Anthonite Solidarity

This past weekend, several Anthonite brothers gathered in Fredericksburg, Virginia for the profession liturgy of our first ordained brother, Fr. Robert-James.  The brothers received black Tucuma rings from Father Robert-James as a gift, but most importantly as a tangible connection to the poor.  Here's a legend of the black Tucuma nut.

When the great god Tupa made the world, there was only day. In the beginning there was no night. The daughter of the great cobra, Cobra Grande, was concerned for her husband, the Caboclo. Mother Earth provided him with game, fish and rich soil, but he worked constantly. Since the night did not exist, he did not know when to rest.

One day, the Caboclo's wife asked his friends to search for her mother, Cobra Grande. She would know the secret of the night. They paddled their canoe a long distance and found the great cobra curled in the sun on the shore of a lake. The caboclos told her of her daughter's worry and of her request to learn the secret of the night.

The cobra slithered to the bottom of the lake. After a long time she surfaced with a nut – the fruit of the tucuma palm – in her mouth.

 "You must not open the nut. Only my daughter will have the power to open it so that the darkness, and nothing else, will escape from inside."

As the caboclos paddled home, they became very curious because of the strange sounds that came from the tucuma nut. Although the great cobra had warned them not to break it open, they were overcome by curiosity. Unable to resist the mysterious noises, they broke open the nut.

Darkness immediately fell on the world. Not only darkness, but also from inside the nut there emerged the night creatures, swooping bats and screeching owls, crawling creatures and wild forest cats. The great cobra did not know the secret of how to put the night creatures back inside the nut.

"Someday," she said, "the son of Tupa will come to visit us. Then all that our people fear will be hidden again in the tucuma nut."

translated by Bishop George Marskell, SFM 

Deep in the Amazon, the Tucuma palm tree produces a thick, black nut which is fashioned locally into jewelry as a poignant symbol of solidarity.  Roman Catholic Bishop George Marskell, SFM, a Scarboro Missioner from Canada, landed in Brazil in the 1960s and stayed until his death in 1998.  The bishop turned the black ring into a personal reminder for the preferential option for the poor.  There is a story that he traded in his gold episcopal ring for one of these simple black rings to make the point of his commitment to the poor.  He was the bishop serving the rural Amazon in Brazil for over 19 years.

Now, thanks to Fr. Robert-James, OPC, the Anthonite brothers are joining in solidarity for the Christian ethic of preferential option for the poor.  I wear my tucuma ring on my right hand, showing my love for God's poor and reminding me of my vows.      

Photos of our newest Anthonite

The Liturgy of Profession of Vows for The Rev. Robert-James Laws took place during the principal Eucharistic liturgy of Sunday, March 14th at Trinity Episcopal Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  Fr. Robert-James, OPC is our first ordained brother.  It was a great day!

Father Robert-James is prostrated before the altar and the Order's Icon of St. Anthony.  Abbot Kenneth is standing to the right.

The receiving of the Anthonite habit.  Yours truly is standing to the right.

From Parish Church to Minister: Halifax Gets a Raise

The newly elevated Minster Church of St. John the Baptist

Halifax, West Yorkshire

In late 2009, West Yorkshire received its second minster church with the elevation of Halifax Parish Church, otherwise known as the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist.  The other such church of note resides in Dewsbury.  Of course the grandest of minster churches in the region is that of York, the archiepiscopal see of the Primate of England.   

When a friend of mine relayed this news to me recently, I was not at all surprised, given the energy and charism of the new Vicar, The Rev. Hilary Barber.  It was here, during the months of May and June 2009, that I worked with the Vicar on a field education placement while at the College of the Resurrection doing an independent study on Anglican-Islamic relations.  

I found the parish church to be extraordinary.  The history, the architecture, and the people who are the church, made for an exciting worship service every time.  It was impossible to take a step on the church grounds without stepping on a floor memorial, etched deeply by time and love.  Interestingly, the church is not located in the center of Halifax, but rather sits quietly below the fringe of the commercial heart.  I admit that I was lost the first time I visited Halifax in order to meet with the vicar, my growing hunger amid the cold rain did not help my sense of direction in the least.  

There is no question, however, that the minster is struggling financially.  The church is over 900 years-old and has weathered the religious storms and showing its age.  There are several windows inside that were smashed during Cromwell's Protectorate, the replacements are clear glass and affectionately called "Commonwealth windows."  With so much local history embedded in the floors and walls of the minster, the parish is poised to be a house of prayer for the people of Halifax.

By contrast, Dewsbury Minster has completed an extensive renovation of the buildings and created a cafe, gift shop, and a modern museum chronicling the history of the Minster.  Dewsbury is not only staying relevant, but is apart of the revitalization of the area with its exemplary vision and determination.   

