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.

Founding the Sewanee Society of OLW

This coming Monday, November 30th (the Feast of St. Andrew), we will be founding the Sewanee Society of Our Lady of Walsingham here at The School of Theology.  We are proposing an inclusive devotional group which aims to promote and sustain conversations in our community about the proper role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of the Church.

We have no formal connection to the Shrine in Walsingham, because we are including women priests and seminarians in our membership and leadership. My own personal goal for this, is to help undo the baggage that has been heaped upon Walsingham by various factions in the Church.

I am amazed at the response from our student body and our alumni, many are very interested in this endeavor and want to be apart of it!  Thanks be to God!  While the idea had been generated last school year, it simply took some time before the seeds could sprout roots.  Hopefully, this new group will be here to stay as a positive symbol of Our Lady in the life of faith for The Episcopal Church.

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.