Integrity

Many people that I come into contact with around town and beyond seem mildly and perhaps scandalously amused at our slavish devotion to the old Prayer Book and its sidekick, the Authorized Version of the scriptures. Their use is often viewed as horribly antiquated and an obstacle to growth, and maybe it is. Nonetheless, we continue to proudly and intentionally use them almost down to the very rubric. Why? Well not only because our canons require it, and because it is biblical and Catholic, and because we like it (I could go on), but also because the our very identity as a branch of Christ's One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church depends on it. History shows that if one strays from the Prayer Book, strange doctrine and even schism inevitably follow. The Methodists are a perfect example of this. Even though John Wesley was a loyal high churchman, and regularly took the sacrament up until he died, he laid the groundwork in his movement for eventual schism from the Church of England by tinkering with the liturgy - specifically with the introduction and toleration of extempore prayer and creating additional liturgies to be used alongside the Prayer Book. Eventually he "ordained" his own successors to keep the movement going. His own selective use of the Prayer Book which he so highly valued bore bad fruit. For shortly after his death the movement stopped using the Prayer Book altogether and became its own tradition.

I wonder if the neo-Anglican jurisdictions that have recently broken from TEC will not go down the same path. The folk from those churches, while usually well-meaning and devoted to God, seem to treat the BCP as something that is negotiable... and that to be an Anglican doesn't mean you have to use the Prayer Book. Even now, when I visit such churches and meet their clergy, they seem like they re not quite Anglican... more "non-denominational" with (in most cases anyway) episcopal ordination and a quickie eucharist tacked on to the end of the service. Inevitably when engaging such folk in conversion I find that they do not use the Prayer Book in their parishes... maybe bits of it here and there, with some other stuff thrown in for good measure. Will these churches be the new-new dissent 25-50 years down the road? Will they be the Methodists of the 21st century? To be Anglican means in large part to use the Prayer Book in the public liturgy of the Church as well as in your private devotions. Cranmer did not start a new church. He did not write a confession of faith, or a systematic theology. What he did was reform the liturgy for the English Church. How someone can claim to be part of that trajectory and not use her liturgy is utterly beyond me.

Longevity Matters

Interacting with fellow clergy here in Blacksburg has been an interesting and valuable experience. One of the things I have learned is that most of the mainline church pastors have been here in Blacksburg for around 10 years. Generally, the longer the pastor has remained the same, the more stability the congregation seems to have - even if the pastor has some strange and heretical views. That helps explain the the lack of stability at this parish - for the longest time there was no abiding pastoral presence here, so the place just slowly unravelled.

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...