“Train up a child in the way he should go…”

There’s a wonderful line in Anglicanorum coetibus which makes it clear that we’re supposed to “…maintain the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared.” (Ang. coet. III)

It’s fairly obvious that to do this, we need parishes. Lots of them. We need parishes in every major city, and we need them in towns and villages. Until and unless people have the opportunity to become part of a community which is actually carrying out the mandate to “maintain the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions,” then the sharing of the treasure will be sporadic at best. It’s in the parish setting that the liturgy lives on a daily basis, and it’s in the context of the parish that the priestly and diaconal ministries are most frequently exercised. Parishes will be the key component in the implementation of Anglicanorum coetibus.

I want to make another suggestion, however, which I believe will be fundamental to maintaining and nourishing the Anglican patrimony, and which will be a major means of its growth. Schools. I’m absolutely convinced that if the Ordinariates establish schools as part of their parishes, our patrimony will flourish...

Read the rest of Fr. Phillips' essay on The Anglo-Catholic blog.

Music Director for Anglican Use Liturgy (in Kansas City)

February 13, 2009

I am very pleased to be able to share with you that Dr. Bruce Prince-Joseph has accepted my offer of the position of Music Director for the Anglican Use Liturgy at St. Therese Little Flower. Dr. Prince-Joseph was organist at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, St. John the Evangelist in Los Angeles, honorary organist at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and most recently St. Mary's (Episcopal) in Kansas City, Missouri. He has a wealth of experience in organ and harpsichord performance and choir directing in the Catholic Church as well as in Episcopal parishes...
Read the rest at Fr. Davis' blog How Can I Keep from Singing?

St. Paul's Anglican Use community web site on line

A group of Catholics recently received into the full communion of the Church from the Episcopal Church has established the St. Paul's Anglican Use, with the goal of establishing an Anglican Use parish in Phoenix, Arizona. They've established a blog site to chronicle their journey and to reach out to others seeking the Lord.

Read about them at St. Paul's Anglican Use.

Bishop Announces Final Decisions on Parish Restructurings

[N.B. The Scranton diocese is the home of the St. Thomas More Society, the Anglican Use community of Scranton under the leadership of Fr. Eric Bergman. The Society worships at St. Anthony of Padua church, and the offices of the society are in the former rectory of St. Clare parish, which parish hosted the Society in it first years.]

Bishop Joseph F. Martino [of Scranton, PA] has announced his final decisions on parish restructurings.
The plan, which was communicated through a recorded message from the Bishop that was played at all Masses the weekend of January 31 - February 1, affects every parish in the 11-county Diocese in some way. Implementation will begin in July.
The plan is the fruit of Called to Holiness and Mission: Pastoral Planning in the Diocese of Scranton, the project designed to foster the spiritual and pastoral renewal of the Diocese, starting with the Diocese’s most basic unit, the parish. It also intends to respond to demographic changes, diminishing financial resources, and the need to assign priests in a more effective way to serve the faithful.

Final Decisions for the Northern Pastoral Region

CLUSTER # 5 – the parishes of St. Peter’s Cathedral, Scranton; Immaculate Conception, Scranton; Holy Family, Scranton; St. Paul, Scranton; St. Clare, Scranton; Christ the King, Dunmore; St. Thomas More Society, Scranton:
* The creation of a Partnership among all the parishes in the cluster no later than July 2009.
* Holy Family, Scranton and St. Peter’s Cathedral, Scranton, will link no later than July 2009. Holy
Family, Scranton and St. Peter’s Cathedral, Scranton will consolidate no later than July 2010, at the St. Peter’s Cathedral site. Holy Family Church building will close no later than July 2010.
* Immaculate Conception, Scranton and Christ the King, Dunmore will consolidate no later than July 2010 at the Immaculate Conception site. Christ the King Church building will close no later than July 2010.
* St. Paul, Scranton and St. Clare, Scranton will consolidate no later than July 2010 at the St. Paul site. There will be an additional worship site (the possibility of one weekend Mass with occasional funerals and weddings) at St. Clare, due to its current use by and relationship with the school. This will be reviewed within two years, based on geography, attendance, fiscal realities and the availability of priests.

CLUSTER # 14 – the parishes of Holy Rosary, Scranton; St. Joseph, Scranton; St. Anthony of Padua, Scranton and the St. Thomas More Society, Scranton:
* Holy Rosary, Scranton, St. Joseph, Scranton and St. Anthony of Padua, Scranton will consolidate no later than July 2011 at the Holy Rosary site. The St. Thomas More Society will maintain its current relationship with St. Anthony of Padua, Scranton until such time as the future consolidation takes place. St. Joseph and St. Anthony of Padua Church buildings will close no later than July 2011.

Read the full announcement from Bishop Martino at the DIocese of Scranton web site.

Anglican Use Catholic Mass in Kansas City

December 16, 2008

Kirk Kramer whom everybody knows (as I once proved when I asked a group of European pilgrims whether anyone knew Kirk] sent this message on the Anglican Use Mass in Kansas City. I was reminded of the Anglican Use Catholic parish, Our Lady of the Atonement, in north San Antonio, TX which impressed me very favorably a few years ago with their beautiful church. Their Anglican Use Solemn High Mass involves the use of incense, bells, a full procession, and Sacred Music from both the traditional Latin and English Catholic heritage...
Read in full at the Dust of the Time blog.

Anglican Use Startup Kit

by The Catholic Knight
July 10, 2008

The Anglican Use is a Pastoral Provision within the Roman Catholic Church was provided by Pope John Paul II for the purpose of sheltering Anglican Catholics from the "tyranny of relativism" now tearing apart the Episcopal Church USA, the Anglican Church of Canada, the Church of England, and the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Would you like to start and Anglican Use Catholic Church in your area? It's not difficult. All you need is a little patience and prayer. Everything else has already been provided for you, and God will do the rest.
Read in full at The Catholic Knight blog.