The Inaugural Mass.
On the weekend of November 13-14, five people gathered at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota for what became the founding of the Anglican Use Society of St. Bede the Venerable.
St. John’s oblates, Marty and Colleen Sieve, who had been watching developments related to Anglicanorum coetibus, contacted Br. John-Bede Pauley, assistant professor of music at St. John’s to see if there might be a possibility of having a regional Anglican Use celebration at the Abbey. Br. John-Bede obtained permission from Abbot John Klassen to have occasional celebrations from the Book of Divine Worship at the Abbey and Fr. Nathanael Hauser, art historian and iconographer, agreed to act as chaplain.
Br. John-Bede contacted me in late October, because of my involvement with The Anglo-Catholic. I was a bit surprised to be getting an inquiry about the Anglican Use from Collegeville, but was immediately taken with the project. In the Lutheran Belt of the upper Midwest, Anglicans are a bit thin on the ground. The possibility of having regular celebrations at a location that could host those traveling from a distance seemed eminently sensible and I received permission from our prior to attend the exploratory meeting on the weekend of November 13-14.
On the evening of the 13th, we met in the St. Francis Chapel at St. John’s for Evening Prayer from the Book of Divine worship, followed by supper and a period of getting to know one another at the St. John’s guesthouse. Marty and Colleen told me the story of how they had found their way back to the Catholic Church via their experience of Anglican Worship on visits to the UK. Br. John-Bede is currently completing a Ph.D. in musicology at the University of Durham, examining the English cathedral tradition and the interplay of music and silence in the liturgy. Fr. Nathanael is a noted iconographer and has been instrumental in the production of the St. John’s Bible. The Sieves had brought along some very good Belgian beer, which helped the discussion along considerably.
On Sunday morning, we returned to St. Francis for Mass from the BDW celebrated by Fr. Nathanael. I think that we were all deeply moved as we knelt for the canon and heard the familiar words. The Mass ended with the singing of “Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation.” Afterwards, we adjourned for lunch and an organizational meeting at the Abbey guesthouse. We were so encouraged by the weekend’s experience that we unanimously voted to move ahead with the formation of an Anglican Use Society under the patronage of St. Bede the Venerable, English monastic and Doctor of the Church. Br. John-Bede was elected as the President of the new society. At present, we envision meeting over a weekend every two months to allow those from more distant areas to participate.
SSBV Founders Marty and Colleen Sieve, Fr. Nathanael Hauser, O.S.B., and Br. John-Bede Pauley, O.S.B.
After the initial meeting, Abbot John approved the group’s plans and the Bishop of St. Cloud was informed of the group’s existence. Bishop Kinney wrote a gracious reply to the announcement and promised to refer any Anglicans expressing an interest in Anglicanorum Coetibus to the newly formed group.
The next weekend Evensong and Mass will be the weekend of January 1-2. You will find more information at the Society's new blog, StBedetheVenerable.blogspot.com.
Related posts:
Br. Stephen-
As a former Anglican, now Catholic, completing his theological studies from St. John's (nearly 50 and writing my thesis), I am glad to see that it is the new home to an Anglican Use Society. Their library is one of the finest theological libraries in the country and could provide an excellent base for research in the future Ordinariate. England is known as the land of the Benedictines, so it is very appropriate that their hospitality has been extended in the formation of the society (our Benedictine and Cistercian patrimony has yet to be discussed on this site, such as the influence on the Prayer Book). If you need any suggestions or introductions at St. John's, I would be happy to offer any services I could render.
Blessings,
Clark
Clark,
Thank you for your kind words.
I used part of my trip to Collegeville to use the library for some work on my talk at this summer's Anglican Use conference, which will be on the subject of the Cistercian Patrimony in England. I'm sure that Br. John-Bede, the president of the new society would be glad of your help.
Brother Stephen and Brother John-Bede-
Thank you for this post, it's wonderful news! Wish I was near an AU group but no luck.
Being in Lutheran country may not be a bad thing for the AU. Reaching out in a positive way to Lutherans who love beautiful liturgy and have Catholic leanings might open the Church to a new opportunity. Personally my experience showed me that the Lutherans did the novus ordo style liturgy better than the Catholics or Episcopalians did it which was a pleasant surprise!
