before their ordination. Often times education was a mishmash of tons of reading, but little thinking and processing of what was read. Then of course there was the fact that each tutor had a slightly different program and order of study. Obviously something needed to be done.

So in 1804 the Bishop's Course of Study was established by the General Convention. This was basically a standardized reading for orders. Everyone had to read the same texts in the same order beginning with a study of natural theology and apologetics. (NOTE: The book lists the actual texts that were used in each catagory, but I will not list them here.) Then came a study of the Scriptures through approved commentaries and other texts. Then came Church history, with particular attention being paid to the Apostolic Fathers. Then came Christology and Episcopacy, which was based on Hooker and others. Then came systematics (or "divinity", as it was then called), which was built in large part around a study of the Articles of Religion and the Creeds through various texts. After this came liturgics, the pastoral theology. So all in all, it was pretty exhaustive. And if I were to type out all of the books and authors that were used in each of these catagories everyone would be duly impressed. Like seminary today, they assigned more to be read and studied than one could possibly actually read and study! This course of study is generally thought to have been written up by Bp. White, though we do not know that for sure. The books used in this course of study were classics, which were still in print at the time, and were to remain in print for the next fifty years.

Reading for orders is often maligned, and sometimes rightfully so. But it is not bad in and of itself. Maybe it would be better if a standard, systematic, and well thought out formula was followed by those in charge. Obviously reading for orders was the only option available for men in the early days of the Episcopal Church, as well as other churches. Today we can still do that, if it is done right.

"The Church is within you."

Recently I had lunch at the hospital with a local radio personality and a friend of his, a Roman Catholic priest (from Ireland, no less, though he's lived in Florida for years now - he was probably in his 60's). When we sat down a big, burly black construction worker who was there doing work recognized the radio host and began to chat with him, so the host invited him to sit with us, and there we were: a radio talk show host, a construction worker, an Anglican priest, and a Roman priest, eating lunch together in hospital cafeteria.

Here's where it gets interesting. I asked the construction worker where he went to church, and he said nowhere. The Catholic priest, trying to play it cool, says, "Oh, well, the Church is within you." (in other words, it's fine if you don't go to church) But I looked at the man, gave him my card, and said, "Come to St. Mark's. Our services are at 8:00 and 10:00 on Sunday mornings. We'd love to have you. And you need to go to church." He thanked me, ate some more, and then got up to go back to work. Then the Catholic priest turns to me and says, "Ahh, so you're trying to get more members, are you?" I thought to myself, "No, not necessarily; I am trying to save souls, which is what I thought priests were supposed to try to do."

We talked some more about a variety of things - one of which was the Motu Proprio - this guy thought it was the stupidest thing in the world to allow priests to say the old mass... somehow I was not surprised. Then he asked if I ever read Newman, which of course, I have. But beneath his question, and in his eyes was the suggestion that I should "read Newman", and then do what he did: become Roman Catholic. But why do that, or why read Newman at all, or the Bible at all, or do anything if "the Church is within you"?

To me, this catholic priest typified everything that is wrong with the church today: no missionary sense; heretical theology; no interest in souls; etc. He was just a corporate guy collecting a paycheck. Who knows how many people he is leading astray, or not even taking care of pastorally, at his parish?

For the record, the Church is not "within us", and we do have to go to church to be saved.

Canon Docent of St. Mark's

That is my unofficial role and title which I have given myself. I am not a canon, but I do feel like a docent much of the time. The reason is that St. Mark's is something of a tourist attraction and pilgrimage spot here in Vero Beach. The architecture in Florida - and especially here in Vero - is very "beachy" and "airy"... much of it is in the Spanish style. So when people drive down the boulevard and all of a sudden see this huge stone tower, and gothic arches, they invariably swing by so they can "see inside". Even if they have seen a million gorgeous churches in their lifetime, they always want to see this one. I'll bet I have given close to 100 tours of the church since being here! I have it down to a science: tell them about the doors; the floor tile; the stained glass; the plans to get other appointments, such as Stations; the chapel; the "Elizabethan" language of the liturgy; the plans for the rest of the property, etc. It is actually quite fun, and a good way to break up the day. Most tours last no more than 10 minutes. I obviously give more during the winter season when there are more people here in town. It is funny because years ago an old man I befriended at a retirement community told me once that he thought I would be a good docent. And now here I am....

