Discipleship

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

Paul O'Dette Concert

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

New Edition of the 1928 BCP Published

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

Barack Obama gets it wrong (again).

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

Fr. Michael McInerney - Benedictine Monk & Architect

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

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

Ecumenical Overload

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

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

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

Anglicans and Pipe Smoking

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

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

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

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

Church Year

As Lent begins this week it is appropriate to think about the Christian year and Church Kalendar. The Christian year is a specific way of marking sacred time. It includes not only the typical seasons that we think of (Advent, Lent, etc.), but days of fasting and abstinence as well. 

In England after the Reformation all of the major religious groups observed some sort of religious calendar. The Romans obviously had the most traditional one, though the celebration of major feasts could not be done with as much pomp and gusto as on the continent because they were driven undeground. The Puritans had the most iconoclastic calendar, keeping Sunday as the only regularly occurring red-letter day, though they also observed special days of humiliation and thanksgiving which commemorated special events. The Anglicans had the most moderate calendar, which was Christological in emphasis and retained many New Testament saints. The many black-letter saint days that were retained ceased to be holidays. Their calendar also included national days (Gowrie Day, Gunpowder Day, Accession, King Charles the Martyr, etc.). Days of thanksgiving and humiliation, somewhat similar to those of the Puritans, were also recommended (Book of Homilies) and observed from time to time. 

In the end, the Anglican calendar (and Church) ended up winning the day. The Roman calendar was too superstitious and conservative, and the Puritan too austere and joyless. Indeed the Puritans' strict regulations as to what was permissible and non-permissible on the Sabbath (e.g. games were forbidden) was one of the many things that ensured their later marginalization in the English Church and religious life. After Cromwell's dictatorship, the Restoration of the monarchy showed that the majority of English people preferred the moderate, reformed Catholicism of the English Church to eccentricities of Rome and Geneva. 

Six Months at St. Francis

I am really amazed that I have this job as vicar of St. Francis. Why no one else jumped at the chance to come to this great church in this great university town is utterly beyond me. This parish has an extremely dedicated core membership; we have a gorgeous historic stone building; and we are almost across the street from VA Tech. The students are great. It is so exciting to hear about what they study, and how they are doing in school and growing as people and Christians in this most important time in their lives. It is an extremely humbling experience to be their minister and priest... an awesome responsibility and privilege. I remember when I was in college how important my churches were to me, and how the clergy helped me grow and mature on so many levels - especially the spiritual level. Now I am that clergyman.

We've been here near to six months now, and things are going well. The pledges have more than doubled over last year's; attendance is up (10 new people and counting since coming here in August); and we have more student members than anyone can remember in recent memory. We get visitors very regularly, and a number have stayed. I leave the church open with beautiful music playing during my office hours for people to come in and pray and notice that the literature which I leave in the back is being taken (and hopefully read)! This is all because of the grace of God. There is still much work to do. I pray every day for God to help us be a healthy parish; to send us visitors; to send us families; to send us leaders - people who want to get involved and start things; and to send us a full time organist/music minister. And God answers. If we pray to Him, and ask Him to do something to glorify His Holy Name and the Catholic faith then He does answer. I have seen it with my own eyes.

Please pray for us at St. Francis that we would be a beacon for the Catholic faith in Blacksburg and beyond. Pray for me that I would be a godly priest, a good husband to my wife, and a good leader for those whom God sends us.

Don't judge a book by its cover...

I have to admit that I had low expectations for the VA Tech library in my areas of interest (religion, philosophy). Because Tech is known as an "engineering" school, I thought it would have mostly math and science stuff. And it probably is stronger in those areas than in others. But recently I was shocked and pleasantly surprised to find that it has a superb collection of philosophical and theological journals and books. Its collection of Anglican books is amazing - better than my seminary's collection. I was shocked to find entire collections from the Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology (Laud, Andrewes, etc.), and many other Anglican and Episcopal historical and theological works! And they actually had some pretty obscure works mixed in with the lot of them. I can only imagine what their collection is like for other theological traditions. So now I have even more books to keep me busy! Anyway the moral is: don't judge a "library" by its cover. You may find that you are dead wrong about what it has

Primer of Church Latin

I have been working through A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin (Collins) for a little over a year now. I started it when I was in seminary where my Greek professor (also a Latinist) helped me with it here and there. Inevitably I stopped working on it though, and it sat on a shelf collecting dust. So a year or so ago I decided to work through it and finish it. 

