Got Fog?

We are no strangers to fog here in Sewanee.  There's even the annual Fog Festival in nearby Monteagle to celebrate the haze.  High atop the Cumberland Plateau, the University sits quietly surrounded by misty, billowing clouds.  Some days it can really get to you; the fog can sometimes appear so thick that you can almost cut it.  Fog lights on your car fail even to provide visibility.

I wanted to capture the ghostly essence of the fog surrounding the main quad on campus--All Saints' Chapel and Breslin Tower.  Here are few of my photographs.

Breslin Tower

The Quad

All Saints' Chapel

Chapel of the Apostles

Nothing, perhaps, causes more angst among seminarians than settling in to their new worshipping space. At The School of Theology, the Chapel of the Apostles (affectionately known simply as "COTA") is the rather awkward worship space for the seminary.  Consecrated in 2001, COTA is a wonderful place for meditative prayer and reflection.  Liturgically, it can be a challenging space.  It's also a challenge to take photographs inside...

About a year and half ago, we moved the space to be oriented in a "collegiate" style, with the congregation facing inwards with the altar and ambo on a direct plane--which actually goes baptismal font, ambo, and then altar.  Any hints as to where we stand with the proposition of an open table?  Alas, the seminary does not see itself as the laboratory for defying the canons of the Church.

Once inside, the narthex is centered around a large copper baptismal font.  And as a Sacristan of the Chapel, I can assure that this water gets changed religiously--pun intended (corny I know).

I am willing to go out on a limb and say that Sewanee and most likely Nashotah House are the only Episcopal Seminaries with a chapel dedicated to Our Lady.  Here we have what I believe to be Our Lady of Guadeloupe, given the horns on the base.  It is in the Lady Chapel where we reserve the Sacrament and have a side reconciliation room as well.  We do boast the world's smallest seminary sacristy, getting vested in there with all the altar party can be a challenge too!

So call me nostalgic, I just wanted to have some posts of the places where I've been worshipping and building community lo these past three years.

All Saints' Chapel

All Saints' Chapel stands in the very heart of the University of the South, a.k.a. "Sewanee."  Located high atop the Cumberland Plateau in Sewanee, Tennessee, the University of the South is home to The School of Theology, a seminary of The Episcopal Church.  It's also been home to me for the past two years.  The University claims ownership by the Episcopal Church, and its board is comprised of twenty-eight southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, with each bishop serving along with clergy and laity.

All Saints' is the University Chapel, where all our major festivities take place, complete with all the pomp and circumstance.  It's a great place to attend a well executed Rite II service.

All Saints' is something of a "royal peculiar" of sorts, an ecclesiological phenomenon.  The University sits in the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee and in the bounds of Otey Parish--the local Episcopal parish in Sewanee.  Yet, the Chancellor of the University is a bishop of one of the owning dioceses.  The newly elected Chancellor is the Bishop of Atlanta (formerly the liturgy professor at The School of Theology).  The Chaplain of All Saints' is thus canonically resident in the Diocese of Tennessee and is answerable to the bishop of said diocese, but also has the Chancellor of the University as a boss!  Moreover, all sacramental acts of baptism and confirmation are recorded at Otey Parish because the University Chapel is not a regular worshipping parish.  To add more confusion, the Dean of the School of Theology acts as the Ordinary of the seminary chapel, but is somewhat under the Chaplain of the University.  Sadly, there are too many restrictions in order to have a child baptized in the seminary chapel and weddings in either chapel are even more complicated.

The University Choir hosts monthly services of Evensong and sing at the main 11:00 a.m. Sunday liturgy.  During the first weekend in December, the Chapel celebrates a locally famous Advent service of Lessons and Carols which can sometimes be standing room only (an Advent service because all the students have gone home during the Christmas break).

The font in the Chapel is amazing.  Complete with eight sides, carved statues of saints, and "living" water flowing, it harkens any liturgist back to the early days of Hippolytus.  My son was baptized here during the Easter Vigil in 2008 by the retired Episcopal Bishop of Mississippi.  Around the ambulatories, banners with the seals of the twenty-eight owning dioceses hang.

The High Altar is equally stunning.  Only used for Rite I services, sadly, the altar boasts statues of both historically Anglican saints as well as some peculiar to Sewanee, such as William Porcher DuBose.  The windows surrounding the Chapel can keep your eyes busy for hours.  I plan to take some photos of those windows soon.  The window above the High Altar depicts Christ the King, in all his kingly and imperial splendor.  Flanking the altar in this space are carved stalls for each owning bishop of the University, with carved seals of those dioceses atop each chair.

Always open for private prayer or simply a space for quiet reflection, All Saints' is a very special place for thousands of Sewanee Alumni and friends.  If you are ever in the area, stop in for a few minutes, it is well worth the pilgrimage.

Retreat to the Smokies

This past weekend, several seminarian families (with kids in tow) journeyed to the Great Smoky Mountains in Western North Carolina during our Fall Reading Break.  The autumn colors were brilliant and the views simply holy.  Above is the view from our deck at the mountain house.  We were spoiled.  All six children--all under the ages of 3--managed to be good and allow their parents some down time, not too much mind you.

There was every color imaginable on display in the mountains.  Sewanee is only now beginning to change in color.  Fall is certainly my favorite time to be here!

Art: The Burning Bush

[Moses] led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Exodus 3: 1a-2a.

The Burning Bush, by Julie Carson, 2009.

Oil on canvas.

I came across this image in The Christian Century in the Spring 2008 and was stunned by the brilliance of the color and the feeling of the Divine that the painting evokes.  I took it to a close family friend and talented artist, Julie Carson, to see if I could commission her for this work.  Double-click on the painting to enlarge the image.

Today, this magnificent work hangs above the fireplace mantle in our living room.  It is very, very special to us and represents Julie's gift from God to paint and to express herself through this medium.  The camera does not even come close to catching the brilliant colors.  The texture of the oils, combined with the illuminating essence of the metaphor is quite striking!  I fully expect to see Julie's work progress in the years to come, who knows, she could be the next household name in oil painting.  Thank you Julie for this heartfelt gift of joy and wonder!

Sweet Caroline

I found a new use for the maniple, and my model was my precious girl, Caroline. You can catch a glimpse of my latest icon of Our Lady of Walsingham in the background above my prayer desk.

Old Mirfield

The College of the Resurrection at Mass.

Lower Church, The Monastery of the

Community of the Resurrection, Mirfield.

Needless to say, if you were to walk into "Lower Church" today at Mirfield, you would not find the worship space oriented in this direction. Much less, that crucifix, I believe, currently resides in the upstairs sacristry. The good old days....

Charles Gore, CR

The tomb of The Rt. Rev. Chares Gore, CR

The Community of the Resurrection, Mirfield, West Yorkshire

I like Charles Gore. I dig his theology--catholic and ardent Anglican. In our Doctrine courses, we are asked to select a theologian and then argue the various church doctrines through that theologian's words. I, of course, chose Gore. I even keep an old photograph of him on my desk in my study. A bit over the top? Nah.

I venerated the tomb of Blessed Charles when I stayed at Mirfield. I suspect that he's turned over and over in his grave with the rise of Anglo-Papists in the seminary college. I join with him in weeping for the Church of England. Pray for the Church!

The Altar at the foot of the Tomb of Gore.

Living Trees

Photo Credit: Mary Krouse

Mirfield, West Yorkshire

May 2009