At Last, We Are Official

On the Feast of Saint Andrew, members gathered in the Chapel of the Apostles (Sewanee) to officially establish the Sewanee Society of Our Lady of Walsingham.  What joy there was among those gathered to be able to bring together interests in Anglo-Catholicism and seeking to enrich their prayer lives with Our Lady.  At the founding, we have many non-residential members from as far away as Texas, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.  Members may elect to wear a Sarum Blue scapular over a black cassock to signify membership--though this is completely optional.

The Charter was approved unanimously with the only question regarding whether or not we should incorporate a yearly membership fee as opposed to what is currently stated as a one time $15 fee.

The rules of the Charter were suspended in order to elect officers to serve up until the week prior to Spring Break, and then the newly elected officers will serve a full year term as stated in the Charter.  The election results were: Karen Workman-Booth T'11, Clerk;  Charles Canon T'11, Prior; and Chad Krouse T'10, Superior General.  We had some fun in choosing the titles!  Some dull seminary humour.

We are female, male, black, white, religious, ordained, and lay.  We embrace a broad theology of inclusion, seeking to undo the baggage that has been heaped upon Walsingham by various factions in the Church.  We proudly claim an Anglo-Catholic heritage while also proudly claiming The Episcopal Church.  Our answer is "yes," that it is possible to embrace both and help work to heal a broken world.

Our Lady of Walsingham, I believe, is a source of unity for the Body of Christ. She is the only vision that is highly regarded amongst Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglicans alike.  If we allow ourselves to break free from the chains that have so wrongly tied down this noble vision, we may find that Our Lady's grace and intercession will help us all.  Thanks be to God!

P.S.  The chains in the new seal for the Society reflect those from the seal of The University of the South, a simple way in heraldry to illustrate our connection to the University's School of Theology.