Well, I am almost done the book, and I have to say that it lives up to its claims. Its purpose is to give the student the ability within a year to read Church Latin (especially the Vulgate). I am definitely "almost there". The one problem though is that books like this that give passages from the Bible and liturgy to read and translate make it a little too "easy" for the student if he already  knows the Bible. In other words, he thinks he knows the language better than he does. But give him Luke's Gospel and he's fine; give him St. Augustine or Cicero and he struggles a lot! 

I found this when I studied Greek in seminary. In college Greek (classical Greek), we used a secular text, and I think that helps one learn the language a little bit better. Thus, when I slacked off Greek for a few years it was pretty easy to come back to. Now in seminary Greek (koine Greek) we used a book similar to this Latin one that was built around the Bible. That's fine, but again it made it "easier" to get through the book rather than really learn the language.  Thus, when we read through some apocryphal Greek texts (e.g. the Gospel of Peter) to see how well we could really read Koine Greek we definitely were humbled a bit!

So in retrospect I would probably go with Wheelock's Latin, or some other book that does not revolve around the Bible because I think it would force me to learn the language better. Now if I did not know the Bible at all, I would be fine with relying on this text, but since I do not it I feel like I am cheating.

Once one is finished studying a language either on his own or in class he must stay with it, otherwise the whole venture is just a waste of time. What I do is read through the Sunday propers in Greek and Latin when working on my sermon, and that helps me "stay with it" a little bit.

Return to the Sources

The new ACNA encompasses many different Anglican strands and groups, and among these groups, while there appears to be basic agreement on certain moral issues (such as human sexuality), there is widespread disagreement on important doctrinal issues such as the ordination of women, the nature of baptism, and the celebration of the Holy Eucharist (specifically lay presidency). These doctrinal issues cannot simply be pushed aside, as they are at the root of the more practical moral issues, and also for the sake of truth and fidelity to Christ and His Church. 

Well with all of this disagreement on such important matters it is critical that all parties return to the sources of theology and evaluate their beliefs and positions in light of the them. The sources of theology are the Scriptures and Tradition, the latter referring generally to the Church Fathers (up to St. John of Damascus), and the dogmas and definitions of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, but also to the ancient liturgies and devotions of the Church. Secondary sources would include the Book of Common Prayer, the Formularies of the English Church, and English reformers and their successors. New developments and ideas in theology have to be compared against this standard, not against an "ism" that is alien to the English tradition. (e.g. Calvinism, Romanism, etc.) So before one would even try to reconcile Calvin's doctrine of election with the Book of Common Prayer's rite of Holy Baptism one must compare Calvin to the English reformers, and men such as Archbishop Laud, and then also compare him to the fathers and doctors of the Church. As the Rev'd. Canon Arthur Middleton has shown in his great book "Fathers and Anglicans: The Limits of Orthodoxy" this return to the ancient sources was the central and primary concern of the English Reformers and their successors. He writes, 

"Therefore the principle upon which the English Reformation proceeded was by appealing against Rome to Holy Scripture as interpreted by the primitive church, so that in its intentions and first issues it was neither Lutheran not Calvinist, but a return to primitive ancient Catholic Christianity. The Book of Common Prayer was an embodiment of the desire of the English church to restore ancient and primitive doctrine and worship. If the note of controversy seems to creep in too often, it is because the immediate cause of most of the writings of this era of Anglicanism's history was the need to clarify its beliefs in the face of opposition. For example, Hooker, in his Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, and Laud in his Conference with Fisher the Jesuit, had the same fundamental aim, to make plain the position of the Church of England as contrasted with Papists on the one hand and the Continental Reformers on the other. Their theory on the position of the English church was a restatement of the doctrine of the original Reformers that there has been no break in continuity of the Church, so that she was still the same ancient catholic but reformed church of these islands." (p.307-308)

The "problem" with Anglicanism is not that it is a non-sensical "middle way" where two or more mutually exclusive integrities can somehow be held together (as some folk erroneously claim). The problem is when Anglicans reject the sources of their belief, and the intention of the English Reformers, and then alter or reject the theology of the Prayer Book to adopt a newfangled practice or belief.