This just goes to show what a nice building can do to attract visitors - especially in a small town. Continuing Anglicans often have a chip on their shoulder about people who worship "brick and morter", i.e. who care more about worshiping in a fancy old building with a paid choir rather than the Catholic faith. I would be lying if I said I never had that chip on my shoulder before. But the fact is that a beautiful physical plant, along with nice music and liturgy, and stunning decor, does a lot to get people in the door. God is also, quite obviously, deserving of the best that we have to offer.

Rogation Days

I find the Rogation Days to be very meaningful and more important than ever these days, especially in light of the shortage of food around the world. During the Rogation Days (rogare - to ask) we ask God to "pour forth His blessing upon the land and to give us fruitful seasons" (Collect for the Rogation Days, BCP p.261). There is a good prayer for the Rogations Days on BCP p. 39 as well which asks God's blessing upon agricultural workers, and also for us - that we would eat our own bread and essentially be happy with what we have. Of course it is customary and especially important during Rogationtide to recite the Litany (BCP p. 54) which, among other things, asks for God to bless the earth.

Any food shortage or famine may perhaps be viewed as God's judgment and curse upon the land. (Jer. 14:1-9) With the way that this world has be wholeheartedly turning its back on God over the last few decades is it is any surprise that there is more famine, death, and natural disaster than ever before? If we do not turn back to God, and "forswear our foolish ways" what will become of us?

"The earth is the Lord's and all that therein is." (Ps. 24) That means us, the earth, everything. Because the earth is the Lord's we can pray that He would bless it, which is what we do in Rogationtide. But will He do so if we do not repent of our sins and turn to the Lord, who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness?

The Rewards of Being a Priest

One of the most exciting things about being a priest is watching people's faith come alive, and seeing people who come to church with very little in the way of Christian discipleship and discipline begin to grow and bear the fruit of the Spirit. There are people who never owned a bible, and then when we give them one, they begin to study it, and absorb it, and have lots of questions. There are others who though previously didn't have much of a prayer life learn how to pray and what to pray for. There are people who previously compartmentalized there faith who are coming to see that the Lordship of Jesus Christ is over every aspect of life. There are lifelong churchmen who are very faithful and have seemingly seen it all, but yet are filled with wonder and awe when they learn some new aspect of the Holy Eucharist that they had never thought of before. There are people who through the power of Jesus Christ overcome addictions and other destructive behaviors and begin to live a life of godliness and devotion to our risen Lord. It is so exciting to be in the midst of all of this, and to be used of God to help bring some of this about. Being a spiritual father to part of Christ's flock, and helping them grow in knowledge and love of Jesus, praying for them and with them, and teaching them is so unbelievably satisfying and rewarding.

Knowing your product

All of this stuff in the news about the polygamist sect in Texas has increased the general level of interest in Mormon religion and history. As a priest it is important to know something - even if it's very basic - about other religions, as well as other topics (such as philosophy). But with everything else a priest has to stay current with, and know, and do, it is simply impossible to become an expert in everything. There just isn't enough time in the day. One could spend a lifetime studying just one other religion!

It is important to know something about other religions, such as their history and how they began, and some of the basic differences between them and the catholic religion, but ultimately, as I learned in sales, it is better know your own product inside out, and be able to explain it, then to know some other product super well. You don't get "sales" when you bash someone else's product, or attack intricate details of their process (i.e. theology). "Sales" - in this case, convincing people of the truth of the catholic faith - come when you know, believe in, and can explain it well.

The Universe is Expanding

In my Tuesday morning class at church we are looking at 20 arguments for the existence of God. While studying the Kalam argument the question was raised as to how we should understand the word "universe". The questioner mentioned something about the universe expanding, and additional universes physicists have speculated about that he read somewhere, and so on. Quite interesting. I think that despite any new discoveries about new universes, dimensions, and so on, we still have to understand universe in its original sense as meaning all of created reality.

