The Augustinians of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Mary of Grace Independent Catholic Church have started praying Vespers every Wednesday evening in the oratory in my apartment, followed by dinner at a local restaurant (so far an Italian restaurant down the street with great meal specials). Usually, there are two or three of us. It is quickly making Wednesday night my favorite night of the week. We chant a few Psalms to traditional Gregorian chant tones (we use the St. Dunstan’s Psalter, available from Lancelot Andrewes Press http://www.andrewespress.com/), read a passage of scripture, followed by the Magnificat, Mary’s song of praise (also chanted to traditional Gregorian chant tones from the St. Dunstan’s Psalter with the antiphon from the Monastic Diurnal Noted, also available from Lancelot Andrewes Press). Then, we pray, with the Lord’s Prayer, a collect of the day, and lots of silence with opportunity for individuals to make intercessions or thanksgivings.
This offers an oasis of peace in the midst of what are usually busy weeks. I would encourage others to consider making this a part of their prayer discipline as well – any Christian can lead the office, there is no requirement of ordination, as there is for some liturgical rites. Just invite a friend or two, and pray.
The Shame of Not Being Who We Aren't
I believe that one of the biggest challenges the independent sacramental movement faces is the shame many feel at our perceived failures because we don’t replicate the mainstream churches in certain ways. Here is a list of some of those ways in which we differ from mainstream churches and about which I have witnessed much embarrassment among independent sacramentalists:
· Tiny congregations
· Lack of a centralized unifying organization
· Very high proportion of membership who are ordained
· Unpaid clergy
· Lack of recognition by the “real” church, whoever that may be (for some, it is Rome; for others, it is Constantinople; for many liberals, it is either Utrecht or the Episcopal Church)
· Embarrassment at “bad” clergy
Of course, there are many others, but I do want to address the shame behind these, because I think the shame attached has done far more harm than the conditions about which the shame is felt.
The reason many people end up in the independent movement is because they are unable to be ordained in mainstream churches, especially the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches, for a variety of reasons. For those from Roman Catholic backgrounds, it is often because of celibacy, sex, or sexual orientation. For those from Episcopal backgrounds, it is often sexual orientation, or because of arbitrary and abusive ordination processes that exist in most dioceses (especially liberal ones), or because someone deviates from the norm of the ideal priest in some way, or because of going against the prevailing trends. (For example, in my early 20’s, the trend in most dioceses was to discourage young aspirants to ordination, because the ideal was someone with lots of life experience, but then in my 30’s, the trend was to encourage those in their early 20’s as being more energetic.) Both the Roman Catholic and Episcopal denominations have many good, solid clergy doing great work, and both denominations have many clergy who never, ever should have been ordained – in fact, that is true of every denomination, because despite the best efforts of church bureaucrats of all persuasions, there is no perfect ordination process. Heck, JESUS made Judas Iscariot an apostle! And so many who end up in the independent world, where it is much easier to be ordained, are good people whose gifts were spurned out of human sinfulness. Many others are nutcases who were rightly turned down. In other words, we are EXACTLY IDENTICAL to every other Christian denomination – and probably every religious denomination of every persuasion – on the planet. We have good, bad, and indifferent clergy.
But because the overwhelming majority of our clergy come from other backgrounds, unfortunately, it is easy for us to view some mainstream denomination as the standard by which we should be judged. And it is easy to forget the problems the mainstream churches face, or else to reduce them to one or two issues – celibacy, women’s ordination, lgbt issues – and ignore the many other problems. I hear a lot of complaints among independents about the lack of standards for our clergy – yet we forget that the very absence of uniform standards is precisely what has allowed us to embrace the ministry of women and lgbt persons who would have been rejected elsewhere (particularly at the time we started embracing them) – and we also forget the harmful clergy who are nevertheless ordained in churches with high standards. We bewail the lack of a unified structure – yet forget all the headaches that they bring in churches that are more centralized (look at all the lawsuits over property in the Episcopal Church, for example) – and the reason we are unable to develop a structure is that, when push comes to shove, we are (rightly, in my opinion) unwilling to surrender the freedom that such a structure would demand.
I believe that, for us as a movement to move forward, we must recover from the “mainstream shame/envy” we feel, realize that we CANNOT and, more importantly, SHOULD NOT try to replicate the mainstream churches, but that instead, we should embrace the positive things about our own identity – including the positive aspects of those things listed above – and be who we are with the greatest degree of integrity and faithfulness possible. We are not here to replace the mainstream church – they have their own mission from God to which they must be faithful – we are here to complement them and provide ministry they are unable to, and that is our mission from God, to which we must be faithful.
I hope to explore some of these differences and the positive gifts they bring in the coming weeks.
· Tiny congregations
· Lack of a centralized unifying organization
· Very high proportion of membership who are ordained
· Unpaid clergy
· Lack of recognition by the “real” church, whoever that may be (for some, it is Rome; for others, it is Constantinople; for many liberals, it is either Utrecht or the Episcopal Church)
· Embarrassment at “bad” clergy
Of course, there are many others, but I do want to address the shame behind these, because I think the shame attached has done far more harm than the conditions about which the shame is felt.