As Geoffrey Fisher wrote, "The Anglican Church has no peculiar thought, practice, creed, or confession of its own. It has only the Catholic Faith of the ancient Catholic Church, as preserved in the Catholic Creeds and maintained in the Catholic and Apostolic constitution of Christ's Church from the beginning."

Wipf and Stock Publishers

This is the place to go for great classic Episcopal/Anglican books. Every time I go to their site I find that they have republished some great Anglican classic: "Christian Faith" (Moss); "Elements of the Spiritual Life" (Harton); "Theological Outlines" (Hall); "Catholic Religion" (Staley), etc. Go do a search yourself! Please buy as many of these peoples' books as possible so this company stays around.

FSSP Mass DVD

I finally got the FSSP "Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite" mass DVD. I ordered it when they were still giving them away for free while living in Florida but I never got it. (I thought they found out was Anglican and decided not to send it!) I collect this stuff and have the St. Clement's DVDs, Resurrection, and other FSSP DVDs too. I know... I have no life.

So anyway, the "Extraordinary Form" DVD is really good. It is an instructional DVD on how to celebrate old form of the mass. It is extremely well-produced (done with EWTN) and has great commentary and pointers. It would be useful for traditional Anglican priests and their training too, as it shows how to move and act with dignity at the altar for "ad orientem" celebrations. (the only way mass should be celebrated in the Western Rite IMHO)

Even though this is very good, though, I must say that I was taught most of the principles and actions in this DVD, so in that sense it was "nothing new" for me. I did learn a few new things that I think would make my celebration look a tad better (such as never walking diagonally along the front of the altar, but always walking parallel to it), so those I will implement. Other things it covers are not germane to our rite, or are purely optional (such as the excessive altar kissing - which I used to do, but have cut back on).

All in all I give this DVD 10 out of 10 stars. It would make an excellent addition to the video and liturgical library of any nerdy and foppish priest.

Lent Approacheth

Lent is coming, and the pre-Lenten season (the "gesima" Sundays) are the time to start thinking seriously about a Lenten discipline. I usually recommend very simple disciplines. Instead of making some grand promise like, "I am not going to drink or smoke during Lent," (a promise that you'll break in the first few days, no doubt), I recommend cutting back on things like that - maybe not doing them or enjoying them on certain days. I also think it is good to add disciplines and devotions during Lent - doing something as a part of your overall discipline. You have to start small in the spiritual life. Nothing is more sad than seeing folk try to make big spiritual changes in their life when they can't make them in even a small way.

I am going to read the Bible for one hour every day for a year. Really? What makes you think you can do that when you can't read it for one hour once a month?

I am going to enter an austere religious order to learn how to love God and people better? Really? What makes you think you can do that when you can't even love your next door neighbor or your family?

I am going to fast all day today - eating nothing! Really? What makes you think you can do that when you have never so much as gone without lunch?

I do not mean to disparage those who make spiritual vows and promises (even big ones), during Lent and at other times, but we need to work up to the bigger commitments. If we can't do the small things, we will not be able to do the big things. We may even hurt ourselves spiritually in the process! 

Growth in holiness is by very small and boring, uneventful steps. He who is faithful in the smallest things will be given charge over larger things. We can't play Bach until we earn to play scales. We would do well to start small and work up to greater disciplines. Master the small things and then go on to the larger things.

Church Website Updated

We have updated our site at St. Francis:

www.stfrancisblacksburg.org

Please check it out and come see us in Blacksburg if you are ever in town!