But the main thing the question got me thinking about was this funny clip from the Woody Allen movie "Annie Hall."

More Preaching Reflections

Ministers and other people from Christian traditions that do not use pre-appointed lectionary readings often think that the use of lectionaries greatly limits the topics that can be preached on. This would especially seem to be the case with the 1928 BCP eucharististic lectionary, which runs on a one-year cycle. The modern solution, of course, was to adopt a three-year lectionary, to give the preacher more options and bring more of the bible into the liturgy. Some continuing parishes use the three-year lectionary, but most still use the old one. Either way, if the readings are pre-appointed, it can seem somewhat limiting on the surface. So what do you do? You have to get creative.

I find it very easy to do "topical" sermons based on the lectionary. A few weeks back we had the John 9 as our Gospel, so I chose to preach on the concept of "light" and how Christ is the light of the world. Two weeks ago, when the Gospel was about the doubting St. Thomas I preached on "inner peace". ("Peace be with you.") So I don't know what other priests do, but I will often pull out one word or verse and build off of that. I always try to relate the concept to the liturgy of the Church and the Eucharist, showing, for example, how many times we use "peace" in the liturgy. One thing that sermons should always do is point to redemption in Jesus Christ, and especially in the Holy Eucharist (I learned that from a Dominican sister in seminary). Related to that, I find that one can never mention the Holy Name too much in a sermon. His very name is immeasurably powerful and needs to be spoken aloud. Topical sermons can also be done based on the theme of the Sunday (e.g. "Good Shepherd" Sunday), or where we are in the Church year and what the feast day is. But the point is that with a little bit of creativity it is possible to speak on any number of topics and themes based on pre-appointed lectionary readings. Other times, of course, it is appropriate to try to exegete the entire passage and discuss the broad theme of the entire reading. I do not want to deny the importance of that, but it can become rather limiting after a while.

Clergy Wives

I think there should be a feast day on the kalendar, or a prayer intention on diocesan prayer cycles, for clergy wives. Just as it is a difficult vocation to be a priest, so it is to be married to one. These wonderful women give up a lot for their husbands to become priests. In many cases they give up living near family and friends; they give up certain creature comforts because the salary and benefits of a priest are often lacking (especially in the continuum); and they very often abandon their own career and personal aspirations - all so their husband can be a priest. Then besides all of that, they are expected to take an active role in the life of the parish. I was lucky that my wife knew she was marrying a man who was going to become a priest, because for many men the priesthood is a career change, and not something that the woman planned on dealing with when they first got married. Those women in particular deserve special praise for their patience, understanding, and devotion to God and their husbands. Thank God for clergy wives. Pray for clergy wives.

Things to Avoid in Sermons Part 1

1) Politics
2 ) Politics
3) GRE Words

Comments on Commentaries

In my sermon preparation I find most contemporary commentaries to be almost absolutely useless, and I rarely use them. I actually have very few in my library. This surprises some people, but there are other priests who feel the same way (such as my spiritual director - who is a very experienced priest). The thing that makes so many contemporary commentaries bad for sermon prep is that the information they contain is entirely too academic. It is as though they are written for other biblical scholars and not for pastors who are trying to expound on God's word for the feeding of God's people. The worst commentaries of all in my opinion are the Anchor Bible commentaries. They contain all sorts of minute information about Greek morphology, the types of sandals that ancient near eastern peasants wore, and such, but they offer very little insight into the spiritual meaning of the text. And besides that they are very expensive. They are certainly interesting (sort of in the way a Discovery Channel program is interesting), but altogether useless most of the time for sermon preparation. I used to think that the Sacra Pagina series was okay, but I am finding it to be more and more useless for the same reasons.

This is one of the areas where older commentaries (50+ years or more) are so much better than the new ones. They actually presuppose the scriptures to be the word of God that have something spiritual to say to us, and they attempt to offer insight into the religious meaning of the text. For my sermon preparation I actually find theological texts to be the most useful non-biblical tool, especially when preparing theme-based or topical sermons. So I use
some of the (few) older commentaries that own, the Bible itself, and theological texts the most when preparing sermons. And judging by the good reaction my sermons get I think I am doing the right thing.