Clark,
Thank you for your words of encouragement and interest. If you're in or around Collegeville, please contact us.
As Br. Stephen correctly noted, the Protestant tradition most significantly present in this part of the country is Lutheran, not Anglican/Episcopalian. But St. John's, because of its library, the Liturgical Press, the Ecumenical Institute, and so on, has a way of attracting pilgrims and scholars beyond the central-Minnesota demographic. So who knows what may come from our tiny beginnings? the SSBV is a case of planting a few seeds and leaving the rest to the Holy Spirit.
This is a very favorable development, which, along with the new groups in places like Kansas City show, I think, the spill over effect of Anglicanorum coetibus: all of a sudden there is more hierarchical receptivity to those who are truly interested in an AU group than there had been for lo these many years. All the best to everyone sowing the seeds in these groups, and keep up the good work!
As a Minnesotan, this is exciting news! I did not expect to see anything develop here, but am happy to be proven wrong.
This gives a picture of how the Ordinariate will grow and develop — small seeds being planted, little groups of the faithful coming together in unexpected places — and before we know it, another community takes root.
Br. John-Paul
Since I've been on the site from the beginning I tend to forget that not everyone may know my own bio. Sorry for any confusion on my part. I live in Norfolk, VA, but have commuted to Collegeville since 2007. For the past year I've been writing my thesis, even I get tired of saying this, and plan on finishing in 2011. I will probably be on campus later this spring. My thesis advisor is Fr. Byron and my second reader is Sr. Mary Forman.
If you remember Fr. Jude and Fr. Gregory from Sri Lanka they are my classmates and dear friends. I speak, via Skype, with Fr. Jude regularly.
Blessings,
Clark S. Olsen
Prior to Anglicanorum Coetibus, wouldn't such an endeavor to have an ongoing Anglican-Use Community required going through the Pastoral Provision Office along with obtaining the permission of the local bishop (versus just notifying him)? It would seem to me that the Pastoral Provision Office has become obsolete, though Father Hurd has indicated that it would continue on as it serves a separate purpose (per his explanation it would be for those former Anglican priests that are interested in becoming a regular diocesan priest versus preserving the Anglican heritage).
That makes no sense to me. Since Rev22:17 seems to have indicated that Father Hurd and Cardinal Wuerl are much more involved in an implementation plan than I would have ever guessed, are they referring some priests to the Pastoral Provision Office if they make an initial determination that they do not have a sufficient community to constitute a parish in the Ordinariate and therefore need to become diocesan priests? I would have thought that the pope would simply pick the first Ordinary and then leave these type of decisions up to him and the initial council he brings together.
"That makes no sense to me. Since Rev22:17 seems to have indicated that Father Hurd and Cardinal Wuerl are much more involved in an implementation plan than I would have ever guessed, are they referring some priests to the Pastoral Provision Office if they make an initial determination that they do not have a sufficient community to constitute a parish in the Ordinariate and therefore need to become diocesan priests? "
That seems like a logical leap too far. In any event, I suspect that, as a practical matter many, perhaps even most? future Ordinariate priests will be helping out in the local diocese in various ways, even if, in fact, they are not incardinated in a diocese. There are lots of lunchtime and Saturday/Sunday evening masses that need to be staffed, among other things.
In any event, I am very glad to read that St. John's is being such a gracious host. This makes the second Benedictine abbey I know of that is graciously hosting Anglican Use communities, the other being our own St. Anselm's Abbey in DC.
I agree with your view entirely, I don't understand what role the Pastoral Provision had in the future. Perhaps neither does Father Hurd, but on more than one occasion he has indicated that it would continue to exist. For what purpose?
The Pastoral Provision Office, in my understanding, will still play a particular role in dealing with clergy who are converting but who are not entering the Ordinariate.
I'm sure all the details of who does what will become clearer over the next year or so–the blink of an eye in Church time.
But why would you need a special Pastoral Provision office for that "particular role"? Isn't the U.S. the only country that has such an office? If there is some "special handling" required, couldn't the Personal Ordinariate do that even though they would be joining a diocese?
