Great News from Scranton!

St Joseph Scranton1 300x290 Great News from Scranton!

Here's the story from the website of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter:

The new U.S. ordinariate for Anglican groups entering the Catholic Church achieved a milestone on May 8, 2012 when Reverend Eric Bergman became its first priest. The Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter was established by Pope Benedict XVI on January 1 in response to repeated requests by Anglican groups and clergy who were seeking to become Catholic. It is similar to a diocese, though national in scope.

Fr. Bergman, 41, is a former Episcopal priest who was ordained a Catholic priest five years ago for the Diocese of Scranton. Since that time, he has been chaplain to the 150-member St. Thomas More Anglican Use Society.

The group will become St. Thomas More Parish at St. Joseph Church and will be located at the former St. Joseph property in Scranton’s Providence neighborhood starting in late August. The ordinariate purchased the property from the Diocese of Scranton for $254,000, with $200,000 of that amount raised by the St. Thomas More community during a three-week period this spring.

“This is a significant moment in the young history of the ordinariate. I am grateful to Bishop Joseph Bambera and to the Diocese of Scranton for their support,” said Monsignor Jeffrey N. Steenson, the Ordinary. “The incardination of Fr. Bergman, and the reception of several Anglican communities across the United States and Canada over the past few months, are tangible signs of Christ at work in this new undertaking.”

Approximately 60 current or former Anglican priests are preparing to be ordained Catholic priests for the ordinariate, with 30 ordinations expected in the next few months. Ordinariate parishes will be fully Catholic while retaining elements of their Anglican heritage and traditions, including liturgical traditions.

Fr. Bergman noted, “I am particularly grateful to Bishop Bambera, and to Msgr. William Feldcamp, pastor of St. Paul’s Parish and St. Clare’s Church, who has been instrumental in the maintenance of our ministry over the years. St. Thomas More has thrived, and we look forward to our future as an ordinariate parish.”

Underscoring the historic nature of this announcement, Bishop Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, commented, “I was pleased to be able to cooperate with Monsignor Steenson in order to help facilitate Father Bergman’s incardination process. For the past five years, Father Bergman has faithfully supported the Diocese of Scranton. We are grateful for his service and wish him continued blessings in his ministry.”

Fr. Bergman, a native of Bethlehem, PA, graduated from James Madison University before obtaining a Master of Divinity degree from Yale. He was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1997, and served in Scranton as curate at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and as rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd. He became Catholic in 2005 and was ordained a Catholic priest in 2007. In addition to serving as chaplain to the Anglican Use Society, he has been chaplain at Holy Cross High School in Dunmore, PA and at Mercy Hospital in Scranton. He and his wife, Kristina, have seven children ages 6 months to 10 years.

St. Joseph was established as a Lithuanian-language parish in 1895 and is a former home of Venerable Maria Kaupas, foundress of the Sisters of St. Casimir, who was a housekeeper at the parish in the late 19th century. A miracle attributed to her intercession is before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints that, if approved, will lead to her beatification. The parish property includes a church, parish hall, rectory, convent, school, parking lot and four garages.

Congratulations to Fr. Bergman and the wonderful people of St. Thomas More!

A2 Brianna 0675 Great News from Scranton!

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St. Thomas of Canterbury A. U. Society News

On Saturday, June 11, 2011–the Vigil of Pentecost–the St. Thomas of Canterbury Anglican Use Society of Washington, DC and Northern Virginia (STCS), will hold an Anglican Use Mass to mark the first anniversary of their founding. The location is St. Anselm's Abbey in Washington, DC, where the STCS has been holding regular Evening Prayer services according to the Book of Divine Worship (BDW) one Saturday a month since September of 2010.

The Society is also pleased to announce the advent of regular services in Northern Virginia. In addition to regular Evening Prayer at St. Anselm’s, on Sunday, June 26–the Feast of Corpus Christi, they will hold a service of Evensong and Benediction according to the BDW at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Annandale, VA.

The celebrant for the June 11 Mass will be Fr. Eric Bergman, Chaplain of the St. Thomas More Society in Scranton, PA, who also celebrated the Society's first official Mass on March 19, 2011. Fr. Bergman will speak at a reception after the Mass on the practical aspects of forming an Anglican Use parish.

