Kipling, great poet of Empire, asked "What do they know of England, who only England know?" Now my brief on being given a spot on this blog was to give an English slant, particularly for American readers, to news of the Church. This last week, though, I have spent in Texas, and I've written about it on my Ancient Richborough musings for the sake of my fellow-countrymen. It could be, though, that a Limey has spotted one or two things about the great old U.S. of A … so, very daring, here I go. Be ready to put me right.
The end of the Trail
First, it is very big. Crossing the Atlantic in flying home from Dallas/Fort Worth to London last night, we were over land for the first half of the journey — not just across the centre of the United States as far as the Great Lakes, but then the long haul across Canada to the far reaches of Newfoundland. And although Europeans like to think they are less Provincial than many Americans, when I asked how many in a Texas audience were native born Texans, fewer than half put up their hands. If you have lived in, say, both Seattle and New Orleans, you have experienced differences as wide culturally and geographically as if you had resided in Spain and Sweden. In England we feel we care about our history; but America seems much better at celebrating its history, even if it is shorter than ours (at least so far as those with European ancestors are concerned) hence those wonderful bronze cattle!
Apres Mass
It may be because the USA does not have a pub culture — though ours is fast disappearing — but the Church is even more of a community and social hub than it is in Britain. Perhaps it is the isolation created by great distances, and the refusal of Americans to walk anywhere, that Church fulfils such an important role — and that is true in every denomination, not just the Catholic Church or among Episcopalians. You might not call it a bun-fight, but Americans do their communal meals very seriously indeed.
It was an Anglican Use Parish I was visiting, and many in the States will not have encountered one, since they are few and far between. They gave me, though, an insight into what the Ordinariate might become in England.
St Charles, Austro-Hungarian Emperor
It will take time — but some of those Pastoral Provision parishes have been hugely successful in bringing Anglican Patrimony into the Catholic Church in America (and in the case of St Mary the Virgin Arlington, creating a shrine to the last canonised Holy Roman Emperor!).
Secret Vatican Manuscripts
We paid a visit to the Meadows Museum, set up by a family foundation in the middle of a vast Methodist University Campus. Its great strength is in Spanish art (not something English Methodists are known for) and currently it is displaying illuminated manuscripts – most of which were 'liberated' or threatened with liberation by Napoleon. It was a reminder to me that America is full of wonderful museums, galleries, orchestras, all funded by private benefactors. When are some of our fat-cat bankers going to follow that example of munificence? And when is any Government going to encourage them to do so with tax-breaks? Altogether, this was a week full of great hospitality and generosity — thank you, Fr Allan, and all your folk. Please, everyone, pray for the early erection of an Ordinariate for America.
[P.S. On my return home I found I have been cleared by the Government's Criminal Records Bureau through their Enhanced Disclosure Procedure -- and in the space for "Name of Employer" they have put OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM. Is this a first?]
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Fr. Edwin,
Thank you for a well-written article!
You wrote: First, it is very big.
That is an understatement. It takes about as long to fly non-stop from Boston, the commercial airport nearest my home, to the major cities of our west coast (Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, or San Diego) as to hop "across the pond" to England (London or Manchester) or Scotland (Edinburgh or Glasgow) — and that's not counting our newest two states, Alaska and Hawai'i, situated even further to the west.
You wrote: It may be because the USA does not have a pub culture — though ours is fast disappearing — but the Church is even more of a community and social hub than it is in Britain.
A pub culture is emerging and growing here, especially in the "casual dining" segment of the restaurant industry, though you might not have encountered it.
You wrote: It was an Anglican Use Parish I was visiting, and many in the States will not have encountered one, since they are few and far between. They gave me, though, an insight into what the Ordinariate might become in England.
I would be very interested in learning further details of your impressions and reflections, as you are able to share them, and I doubt that I am alone in this. In particular, it would be insightful to hear how your encounter with the "Anglican Use," however brief, compares with your authentic Anglican experience in the Church of England.
Again, thank you for a well-written piece!
Norm.
What is this walking you speak of?
Just kidding! Oh, I'm sorry I missed you Father and you were right out here in the West too. I hope you enjoyed your stay. We American's have a lot to learn from the English but I hope there is something we can give you, perhaps BBQ? If you're ever in Colorado let me know, St. John Vianney Seminary is a beautiful place and our chapel is widely regarded as among the most beautiful in the state. God bless,
Robbie Smith
I have an English friend I know through the web. She always comments on how the English give distances according to miles and those in the US and Canada go by how long the trip takes.
