Salve Regina

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

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

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

Coat of Many Colors

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

Modern Day Erastianism?

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

The Holy Eucharist

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

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

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

Spiritual Garbage Men

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

GAFCON

Here is a really good statement and summation of GAFCON.

Putting the Cart before the Horse

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

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

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

Anglican & Episcopal History

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

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

Rule of Life for Young People

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

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

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

Emotions and Anglicanism

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

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

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

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

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

Worship and Theology in England

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

Following Up

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

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

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

New Opportunities

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

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

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

Anglican Way Institute Summer Conference

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

www.anglicanwayinstitute.org

Anglican Theological Education

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

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

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

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

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

"The Church is within you."

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

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

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

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

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

Canon Docent of St. Mark's

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

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

Rogation Days

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

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

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

The Rewards of Being a Priest

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

Knowing your product

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

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