More information is available on the website of the STCS or the Seward’s Folly blog. Anyone living in the Washington area or who plans to be there on either of those dates is most welcome to join them.

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The Weeks of Grace Continue

Ordinariate Group Flier The Weeks of Grace ContinueThe news this week was dominated by five men of a certain age announcing that they would be seeking new employment — or at least that is how it was portrayed in several media accounts.

We have had several stories here on the stunning news of the five resignations in the UK, so this week I will focus in on some of the stories that missed the headlines.

In the world of the Anglican Use, two stories caught my eye.  First, the St. Thomas More Society in Scranton, PA, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month.  Under Fr. Eric Bergman, an original core of 50 has continued to grow since being received into full communion and has helped other AU groups get off the ground as well.

Further south in San Antonio, where it is probably not snowing today as it is here, Fr. Phillips has returned home from a trip to DC with a group of young people from Our Lady of the Atonement’s school, which is in the process of adding a new building to meet enrollment demands.  Both of these stories are reminders of the good things to begin working for around the world once the Ordinariates are out of the gates.

Earlier in the week, Fr. Phillips was in Orlando to speak at a parish meeting of the ACA Cathedral of the Incarnation, which he describes as incredibly positive.

The Ordinariate Google Map has invaded Canada, adding several ACCC parishes, and the pin count now stands at 28.

In the UK, the Ordinariate exploration groups are beginning to multiply.  Today a group is meeting at Holy Trinity,  Winchmore Hill in London.  Next week in Kent, there will be an informational meeting at St. John the Baptist, Sevenoaks.  And the Redbridge and Havering group has begun the Evangelium Course.

Across the Tiber, literally, we received word that Anglicanorum coetibus will be on the agenda for the day of reflection to be held by the College of Cardinals preceding the consistory.  It is fair to say that only topline issues and the Holy Father’s personal priorities are being discussed at this gathering, sending a clear signal that Anglicanorum coetibus is an important matter for the entire Church.

Later in the week, Fr. Scott Hurd, who is assisting Archbishop Wuerl in his work as Pastoral Delegate for Anglicanorum Coetibus, made a strong showing on EWTN’s The World Over.  That interview is now available online.

Finally, William Oddie has been continuing his excellent overview of the Anglican Patrimony in the Catholic Herald.

I’m sure that there was much more news, but I’m taking a couple days away from the cyber-trenches.  More next week, God willing.  Till then, keep the Becoming One gathering in San Antonio in your prayers.

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Two New Anglican Use Groups Forming in Pennsylvania

The Anglican Use Blog has news of two new AU groups forming in the state of Pennsylvania.

For those in the Lehigh Valley comes this piece from the newsletter of the St. Thomas More Society in Scranton, PA:

Just last evening I received a telephone call from Msgr. Francis Nave, Pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Bath, Northampton County, in the Diocese of Allentown. Msgr. Nave was appointed by Bishop John Barres, Bishop of Allentown, as his liaison to the group of Anglicans from the Lehigh Valley that the St. Thomas More Society has been aiding in their desire to be reconciled to Holy Mother Church. Msgr. Nave informed me that the bishop has granted permission for the group to be catechized together, with the intention that they would be reconciled to the Church at the Easter Vigil next year, April 23, 2011. Thus, catechism classes will begin as soon as possible, and for this reason an organizational meeting will be held at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, 210 E. Northampton St., Bath, this Sunday afternoon at 4PM.

From Bucks County, Mr. Michael La Rue, K.M., sends notice of a new group forming in Holland, PA:

I am glad to announce that we will be beginning weekly Evensong according to the Anglican Use on Sunday, October 24 at 5 p.m. at St. Bede's Catholic Church in Holland, Pennsylvania. If you are interesting in singing, or otherwise helping out (and there is a lot to be done), please let me know.

If you have any questions, please call me, Michael LaRue, K.M. at (215) 369-2868. The site for St. Bede's, including location, is here: http://www.st-bede.org/. Many thanks to Cardinal Rigali, Msgr. Marine, and the Office of Worship, for helping us get this off the ground.

(The Bucks County group already has a page established at The Anglo-Catholic's Groups of Anglicans forum.)

Please tell any friends you have in these areas about these new groups, support them with your prayers, and also say a prayer of thanks for the support of Cardinal Rigali and Bishop Barres.

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