The question had come up during the Becoming One conference about a special fund established for the expenses of the Pastoral Provision office and whether or not that would be turned over the the Personal Ordinariate. In answering the question, Father Hurd was unaware of any fund but indicated that the PPO would continue in existence. I have no idea the size of the fund, but it would seem that the Personal Ordinariate would have quite a bit more in the way of expenses in handling cases formerly handled by the PPO than the expenses of the leftovers. It would seem that someone in charge of implementing the Personal Ordinariate should be considering whether or not the PPO is even necessary. I doubt that any other countries are considering opening a PPO type of function to work alongside a Personal Ordinariate.
The PPO website still lists Msgr. Stetson as the contact person, and he was due to retire about a year ago. Has anyone contacted the office since the Apostolic Letter came out? I would think protocol might still suggest that any Anglican Use Societies being established would still do so until a Personal Ordinariate is erected.
I would make the small point that the Pastoral Provision is available to Lutheran clergy as well as Anglicans so while it may become defunct for the latter it will still play a role for the former, at least until Evangelicorum coetibus is released
An interesting point, but why is that the Pastoral Provision office makes no mention of Lutheran clergy? It seems as though there has been a case of a former Lutheran pastor that was going to be ordained, though since he was baptized a Catholic and does not seem to have been ordained to any Lutheran priesthood I'm not sure why his circumstances fit the Pastoral Provision.
Again, part of my point is will any other country now start setting up a Pastoral Provision Office to handle these other cases rather than either route them through their Local Bishop or the Personal Ordinary? It does seem the more specific purpose (rather than the exceptions) of the Pastoral Provision Office was to handle the very type of cases that the Ordinariate will now be in charge of.
Beware of the company you keep.
The St. John's Bible is a metaphor for the pantomime of Christianity which has been going on at Collegeville for at least half a century. The authorities at St. John's insist, quite contrary to the truth, that it is the first hand printed Bible in five hundred years. That's simply not true. Also, hiring a professional artist, however skillful he might be, goes against the monastic principle of "autarky".
It's too bad that Collegeville likes these large empty demonstrations, often devoid of any meaning, and certainly violating their alleged identity as Catholics. The Abbey Church built by Marcel Breuer demonstrates this. Soulless Bauhaus architecture has nothing to do with Catholic spirituality, and that is, after all, the entire idea.
Tancred-
With all charity, I believe you speak from ignorance. You issue opinion, which is your prerogative, but you issue no facts or experience.
Depending upon your architectural preference, the abbey church is either a monstrosity or a brilliant interpretation modern design. While it can appear cold, from several miles away on the highway it is a sight to behold. It is a beacon on a hillside. Praying the daily office within the monastic choir is an experience few lay people are afforded elsewhere. True, I prefer St. Patrick's in New York, but through grace you learn to appreciate what God offers.
Please do not malign those you do not know. While St. John's, deservedly or not, has not been a bastion of orthodoxy, what do you expect in the body of christ? My experience as an older graduate student is that there are many godly monks, professors and students at St. John's. My faith was strengthened by those I rubbed shoulders with for many years. In any parish, abbey or college you can find a boogie man under any rock; I prefer to look for the shining city on a hill.
You have obviously not seen the St. John's Bible. It is a beautiful piece of art. While I do not know much about this style of art, as you listen to the curators explain the how it was produced, it is majestic. I would venture to say that the reason they used a professional artist is that there was not a monk in residence who had the talent for the work. I can assure you, they have many talented monks. Would I prefer a different style of art? Yes, but again perhaps you should learn to appreciate something for what it is, rather than what it is not.
Blessings,
Clark
As a Johnny of so long ago, I am delighted to learn of formation activity on the banks of the Sagatagan. I was born and spent most of my life in Saint Cloud and Rice. I watched with interest over the years as Saint John’s invited ecumenical programs on campus. In the years since if have migrated, I have visited less than I did during the lifetimes of Fr. Godfrey and Fr. Gunther. Now I have an excuse to visit on my trips home. I am actively working with a friend to start the Our Lady of the Martyrs AU at Nashville. You are in my prayers.
Faithfully, Fr. Tom+
You will be most welcome, Fr. Tom. Please keep us in your prayers.