My New Hero - 81 Year Old Man Building a Cathedral

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

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

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

Good Scripture Scholarship

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

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I like N.T. Wright so much is that he really seems to take the texts themselves seriously and as essentially reliable historical documents.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

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

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

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

Here is the website for my new parish:

www.stmarksvero.org

Alphabet Soup

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

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

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

Our Plans vs. God's Plans

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

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

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

Buildings

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

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

Picasso in the Vatican?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Update and New CD

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

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

School's Been Blown to Pieces

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

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

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

Church Insurance Program

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

The Anglican Federation

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

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

Resurrection Window

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

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

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

Add Your Parish to this Map

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

New Mindset for Evangelism

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

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

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

St. James the Average on tour?

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

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

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

Priest-Artist

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

Clericalism is back.

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

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

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

Dominus Vobiscum

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

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

St. Cyril of Jerusalem on Communion

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

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