Humans are Not Animals

The NY Times has a story on how all "animals", even bugs, cheat on their 'spouses' and 'pay for sex'. In other words, hey... every other animal cheats so why shouldn't humans? I like what Fulton Sheen said once in one of his broadcasts: "Humans are not pigs." I would add to that: humans are not bugs, or apes, or anything like that. We are made in the image and likeness of God, and are endowed with reason. Reason enables us to know right and wrong. Our wills must be brought into accordance with nature... not nature brought into accordance with our wills.

I honestly feel as though we are living in the twilight of civilization. God help us all.

The Bible and the Future: N.T. Wright Lecture

N.T. Wright recently spoke at my alma mater, St. Mary's Seminary & University, in Baltimore. His topic was "The Bible and the Future". Of course I was not there, but I heard it was good. The cool thing is that you may order a CD or DVD of his talk! The link to do so is on the opening page of the St. Mary's website. I am going to get one.

Wright spoke at St. Mary's when I was a student there, and he actually taught my Paul class one day! I got to ask him a question about natural theology and Romans 1 for a paper I was working on. Very exciting. At that time he had not yet been consecrated a bishop.

The Bishop's Daughter

David Virtue reported on the recent New Yorker article about the Rt. Rev. Paul Moore, former Episcopal Bishop of New York. The original article from the New Yorker, written by one of Moore's daughters, is definitely worth reading, and should be read in order to see the man from a broader perspective. Virtue does raise an interesting point in his article, though, about sexual ethics in light of the article. He says in essence that the real problem facing the church today is not approval of homosexual behavior, but rather accepting pan-sexualism... having an "anything goes" attitude towards sex. I think he is on to something.

The debate that has raged in the Church as of late must be quite troubling to homosexuals - especially those who are honestly trying to seek God's will in their life and deal with their feelings and problems in a Christian way. Maybe they feel hated by the Church and alienated from God. Maybe this rhetoric makes them feel like they have caused all of the problems in the church (even though they haven't). As Virtue says, the real problem is the pan-sexual agenda that has engulfed our culture and the Church. Why doesn't the Church protest the sleeping around/one night stand culture shoved in our faces during prime time TV? Maybe because it is men and women - so that makes it okay. But isn't fornication a sin? Hmmmm. Oh, and why are adulterers, and organizations that romanticize cheating dealt more kindly with by the Church, while homosexuals are thrown to the lions? Hmmm. If you ask me, it is really unfair to those men and women. The Church should condemn all sexual behavior that does not conform to the teaching of scripture and tradition. She should not "pick and choose", or focus only on one group of people. We need to remember that homosexuals are people too, made in the image of God, and who, like the rest of us need redemption and salvation in the name of Jesus Christ. It is definitely something that I, as a pastor, have to keep in mind as I minister since I do not have a choice who I get to minister to.

Sermons

One of the most important things I have learned about preparing and delivering sermons since I've been ordained is that 80% of the sermon is delivery. There are brilliant and godly men who have many important, timely, and provocative thing to say when they preach, but fail miserably at communicating them because they mumble, are monotone, or just plain dull. If you do not believe me just watch EWTN. Conversely, there are men who have very little of substance to say, yet they take what little they have and package it very nicely so people will not only listen and get excited about what they are saying... they will come back to hear more! If you do not believe me, just watch Joel Osteen or TBN. Whenever I have a sermon that I feel is a little weak (which happens to all preachers from time to time) I work extra hard at honing the delivery, and almost without fail I get a better response from those sermons than I do from the ones that I think have better content! Good delivery is key, and I don't think we honor God's Word when we take delivery lightly. Of course it goes without saying that content is supremely important as well. In the end, good content and good delivery go together.