I have a Tennesseean(?) friend who describes our divide thus: "To the average American, 100 years is a long time. To the average Brit, 100 miles is a long way".
Describing driving distances by time seems to be an east coast thing. In the West we use miles.
I wonder. I live in the midwest, and I can't fathom distances at all except by time. On the rare occasion someone tells me that such-and-such a place is "about 100 miles away" I do nothing more than stare at them blankly until they give me an estimate of how long the drive will last.
I don't know how it is for you in the West, but perhaps here it's because one doesn't go more than half-a-block's distance but by car (to my everlasting dismay… I hate our pedestrian unfriendly culture), so we measure distances as little as "30 seconds" up to and beyond "14 hours"… distinctions that are altogether lost when measuring by terrestrial displacement.
In the West is too broad a category. In the greater Los Angeles area, we always convert distance to time. We are also traffic specific, indicating how long it will take you to reach your destination if the traffic is light and how long it will take if the traffic is heavy.
When I lived in Oklahoma, if you gave them distance as time, they would look at you quizzically until you gave the distance in miles. In Los Angeles, the opposite happens.
In western Pennsylvania (eastern Pennsylvania is a different state), we also tend to state distances as travel times, but we also first respond to the "How far is..? question with our own question of "What time of day are you going?" Only with the answer to that question can give we give an estimate of the "distance."
It will take time — but some of those Pastoral Provision parishes have been hugely successful in bringing Anglican Patrimony into the Catholic Church in America (and in the case of St Mary the Virgin Arlington, creating a shrine to the last canonised Holy Roman Emperor!).
———————
Thank you Bishop Barnes for saying this. I agree, it will take time, but the Anglican Patrimony, through the Ordinariate, is going to completely transform the Roman Church in ways Rome and Canterbury never dreamed could be possible. It will all be for the good too.
May we all have an equally worthy employer.
Welcome back Father Edwin.
Never been to the States, although I have dear friends in far flung corners there, and a particular soft spot for Nashville and The South, so here's hoping!
I have been to Australia a few times and journeyed inland, so I appreciate that feeling of flying over endless country with no coast and sometimes no building in sight. It gave me a real sense of "World", more so than any current affairs documentary or global news coverage. I remember feeling very slight but very precious at the same time.
I love what you write about the Church across the States being a social hub for communities, drawing people together across the distances. My Mum was born and raised in rural Ireland; Church was also where you went to see your neighbours, get the local news, share a strong cup of tea.
I'm a huge fan of the wonderful "An Island Parish" over here; clearly the geographical isolation of places like the Outer Hebrides and the life away from neon centres the communities on their Church. But that can be difficult to find in the metropoli or even the shires in Britain, which is very sad. Pub culture is all very well, depending on the pub! I do think celebrating and worship should focus on inclusion and sharing, and the joy of life.
Hmm. I think you'd get short change, if any, from Britain's bankers if you asked them to not only house but display the treasures, includng religious artefacts, which are stashed away here. This week, I've discovered that there's a "hidden" store of beautiful art in my own little Brighton Museum. It can't be shown securely and appropriately without sponsorship, so it sits; boxed and in darkness. I agree that the passion Americans have for heritage and history must also be very unifying and grounding in such a vast and diverse land.
I'm having to re-do my CV at the moment, as hundreds of others are, and it's struck me that your stated employer out-whammies the old " School of Hard Knocks" and "University of Life"!
Thanks for a very readable article.
I find it encouraging that every time I visit Rome and attend a liturgy of any sort I am impressed by the influence that the Anglo-Catholic movement in England has had on ritual, hymnody and scholarship. It seems that the Tractarians' efforts to regain the catholic heritage of the Church of England has, in the end, returned home and is renewing the mother church.
Finally a comment on "very big": Whenever I fly the length of the USA, I am impressed by the millions of miles of roads, electricity lines, tilled fields and orderly cities and towns. All made by the sweat and labor of so very few people in such a short time. In Texas (where we drive fourteen miles to the other side of town and three hours to the next city south of us) every able-bodied man over eighteen can be conscripted to work on the roads — but we prefer to pay taxes for someone else to work on them!
"…and in the space for "Name of Employer" they have put OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM".
I understand, from very good sources, that she rewards those of her children who follow in the foot steps of her Son, very handsomely. And the fringe benefits are, "Out of this world."
Guzmang1,
You wrote: And the fringe benefits are, "Out of this world."
Ah, not quite. It's actually the retirement plan that's "Out of this world."
Norm.