TAC Personal Prelature

The internet is abuzz with stories that the Holy Father is going to receive the TAC en-masse and make them a personal prelature like Opus Dei (personal prelatures seem to be the solution to everything these days - the same route is being considered with the SSPX apparently). This is exciting news and may lead to many more Anglicans going to Rome if it goes through. I really have to wonder, though, how something like this can be pulled off. It has got to be a lot easier with SSPX because they are entirely Roman in their liturgy and ethos, but with us it is a different story. Also, what if bring in a bunch of continuing Anglicans in this way perturbs the SSPX and other traditionalists in the Roman Church and derails that? I am sure B16 and his associates have this figured out, or are going to figure it out if it goes through. Supposedly an announcement is due by Easter. As for me, entering communion with Rome in this manner is far more desirable than fooling around with this Common Cause stuff.

Anglican Chant Weather Forecast

This is pretty good...

The shoe is on the other foot now!

I just finished reading the latest update to the "No Way APA" website. Maybe the owner should change the name of his site to "No Way REC".

The Joys of Studying Medieval Philosophy

I have just finished reading through Fr. Frederick Copleston's massive "History of Philosophy" series through the 'late medieval' section. I still have many more volumes to go before finishing the set, but am going to take a detour to read some other works in medieval philosophy that I have laying around. By the way, if you are looking for the best "History of Philosophy" series to read get Copleston. Whatever you do don't waste your time reading Bertrand Russell's. While he is much more entertaining to read, Copleston goes into far greater detail. This is to be expected as Copleston was a philosopher while Russell was just a mathematician. 

Anyway, the goal of reading his series from the beginning and into the Medieval era was to grasp St. Thomas better. While it was beneficial in that respect, I have to admit that in the end I have found Ockham to be the far most interesting reading of the whole series thus far. While I will have to do more reading on him, it seems based on what I have read thus far that Ockham and the "Ockhamist" or "Nominalist" school was really the unintentional fountainhead of skepticism. Over and over again Ockham maintained that very few Christian dogmas and doctrines could be philosophically proven. Yet he maintained that they were to be believed on the basis of faith, or Church teaching. Granted other Medieval philosophers thought that way about certain doctrines (e.g. St. Thomas with the doctrine of creation), but Ockham seemed to think that about virtually every category of Christian belief. Thus he ended up creating a massive dichotomy between theology and philosophy. Centuries later that was to have disastrous results.  

Hail to the Chief

Well, today is an historic day. We have a new president. A "great messiah" who will miraculously deliver us from our enemies and usher in a time of eternal peace and prosperity. Any time there is a difference of opinion on some great issue, such as abortion, same sex unions, Cuba, or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict this new "messiah" will fly in and deliver some fantastic sounding speech that will save the day. 

I am bracing myself spiritually and politically for the FOCA which he supports and which would force doctors and hospitals to provide abortions against their conscience and will. That this man would support this legislation while at the same time enjoying such popular support even by Christians is truly scary and depressing. 125,000 more abortions - oh wonderful... what fantastic "change" that is. Sounds like a change for the worse to me. God help us all.

God, send us an organist!

This picture has nothing to do with an organist. I just thought I'd post it. It is our "Rose Sunday" picture. The flowers were  big hit. The light coming in on the reredos is from our beautiful "eucharistic" stained glass windows in the sanctuary. Actually there is just one rose in each arrangement and the rest are pink carnations. That is what we financially poor churches must do. But it's fine to do it that way... as long as there is at least one pink rose!

I pray that God would send us a full time organist/music minister. We are blessed with a great interim organist (a VA Tech student who graduates in May), and we have some other good stand in organists that have helped us, and that we can call on when needed, but we need a full time person. 

One of the many reasons I came here was that I recognized right away the awesome potential in this place. I knew they couldn't "offer me" tons of perks right off the bat, but I know that down the road this will, by God's grace, be a thriving parish church that will be a blessing to me, and to everyone in Blacksburg and beyond in ways that are beyond my imagination. 