Stick to the Basics

I am slowly learning that I should never presume that parishioners will know some doctrine, or aspect of Church teaching, that I know (and take for granted that I know). Case in point, in my Tuesday morning class we are studying angels. I thought that it would be topic that people knew everything about, and knew all the biblical passages, and traditional theology of angels, and so on, but to my surprise many did not. There were many misconceptions that the participants had (not all of them, mind you). So on our first session we were able to clarify, among other things, that angels are not humans who have passed on; and that demons and devils were created by God because they were angels (which along with everything else was created by God). That is stuff that I thought everyone just "knew". Boy was I wrong! And I am sure more questions will arise as we delve into angels and Thomism in a few weeks. There already was a question as to why it matters in Thomistic philosophy that each angel is its own race (now that is something that I would be surprised if everyone knew off the bat). Anyway, it's a good lesson for me. It is always good and worthwhile to stick to the basics; to teach, and reteach, and reteach again.

Happy Lent

A blessed Lent to everyone. I am going to be doing some special Lenten reading - a book called "All For the Love of God: A Holy Cross Omnibus". It was published in 1956 by the Order of the Holy Cross, and was a selection of the Episcopal Book Club. It has all sorts of short essays written by members of the order on topics such as the incarnation; the Mother of God; angels; what "catholic" means; the eucharist, etc. The essays were taken from various issues of the Holy Cross Magazine going back to 1906. I am sure it will be very edifying and enlightening in many ways. I have had it for years, but never read it. (I do pride myself on the fact that will eventually get around to reading all of my books!) This was one of many classic out-of-print anglo-catholic books that I acquired by chance in seminary. Someone donated a ton of them to the seminary library, which didn't want them, so they sold them for $1 each, and yours truly was there to snap them up!

How long does it take to become an Anglican?

A wise priest colleague remarked to me once that it takes ten years for a convert to become an Anglican: that is, to be truly formed by the liturgy and ethos of the classical Book of Common Prayer and the English spiritual tradition. Having been on this journey myself for so long now I definitely agree with that. Anglican formation is a very long and slow process. It involves a complete reorientation of ones general thinking, theological method, and spirituality. It is so slow, in fact, that half the time one doesn't even know it is happening! Once one is formed in the tradition, though, he could hardly imagine being anything else, and such a strong and solid base has been established that the spiritual life beings to really blossom. By far the critical error people make is thinking they know something of Anglicanism after just a few services, or a few years of membership in an Anglican parish, but after brief time, in frustration, they leave. It takes so much longer than that to really explore and experience our tradition.

On a related note, I wonder if it is even possible for anyone to get a truly Anglican formation in the Episcopal Church anymore, since that body has abandoned on a local and institutional level the classical Anglican tradition and rule of life. Because of that, I tend (perhaps wrongly) to be very leery of people who come to us from TEC proudly boasting that they are "life long episcopalians". I wonder what, if anything, they have learned about English spirituality in TEC - even if it is "conservative" parish. Lord knows they know nothing about BCP in many cases, and they certainly have not read even popular Anglican writers like C.S. Lewis, much less the classical divines, such as Jewel, Taylor, Thorndike, etc.

Our formation process is slow, and I think sometimes people get impatient with it. But things that grow slowly grow strong. And I think having strongly formed Christians is much better than having great numbers of poorly formed souls, which is, sadly, what many other churches focus on these days.

Back in the Black

Due to popular demand, I think I am going to resume this blog. I will keep my art blog for talk about my art, and this blog for talk and discussion about the wonderful world of continuing Anglicanism.

A Day of Prayer

January 28^th, 2008 will mark the 30^th anniversary of the birth of the Continuing Anglican Movement with the Denver Consecrations.

As a way to commemorate this monumental event, the Society of St Michael will be conducting Prayer without Ceasing; with a special intention for unity among our Continuing Anglican bodies. Our members will pray before the Blessed Sacrament every hour of the day.

The Society of St Michael (SSM) is a Fraternity of Anglican Clergy, organized as a Society of apostolic life. The SSM’s special charism is dedication to the Catholic faith and practice in its Anglican tradition. The Society of St Michael exists for mutual support, encouragement, and fellowship, and witness to Anglican tradition in its Catholic fullness.