I enjoyed my time worshipping with the people at Halifax.  The highlight was the celebration of the parish's Patronal Feast Day on that of John the Baptist.  The former Archbishop of York, Lord David Hope was the preacher and the new Muslim Mayor of Calderdale, Arshad Mamoud was there along with a local Imam. It was a great evening for the town.  

Towards a Baptismal Ecclesiology

What Not to Do:

Holy Water font filled in with sand for Lent.

The 1979 American Book of Common Prayer accomplished an extraordinary thing for The Episcopal Church by reuniting--in theory--the ancient rite of Christian initiation of water and post-water bath anointing.  The Church, through this prayer book reform, has re-ordered the entire life of the Church around baptism, or moving towards a baptismal ecclesiology.

The rubrics contained in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer concerning the rite of Holy Baptism describe clearly the Church’s teaching on initiation, “Holy Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s Body the Church.  The bond which God establishes in Baptism is indissoluble” (BCP, 298).  From the inception of the 1979 Prayer Book, a new ethos of Baptism, its theology, and its ecclesiology permeate the whole of the American Prayer Book.  Gone are the days of private baptisms and now the rite is placed on appointed Sundays throughout the Church calendar to be celebrated as a ritual mass in the midst of the full assembly of the faithful.  The Liturgical Movement, along with the initiation reforms of the Second Vatican Council, swept across liturgical churches to instill principles of clear and simple symbolism while reaching back to the ancient rite itself for insights into developing reforms. Here's an instance, at least arguably so, when Prosper of Aquitaine's saying,  lex orandi, lex credendi, does not apply.  With the new addition of a Baptismal Covenant, the Church is proclaiming to all of God’s people the ongoing responsibilities of the bonds forged in the waters of Baptism.  The past event in the believer's life is to made known and re-presented every day.  Moreover, there is a greater emphasis on the ministry of all the baptized, seeking to involve the laity in every possible way into the worshipping life of the Church.  

The Baptismal Covenant, a new interrogatory innovation prior to the water bath, created a new ethos which has taken root in the life of some parts at least of the Episcopal Church.  The 1979 prayer book has taken hold and permeated its inclusive baptismal theology into all aspects of church life.  Most sermons today somehow inevitably allude to the theology and ecclesiology of the Baptismal Covenant found in the rite of Holy Baptism because of the efficacy of the Covenant and its relationship to ongoing discipleship.  Even on appointed days for Baptism on the Church calendar when there are no candidates to be baptized, it is recommended to use the Baptismal Covenant in the liturgy to remind the assembly of the promises made at the font.  The Baptismal ecclesiology revealed in the Baptismal Covenant is clear:  that Baptism is now the primary identity marker for all Christian people and from that comes responsibility to God, to the great fellowship of believers, and to the whole of God’s creation.  Everything is ordered around Baptism because this is how we are fully and completely initiated into the Body of Christ.  With this ecclesiology, then, all baptized Christians share the responsibility of participation and governance in the Church.  While the clergy retain important sacramental functions relating to their orders, the laity has been empowered and approved to serve in additional liturgical and governmental roles in the Church. 

“Holy Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s Body the Church.  The bond which God establishes in Baptism is indissoluble”

With the ecclesiological implications in place, the Baptismal theology that flows from the Baptismal Covenant effectively ends an age-old two-tiered system of initiation, meaning Baptism and Confirmation.  Baptism is the full and complete rite of initiation in the Church now in the 1979 prayer book.  Even small children who have been baptized are now encouraged to receive Holy Communion.  This radical change sets us apart from some of our brothers and sisters in the Anglican Communion where Confirmation still holds the meal ticket.  The promises made in the Covenant help move the faithful into a greater participation in the Paschal Mystery—the life in Christ.  There is a call for social justice and stewardship.  There is a call to work for peace among all people, and the invitation to seek and serve Christ in every person.  The Baptismal Covenant shifts the Episcopal Church away from seeing Baptism as simply a way to wash off sins; rather, this new covenant is about enacting discipleship.  This is a major move away from the medieval idea of infant baptism, especially by making adult baptism the norm.

Now with my official GOE (General Ordination Exam) answer out of the way, why do we find sand in some baptismal fonts during Lent?  What image and message, then, does that symbol send the faithful?  I maintain that the "tradition" of filling up fonts with sand diminishes the ongoing, ever-present reality of Christian baptism.  No liturgical season can supplant this; the water is living and flowing ever deeper into the hearts of the faithful especially in a season such as Lent.

While there is the invitation in the prayer book for observance of a Holy Lent, this does not mean that the baptismal water and its implications for discipleship magically disappear for a time.  The symbolism of sand and the notion of wrestling with temptation in the desert is a good one, but it confuses baptism and thus not appropriate for baptismal fonts.