I just wish I could find a music minister who could join me in this endeavor. Someone who sees the potential, and all that we can do here! The sky is the limit with the musical possibilities in this parish and in this university town. Is there anyone out there who would come and join us in this work we are doing for God's glory?

Divorced and Remarried Clergy: The New Hot-Button Issue?

An interesting article on VOL. I once had lunch with Bp. Hewitt of the DHC and he was explaining to me and some other priests that the first fissure in TEC began in the late 60's/early 70's when they changed the canons governing divorce and remarriage for the clergy. That paved the way to the ordination of women, which eventually lead to the acceptance of homosexuality.

Anyway, it is interesting that the so-called Global South bishops are so strong on this issue, and on the homosexuality issue, but not on the issue of women's ordination which bridges the two. I think most of the Global South churches in the Anglican Communion ordain women - if not to the priesthood to the diaconate. Other groups, such as FiFNa churches and AMiA, ordain women to the diaconate.

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, comes of this.

Church Growth 2

These are some more random thoughts swirling around in my head about church growth as it relates to continuing Anglican parishes. These observations refer to a typical continuing Anglican parish like St. Francis: small, no choir (much less a paid choir), Sunday parish mass with hymns.

1) Most people prefer to come to church and do as little as possible and be entertained. Extremely clerical churches where the minister does everything (e.g. Presbyterian), or entertainment-oriented "game show" churches - where the service is like an episode of "The Price is Right" - appeal to the vast majority of people because of basic human laziness. Older services like ours (and maybe the Tridentine mass) service demand a lot of people, therefore there is a natural aversion to them. We clergy should simply expect this of people.

2) Most people prefer a service that is not only reverent but easy to follow. Ours is very complex, even in its lowest (straight Prayer Book) form. So we need to try to make our services as easy as possible to follow so as to make it accessible to the broadest number of people. I think we do that by sticking as close to the Prayer Book as possible. We clergy tend to become so familiar with the liturgy that we often get bored with it, so we are tempted to add, add, add. But we need to put ourselves in the laity's shoes. Sometimes adding all of that stuff (e.g. the minor propers, the extra collects, etc.) makes the service too hard for them to follow. (especially if they have to go from Prayer Book, to Hymnal, to bulletin, and back and forth)

3) Most people can only absorb a limited amount in one hour. Again, I think that adding all of the minor propers and extra collects is simply too much to absorb. It works in the old Roman mass because much of that mass was said in silence. But it doesn't always work with us. We forget that besides the mass we have: the hymns, the announcements, the sermon, coffee hour, and Sunday school. All of that takes a certain chunk of people's "spiritual absorption" quota. When we start adding tons of beautiful but verbose prayers people just begin to zone out after a while and the whole kit and caboodle becomes ineffective.

4) Too many hymns and too much singing can definitely be a bad thing. Unless you have a paid choir, or a good volunteer choir, we need to do less singing. Why? Time and taste: our typical mass music is pretty dreary (Willan, Merbecke), and adds lots of unnecessary time to the service. There is no rule that those parts MUST be sung, so if you have a small group just recite them and sing only the hymns. Why else? Our culture is becoming less and less musical. Average people do not sing much anymore, or even read music, so they feel awkward doing too much singing (especially of such alien music). Why else? Their voices get tired after a while from all of the responses and recitations; they are also tired from kneeling, and from it being so early in the morning. So I think the less music we have the better. I think it is best to try to get the biggest bang for your buck with the music - if there is going to be singing, let it be just the bare minimum of hymns, and just recite the ordinary of the mass (except maybe on special occasions). Too much music, especially when it is bad, just drives people away.

The rewards of being an artist

Being an artist is just as intense and demanding a vocation as being a priest. Like the priesthood, the artistic life has its highs and lows, and ups and downs. But the rewards of both vocations are immeasurable. I have been very blessed to touch many lives through my art - from people around the world. Recently I was sent this note about an icon that I did: (I gave it to a client who passed it on as a gift, and the client sent me the comment that follows.)