Be it resolved:

That we, the Council of the Society of St Michael, on behalf of the entire membership of the Society of St Michael, with members representing multiple jurisdictions, fully support the unity of Christ’s Church and strongly urge our Continuing Anglican communities diligently to work together for unity, in the spirit of the Affirmation of St Louis and with deep respect for our common heritage.

Be it resolved:

That we the Society of St Michael pray that all Primates, Metropolitans, Bishops and Leaders of Continuing Anglican communities will show the way to greater unity, that we may be one, as our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ intends.

Be it resolved:

That we the Society of St Michael humbly beseech St Michael the Archangel and Our Lady of Walsingham to pray and intercede for us to Almighty God, for the restoration of Catholic Unity, that we may walk together bonded by our Catholic faith and share our Anglican tradition in Christ’s One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Be it resolved:

That we the Society of St Michael pray without ceasing for unity.

O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst say unto thine Apostles, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: Regard not our sins, but the faith of thy Church, and grant unto it that peace and unity, which is agreeable to thy will; who livest and reignest with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

Dated:

The Feast of the Confession of Saint Peter

in the Octave of Christian Unity

January 18th, 2008

http://www.societyofstmichael.org/unity.htm

New Location

Dear Friends,

I have decided to phase out The Continuing Anglican Churchman once and for all, and focus more on art and Christian spirituality in general (on my new blog) rather than focus on the rarefied world of continuing and traditional Anglicanism. There weren't any continuing Anglican blogs when I began this, so I wanted to fill that void. But now there are a number of CA blogs out there - most of them much more interesting to read than this one!

So, I am still around, still a continuing Anglican priest ministering to people, and I will still be commenting on other blogs. I am not going anywhere. :-)

Fr. J. Gordon Anderson, SSM

"I Will Go Unto the Altar of God"

The Classics of Western Spirituality series of books has one on the great Anglican divine, Jeremy Taylor. One of the articles by him that it contains is called "The Reverence Due to the Altar". In this article, Taylor argues that because the altar is a place where God is specially present (more present than in other places, he says) it is deserving of special reverence. He draws parallels from various biblical stories, such as Jacob at Bethel, Moses and the tabernacle, various Psalms, and more. Places where God is specially present are holy, and are "therefore proper for Divine adoration." The altar, as a symbol of calvary, and the place where the the eucharistic sacrifice takes place, is therefore holy, and deserving of reverence. I was taught that you always "reverence" (i.e. bow) to the altar (genuflecting if the Blessed Sacrament is reserved there).

(On a slightly different topic, I don't know why the people who compile these books by old Anglican divines always keep the archaic/old English spellings of words [e.g. ""unlesse", "bee", "internall", etc.). Are they trying to be cool? If so, it is not working. It doesn't add anything to the text, and just makes it harder to read.)

+Florenza et.al. Bolt APCK for ACA

I guess everyone saw this coming. The thirst for unity in the continuum is real, hence all of the "cooperatives" taking place recently (FACA, ACC with UEC, etc.). The trouble with much of this stuff, from my perspective anyway, is that it's all 30 years too late.

Good Liturgy DVDs

I just received two DVDs from Church of the Resurrection (NYC). One is the Guild of All Souls annual requiem mass, and the other is the golden jubilee of the consecration of the church. My former spiritual director, the Rev'd Charles McClean, SSC, serves as sub-deacon at the requiem. The masses are well done, and the music is splendid. I did notice, though, that there is no MC at either of the masses. Maybe they ran out of copes?

Besides being fun to watch, and spiritually uplifting, these DVDs, along with the missal and Ritual Notes, would be good for training priests who do get to see or celebrate a solemn high mass very much. Reading through the missal and RN can be kind of confusing at first, so it is good to have something to watch that puts it all together (again, if your parish doesn't do these masses much). If you want to buy these, or other DVDs, just go to the parish website and download the form. I'm sure it will help the church raise money to continue and expand their ministry.

2007 DEUS Synod - News and Reflections

I just returned from our 2007 diocesan synod. It was hosted by the Central and Eastern NC Deanery, and held at the beautiful St. Michael's Church in Charlotte, NC. You may view pictures here and here (note the gorgeous stained glass window showing the coronation of the BVM). The diocese has an official press release which I forgot to pick up.