The reason many people end up in the independent movement is because they are unable to be ordained in mainstream churches, especially the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches, for a variety of reasons. For those from Roman Catholic backgrounds, it is often because of celibacy, sex, or sexual orientation. For those from Episcopal backgrounds, it is often sexual orientation, or because of arbitrary and abusive ordination processes that exist in most dioceses (especially liberal ones), or because someone deviates from the norm of the ideal priest in some way, or because of going against the prevailing trends. (For example, in my early 20’s, the trend in most dioceses was to discourage young aspirants to ordination, because the ideal was someone with lots of life experience, but then in my 30’s, the trend was to encourage those in their early 20’s as being more energetic.) Both the Roman Catholic and Episcopal denominations have many good, solid clergy doing great work, and both denominations have many clergy who never, ever should have been ordained – in fact, that is true of every denomination, because despite the best efforts of church bureaucrats of all persuasions, there is no perfect ordination process. Heck, JESUS made Judas Iscariot an apostle! And so many who end up in the independent world, where it is much easier to be ordained, are good people whose gifts were spurned out of human sinfulness. Many others are nutcases who were rightly turned down. In other words, we are EXACTLY IDENTICAL to every other Christian denomination – and probably every religious denomination of every persuasion – on the planet. We have good, bad, and indifferent clergy.
But because the overwhelming majority of our clergy come from other backgrounds, unfortunately, it is easy for us to view some mainstream denomination as the standard by which we should be judged. And it is easy to forget the problems the mainstream churches face, or else to reduce them to one or two issues – celibacy, women’s ordination, lgbt issues – and ignore the many other problems. I hear a lot of complaints among independents about the lack of standards for our clergy – yet we forget that the very absence of uniform standards is precisely what has allowed us to embrace the ministry of women and lgbt persons who would have been rejected elsewhere (particularly at the time we started embracing them) – and we also forget the harmful clergy who are nevertheless ordained in churches with high standards. We bewail the lack of a unified structure – yet forget all the headaches that they bring in churches that are more centralized (look at all the lawsuits over property in the Episcopal Church, for example) – and the reason we are unable to develop a structure is that, when push comes to shove, we are (rightly, in my opinion) unwilling to surrender the freedom that such a structure would demand.
I believe that, for us as a movement to move forward, we must recover from the “mainstream shame/envy” we feel, realize that we CANNOT and, more importantly, SHOULD NOT try to replicate the mainstream churches, but that instead, we should embrace the positive things about our own identity – including the positive aspects of those things listed above – and be who we are with the greatest degree of integrity and faithfulness possible. We are not here to replace the mainstream church – they have their own mission from God to which they must be faithful – we are here to complement them and provide ministry they are unable to, and that is our mission from God, to which we must be faithful.
I hope to explore some of these differences and the positive gifts they bring in the coming weeks.
Renewing the spirit
Some of my best experiences in the independent sacramental movement have been attending weekend retreats or gatherings where people from different parts of the country gather for a few days of fellowship, liturgy, and often, ordinations. My first such gathering, in 1999, was the yearly meeting of the Friends Catholic Communion. Although not a part of that body at that point, I was ordained a deacon on Saturday afternoon, and two bishops were consecrated the following day. I attended a couple of other gatherings of FCC, the last being a joint retreat with the Catholic Church of the Holy Grail (now the Contemporary Catholic Church) in Richmond, Indiana. In my early years of involvement with this movement, my religious life was divided between worshipping in a local Episcopal church where my involvement in the independent sacramental movement was not known, and practicing a liturgical and sacramental life in solitude at home, a practice which sustained my involvement in various social justice movements. Those weekend gatherings were wonderful because they supplied me with almost my only experience of community within this movement, apart from internet connections. (My experience is rather common, because many are ordained in our movement for a solitary liturgical life combined with a ministry in the world that is non-parochial, and many of these worship in mainstream churches who do not recognize their ordination.)
Since moving to Philadelphia, I have come to a much more integrated practice, since I am now co-pastor of an independent sacramental parish and therefore part of a small local community. Also, before moving, I did help organize an informal group of independent sacramentalists in New York who meet roughly quarterly for dinner and fellowship, and have continued to participate even after the move. And, while it is less than ideal, I have forged many close friendships with fellow independent sacramentalists by email.
Nevertheless, this past weekend, I had a MARVELOUS time attending the retreat of the Augustinians of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to which was added an ad hoc gathering of Independent Catholic Christian Church clergy, including an ordination. It reaffirmed my strong belief that this is that part of Christ’s church to which God has called me (it’s not for everyone – our movement complements the more mainstream denominations in the one body of Christ). There were eight of us present for the retreat.
The liturgies were very powerful. Before the retreat actually began, I conferred the subdiaconate on Bryan Marabanian in a simple mass in the chapel. We prayed lauds and vespers each morning and evening, Friday evening through Sunday morning. John Bartholomew Scott was received as a novice on Saturday night. Friday night, we had a compline service of reconciliation, with Fr. Joseph Menna, Prior General of the AIHM and myself available to hear confessions, an oblate bishop anointing, and the giving of general absolution. We had a spontaneous compline on Saturday night that was mostly silence and Taize chant. This singing was quite beautiful – we were an all-male group (by happenstance, not by design, as both groups are open to women), and I added bass lines wherever I could.