"The crucifixion painting you gave me has already been a treasure. As you may know, I suffer from phases of deep depression and take medication for that depression, but as with all things, there is a very spiritual dimension to my depression. When I am able to look at something like a painting of the crucifixion, it both makes the crucifixion real and brings me great comfort. I am going through such a time right now and this afternoon I propped the painting up by my bed so that I could look at it as I tried to rest. So I thank you very very much for it."

It is a tremendous blessing, and very humbling, to be able to touch so many peoples lives artistically and ministerially.

Church Growth 1

All that I have been thinking about the last couple days is church growth, not only because of trying to grow/revitalize this parish (though I wonder, based on the numbers in the books, if it was ever "vitalized" to begin with), but because many "continuing Anglican" (CA) parishes seem to be stagnant or in decline. And that is a major concern on many levels.

Now, we have had growth at St. Francis since I have been here. We have added some five new university students, one older professional, and one retired professional. I am VERY THANKFUL for that growth! And, thanks be to God, most CA parishes, dioceses, and jurisdictions can probably claim the same type of growth - though the demographics are different based on where they are located (i.e. we are across the street from VA Tech, so we have a number of college students; other parishes are in retirement communities, so they have lots of older, retired folk, etc.). So we ARE growing at St. Francis! And other parishes in the APA and in similar CA jurisdictions are also growing! The numbers prove that. As I have seen it said on other CA sites: "We are growing, slowly, but we are growing."

But is the growth keeping up with 'inflation'? In other words, how much of our parish growth is actual "new adult conversions to Christianity" growth verses getting folk from other Anglican parishes, or other churches? And how much of our growth is getting folk who are converts from some other tradition, such as Presbyterianism, Anabaptism, Romanism, etc.? From what I know it is far to say that most of our very small and slow growth comes in those areas, which is not bad (no growth is "bad", per se), but not good either. Very little growth (and none so far in my tenure here at St. Francis) is growth in terms of adult converts to the Christian religion! To be honest, in my whole life I know of only one adult person who went from being a complete, unbaptized pagan to becoming a Christian entirely in a continuing Anglican church! I am sure there are more out there, but I personally only know of one. And incidentally he is no longer CA but Orthodox, I am told. But is this an inditement of CA churches alone? By no means!

The sad truth is that across the board according to statistics ALL denominations (in America) are "growing" more in transfer of membership from other churches RATHER than by adult baptisms and conversions (Source: "Comeback Churches" Setzer/Dodson) - even the so-called "true church" - the Roman Church. That is warning to ALL Christians. We are supposedly "growing" (and megachurches are "growing" a lot, so it seems), but it is not real growth! It is just baptized people transferring memberships and attendance around! In other words, the growth of the Kingdom of God is not keeping up with the growth of "paganism" at this point! The bottom line is this: the Church (across the board) is NOT growing... if anything it is slowly shrinking. The statistics prove it. The question is what are we Christians going to do about it? More important, what are we so-called "continuing Anglicans" going to do about it?

If I was a Lutheran....

THIS is where I would go to church!

Infinity of Little Hours

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

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

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

Blue Christmas

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

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

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

Another Newspaper Article

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

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

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

Avery Cardinal Dulles, RIP

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

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

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

Blast from the past

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

Preaching

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New North American Anglican Province

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you, St. Joseph!

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

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

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

Who is the best bishop of all?

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

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

Article in the Roanoke Times

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

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

JGA+

"Kneeling"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Random Reflections on the Daily Office

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

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

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

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

Organization Matters

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

Conjugal Love Requires an Heroic Spirit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Great Used Book Find

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

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

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

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

Organist Wanted

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

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

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

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

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

Post-Election Wrap Up and Thoughts

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

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

Dead Flowers

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

Wedding Bells

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pet Blessing Video

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

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

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

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

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

Funny Story

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

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

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

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

Basic Christianity

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

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

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

Statue of BVM

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

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

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

Old St. Mary's/St. Francis

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

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

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

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

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

The Continuing Anglican Churchman Endorses...

ACE BOOKBINDING

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

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

Blessing of Animals

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

Two Wayfaring Strangers

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