Overall, I would describe the synod as being very spiritually refreshing. I definitely sensed the movement of the Holy Ghost. Part of that, no doubt, was due to the fact that the synod was held at a church (a place of prayer and worship) rather than at a hotel (a place to crash). The presence of Christ in the tabernacle of the altar radiated out the whole week. I thought that the preaching during the week was spectacular. Really, I have not heard such good preaching in a long time. It was also wonderful to have sung mattins (in addition to daily mass). I became Anglican in a parish that had that (with a choir of men and boys), so I love hearing and singing the old Anglican chants. I am very proud to be a member of the APA, and serve with such fine men. The Lord is definitely blessing us in terms of growth and expansion of ministry. The laity are very involved in the church, and there is a wonderful feeling of teamwork and unity amongst us all. It was a very, very positive week.

The weeks events opened on the 9th with a meeting of the Board of Examining Chaplains (the men who examine candidates for Holy Orders). There are some 26 people in various stages of ministry preparation. This includes postulants, transitional deacons, and deaconesses. Members of the board noted the high quality of people offering themselves for full time ministry, especially the men preparing for Holy Orders. They are all in accredited seminaries, or have already been through an accredited seminary and are doing additional work as directed by the board. The APA requires candidates for Holy Orders to have a master's degree in theology. The board added one member to its numbers, my former rector, the Rev'd Raymond Unterburger (Joppa, MD). The board met again on the 10th, as it takes lots of time to meet and examine people. The finance and standing committees met on the 10th as well.

On the 11th, we had Morning Prayer and Litany, which was followed by breakfast and the clergy conference. At the clergy conference the bishop welcomed 10 new clergy to the diocese. Some were transfers from ECUSA, some from other jurisdictions, and the rest were newly ordained in the last year. Each of us said a few words about who we were and what was going on in our lives and ministries. It was interesting to me to find out that some of our clergyman (who've been in the APA a number of years now) are former Roman, Antiochean, and Russian priests. Guests to the synod were recognized and included: Bp Boyce (from the APA's western diocese); Bp. Hicks (REC bishop co-adjutor from the mid-atlantic) and the Very Rev'd Fr. Rodney Longmire (REC priest, and headmaster of an APA school in VA); Bp. Council Nedd (EMC suffragan); Bp. Langberg (ACA bishop of the north east); and Fr. Foos and two students from St. Andrew's Academy (APA) in California. At the clergy meeting the Very Rev'd Douglas King introduced Web-Ex technology, which the diocese will use for meetings, virtual seminary, and clergy continuing education classes. The Very Rev'd Mark Clavier spoke about the Anglican Institute of Lay Ministry, which he oversees and is based out of All Saints', Arden, NC. And the Venerable Erich Zwingert, SSC, commented on how the APA will soon be publishing the 1928 BCP. The first run will be a 4"x6" personal edition in leather. Additional sizes will come later. He also said that the APA is also going to be publishing a supplement to the 1940 Hymnal that will contain additional hymns and other authorized liturgical music for parish use. The diocesan altar guild also met during this time.

The synod itself officially opened at 1:00 p.m. on the 11th. A check for over 40k from the diocese and the Linda Armstrong Foundation was given for an eye care clinic in the APA's Diocese of Andrha Pradesh, India. After the usual business (approval of the previous year's minutes, official recognition of guests, etc.), the bishop gave his report. Between him and the suffragan they had 41 visitations, 7 new church meetings, 119 confirmations, 9 ordinations, 5 ecumenical meetings, and more. He gave a report on FACA and success of it in terms of new member churches. (Note: the bishop kind of flies through his report, so it is hard to write down everything quickly enough... and correctly. He had many other meetings, but I couldn't get them down fast enough. Next time it would be nice if his report and statistics were included in a separate handout in our packets.) The suffragan bishop, Peter Brewer, handed in his resignation according to the canons (due to age), but was asked to stay on. The bishop appointed the Rev'd Erich Zwingert, SSC archdeacon. The diocesan treasurer, psychologist, and chancellor were all reappointed. Bp. Grundorf offered his thanks for all of the support he received over the past year after the death of his wife and mother. The synod eucharist was held that evening at 4:30 p.m. The liturgy was a solemn high votive mass of the Holy Ghost. It was followed by a BBQ dinner and a live bluegrass band. Later in the evening, Bishop Langberg of the ACA got up with an electric guitar and apparently rocked the house (I had already retired). Watch out Ted Nugent.

