The Rector's Chronicle - St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in ...

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He entered the Roman Communion in the 1970's before there was a Pastoral .... five loaves and two fish: 32 sandwiches, 3
The Rector's Chronicle A Newsletter of the Church of St Michael the Archangel www.anglicanphiladelphia.org

210 W. Allens Lane, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19119

215-247-1092

August, 2011 Dear Parishioners and Friends, I'm pleased to report that we have a new home away from home (or, to shift metaphors, a new place to pitch our tent) while we await a permanent relocation. Beginning August 21st, our Sunday services will be at Ivy Hall, 6331 Lancaster Avenue in Overbrook Farms (Philadelphia 19151 if you're using a GPS), between City Line Avenue and 63rd Street. Ivy Hall is a splendidly restored turn of the century house, which now houses the International Institute for Culture. The Institute was founded to further the goal of Pope John Paul II to re-evangelize the culture, and continues a variety of programs to that end. You can find more at www.iiculture.org. The web site also has photos of the facility. The Institute is run by Dr John Haas, a former Anglican priest who attended Nashotah House a couple of years before I did. He entered the Roman Communion in the 1970's before there was a Pastoral Provision which allowed for the ordination of married Anglican priests. So ordination was not an option, and he has made many contributions to the life of the church as a layman, especially by teaching. Here is some brief biographical information from their web site: Dr. Haas is the President of The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Boston and the President of the International Institute for Culture in Philadelphia. Before assuming the presidency of the bioethics center, he was the John Cardinal Krol Professor of Moral Theology at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Adjunct Professor at the Pontifical Jon Paul II Institute for Studies in Marriage and the Family, Washington, D.C. He was the producer and host of the St. Charles Forum shown on EWTN. He was also Professor of Moral Theology at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, and a member of the faculty of an interdisciplinary program on ethical issues in the helping professions at Ohio State University. Dr. Haas, his wife, Martha, nine children and nine grandchildren live in Philadelphia. The National Catholic Bioethics Center (see www.ncbcenter.org) has produced some thoughtful and very useful materials on bioethical decisions, such as end of life issues – I commend them to you. Dr Haas is sympathetic to our situation, and is kindly making the space available to us because we are headed for the Ordinariate. Needless to say, I am most grateful for his generosity. Thanks also goes to Michael LaRue for making the introduction. While the house does not have a chapel, it does have a lovely second floor ballroom, which can be arranged for our worship. There is an elevator, so don't let stairs deter you, and it is air conditioned. They will also provide space for our coffee hour, and for me to hear confessions before Mass. The property is a short walk from City Line Avenue, 63rd Street and the Overbrook train station, so it should be much more convenient than the Chapel of Peace for those who come by Septa. There is street parking on Lancaster Avenue or Drexel Road, which runs into Lancaster Avenue across from Ivy Hall. Hopefully there will be sufficient parking nearby. I enclose a map. As with any space, there are a few drawbacks. The space is not a church or chapel, though it is very nice space. The location is probably a little further away for most of us (it's about ten minutes from West Laurel Hill). Parking will not be as convenient as at the Chapel of Peace (few places can rival it for parking). And we will not be able to use the altarpiece while we are there. This is temporary. We still look forward to the day that we are again settled in our own church. I hope that that day will come soon after we have been received into the Ordinariate (if all goes according to the present plan). Meanwhile, God has provided this space, which is well suited to our needs in many respects. Remember the long term plan: the establishment of the Ordinariate is expected this fall. Then there will be a formal process for us to enter it, with catechesis for the congregation and a program of priestly formation for me. Then the Ordinary will help us (in consultation with the Archbishop of Philadelphia) to find permanent quarters. So there will be at least one more move after this one – but by God's grace, that should be the last. Meanwhile, we should be grateful that God has again provided us with what we need to carry on our worship of Him as best we are able.

Isaiah We've been working our way through the prophet Isaiah in the Wednesday Bible study. It is a long book, and we have been at it for a while. Recently we spent a couple of weeks on the fourth “Servant song”, in chapter 52:13-53:12 (it has an unfortunate chapter break in the middle). Here God's Servant suffers for the transgressions of his people, and many verses of the poem are familiar from the Holy Week liturgies. I want to draw your attention to one insight which arose in our discussion of the passage. When we read the passion narratives in the Gospels, it is easy for us to perceive how Jesus suffered for us. But for many Christians, it is not so easy to make the connection between His suffering and our sin. It is that connection with Isaiah makes so clearly in this passage. “He was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised [or crushed] for our iniquities.” That is but one example. If you are among those who have trouble connecting Christ's passion with your sin, then I commend to you this passage for your prayerful reflection. (I guess I should also make a plug for the Wednesday Bible study – we meet at 11 at the rectory. Refreshments provided!) Bible Camp The five day vacation Bible Camp has gone particularly well this year. Evangelism (and basic Christian formation) is always important, and I'd like to give you a sense of what has been going on there. We had ten children for the program at the Laurel Hill Cemetery Gatehouse on Ridge Avenue in the “old” neighborhood. Once we have the kids collected (we provide transportation), they have an hour of instruction from two summer volunteers from the Child Evangelism Fellowship. This is basic instruction on what it is to be (or become) a Christian. After feeding them spiritually, we fed them lunch (it took more than five loaves and two fish: 32 sandwiches, 32 hotdogs, 40 chicken nuggets, 48 chicken fingers, 10 party size pizzas, 3 pounds of carrots, 4 heads of broccoli, 6 cucumbers, 5 pounds of grapes, a watermelon, 15 yogurts, 60 granola bars, 24 popsicles, 30 cupcakes, brownies, cookies (all homemade), five gallons of juice and lemonade). Then, after a brief prayer service, there is a recreational activity: swimming, a trip to a playground, staying in to decorate cupcakes. Then it's time for home. We owe our thanks to Laurel Hill Cemetery for making the space available, and to the Child Evangelism Fellowship for doing the program. Even more, to my wife for organizing the whole thing, and doing anything that needed to be done, from recruiting to transportation to fixing lunch to leading prayers. She has had help from the rest of my family: Liz has baked, help transport, and worked with the kids, as has Jonathan, who has a gift for working with kids. Though she has not gone to Laurel Hill, my mother has helped with the lunch preparation. Though not Ousleys, Octavia Lane has also helped at Laurel Hill throughout the camp, and Janis Wilson helped by baking cookies. Intercessions For your daily prayers I would commend to you the intercession cycle put together by Michael LaRue and posted on his blog at http://traditionesanglicanae.blogspot.com/. (From there, click on the link at the top for the current week's Ordo.) The intercessions include the congregations planning to enter the Ordinariate, including St Michael's. We certainly need (and benefit from) the prayers of others. No doubt this is true for others in the same situation. I encourage you to join in. Faithfully,