Saturday morning, we had a beautiful mass for the ordination of Bryan to the diaconate. Several of us had tears in our eyes at different points. We did a contemporary setting of the Litany of Saints (Becker), and I included a verse with Independent Catholic saints. I could palpably feel their presence with us. The entire mass was very moving. This was the first time I have conferred major orders (not counting being a co-consecrator at episcopal consecrations), and it was a very powerful experience. I truly believe the Holy Spirit was present. Sunday morning, we had another beautiful mass for the renewal of Fr. Joseph's vows. His homily beautifully summed up the weekend.
Fr. Joseph led most of the sessions, which were focused on the Myers Briggs test, which everyone had taken, based on Jungian archetypes, and the implications for spirituality and for working together as church. The information was very helpful, and the exercises we did facilitated getting to know one another. The highlight was perhaps the assignment to determine the Jungian spirituality type (using the two middle polarities of the Myers Briggs) of the four main characters of the Golden Girls and Star Trek – one of the groups also analyzed Will & Grace! I also led a session on Independent Catholic history on Saturday evening, and I will be writing up the talk for an article.
The fellowship was wonderful. Old friendships were strengthened, and new ones were forged. Sadly, for me, this was very much at the expense of getting good nights’ sleep, and I ended up not going to work on Monday to recover! One of the retreatants received word late Saturday night that his sister had died. We supported him in prayer and friendship the rest of the retreat.
Fr. Seraphim McCune, an ICCC priest from Texas, although not able to be present, graciously gave a beautiful wooden monstrance he made to the Order of Augustinians of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
I very much look forward to future retreats as a way to renew the spirit – and I urge others in this movement to attend such gatherings whenever possible.
Since moving to Philadelphia, I have come to a much more integrated practice, since I am now co-pastor of an independent sacramental parish and therefore part of a small local community. Also, before moving, I did help organize an informal group of independent sacramentalists in New York who meet roughly quarterly for dinner and fellowship, and have continued to participate even after the move. And, while it is less than ideal, I have forged many close friendships with fellow independent sacramentalists by email.
Nevertheless, this past weekend, I had a MARVELOUS time attending the retreat of the Augustinians of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to which was added an ad hoc gathering of Independent Catholic Christian Church clergy, including an ordination. It reaffirmed my strong belief that this is that part of Christ’s church to which God has called me (it’s not for everyone – our movement complements the more mainstream denominations in the one body of Christ). There were eight of us present for the retreat.
The liturgies were very powerful. Before the retreat actually began, I conferred the subdiaconate on Bryan Marabanian in a simple mass in the chapel. We prayed lauds and vespers each morning and evening, Friday evening through Sunday morning. John Bartholomew Scott was received as a novice on Saturday night. Friday night, we had a compline service of reconciliation, with Fr. Joseph Menna, Prior General of the AIHM and myself available to hear confessions, an oblate bishop anointing, and the giving of general absolution. We had a spontaneous compline on Saturday night that was mostly silence and Taize chant. This singing was quite beautiful – we were an all-male group (by happenstance, not by design, as both groups are open to women), and I added bass lines wherever I could.
Saturday morning, we had a beautiful mass for the ordination of Bryan to the diaconate. Several of us had tears in our eyes at different points. We did a contemporary setting of the Litany of Saints (Becker), and I included a verse with Independent Catholic saints. I could palpably feel their presence with us. The entire mass was very moving. This was the first time I have conferred major orders (not counting being a co-consecrator at episcopal consecrations), and it was a very powerful experience. I truly believe the Holy Spirit was present. Sunday morning, we had another beautiful mass for the renewal of Fr. Joseph's vows. His homily beautifully summed up the weekend.
Fr. Joseph led most of the sessions, which were focused on the Myers Briggs test, which everyone had taken, based on Jungian archetypes, and the implications for spirituality and for working together as church. The information was very helpful, and the exercises we did facilitated getting to know one another. The highlight was perhaps the assignment to determine the Jungian spirituality type (using the two middle polarities of the Myers Briggs) of the four main characters of the Golden Girls and Star Trek – one of the groups also analyzed Will & Grace! I also led a session on Independent Catholic history on Saturday evening, and I will be writing up the talk for an article.
The fellowship was wonderful. Old friendships were strengthened, and new ones were forged. Sadly, for me, this was very much at the expense of getting good nights’ sleep, and I ended up not going to work on Monday to recover! One of the retreatants received word late Saturday night that his sister had died. We supported him in prayer and friendship the rest of the retreat.
Fr. Seraphim McCune, an ICCC priest from Texas, although not able to be present, graciously gave a beautiful wooden monstrance he made to the Order of Augustinians of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
I very much look forward to future retreats as a way to renew the spirit – and I urge others in this movement to attend such gatherings whenever possible.
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