The next day we had Morning Prayer and Holy Communion. These were followed by breakout continuing education sessions, which included: Anglican liturgical music; charitable trust and remainder giving; mission planting; advertising and marketing; and parish bookkeeping and finances. Each session was lead by someone very experienced and qualified in their field, so I think we all really learned a lot. The music session was especially successful, and attracted a lot of people. I hope we do that one again. After lunch, we had more breakout sessions. At 3:00 the synod reconvened, and the various deans gave reports from the deaneries. The diocesan mission, summer camp, and Christian education committees also gave reports during this time. We have a number of new missions and pre-missions that are starting up all over the place, which is very good news for the kingdom of God (and bad news for Satan). Choral Evensong followed later in the afternoon. In the evening we had a fantastic banquet with gobs of good food and drink. The next day synod continued with a few select parish reports . At 11:00 the synod ended and we all went home.

Again, it was a very spiritually refreshing event. It is so nice to be part of a growing church that is full of dedicated people, both lay and clergy, who desire to preach the gospel, administer the sacraments, and worship the living God in spirit and truth according to the catholic and Anglican tradition.

DEUS Synod Next Week

Next week I will be away at our diocesan synod in Charlotte, NC. Please pray that the synod goes well, and that the name of Jesus is lifted up. There is nothing major on the agenda as far as I know, though we are trying a slightly newer format that includes workshops and breakout sessions. I will give reports from the synod.

Church Unity Schemes - Sign of a Greater Sickness?

Hot on the heals of the UEC and ACC communion agreement comes a letter from the ACC's archbishop calling for greater cooperation with the UEC and the other St. Louis movement body, the APCK. Unity movements like this are a positive step in the right direction towards greater unity, cooperation, and understanding among Anglicans. They are especially good for the clergy because it gives them greater opportunities to serve. Unity movements and concordats can invigorate the church and give it a real shot in the arm, which is what I saw back in Maryland with the REC and APA churches in that area. Unfortunately this group does not want anything to do with us (or with FACA) because they see our Covenant Union with Nigeria as uncatholic, and our inter-communion with the REC as problematic. While our modus operandi could be compared to the way the United States engages countries like China, while theirs could be compared to the way North Korea or Iran engages the west.

The unspoken side to many of these unity schemes though is that they seem to be done in large part merely for survival. Sadly, our churches (the continuing churches) are really not very large or influential, and they are that way because we are not, by and large, evangelists, and because we have inherited historical American Anglicanism's idea that maintaining the institutions of the church is the most critical aspect of churchmanship (the book "Growth and Decline in the Episcopal Church" shows this quite clearly). My former diocese in another jurisdiction has fewer parishes in it than they did several years ago. Other dioceses in this same jurisdiction seem to have faced similar stagnation and/or decline. The same could be said, if we are honest, about most of the rest of us too. Have we really grown much over the years?

Do we evangelize and plant new churches, or do our dioceses grow by "trading parishes". In most of our jurisdictions it seems that there are parishes that were once in another jurisdiction, and so on. My old parish went from UEC to ACC to ACA. So while on the surface it may look like a lot of great things are happening with our various jurisdictions in terms of unity, or while it may look like we are growing because St. Swithun's parish just joined us from some other jurisdiction, on a deeper level are we really growing and reaching people? Or are we just in a fight for survival, and is this our last chance to be relevant and contribute anything to the conversation? Does the "shot in the arm" wear off after a while and do we return to the staus quo? I think that as long we pray for and tout unity and/or cooperation, and if God gives it to us, He then expects us to then go and do something with that - namely, fulfill the Great Commission.