Founding Service

Here are photos from the founding Evensong and Benediction service, on May 29, 2011 at 6pm, meeting at Blessed Sacrament Episcopal Church, Placentia, CA.

 

 

Click here for photos of the Our Lady of the Atonement statue.

Sermon on the Occasion For Founding the Bl. John Henry Newman Society

James 1:2-8; 16-18

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon for Easter 6 (5th Sun after Easter) (May 29, 2011) – On the Occasion For Founding the Bl. John Henry Newman Society, Orange County

by Fr. Andrew Bartus

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.”

+In the Name of God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost

Here we are! Today has finally arrived. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives. Lives that, for many of us, will include coming into the Church which Christ himself established and the Holy Spirit has guided since Pentecost itself! Lives that, for others who are already in the Church, will worship again according to their Anglican roots and heritage. Lives that, for still others who are already Catholic and who respect and cherish the Anglican approach to liturgy, want to worship God in this very deeply dignified manner, to honor God and worship him with our very best. Today is the day we not only head towards uniting all of us from these places in our lives, but also begin to unify ourselves as whole with the fullness of the Catholic Church.

Today is the day we can also begin to call our other Anglican and Protestant – and even non-Christian! – friends and family into unity with the Church, and with us. Today is huge, because today is the day we begin to undue the damage caused by the Protestant Reformation here in Orange County. Thanks to you all, who believe in unity so much that you’re willing to take risks, today we are having the very first service of the Blessed John Henry Newman Society – formerly vaguely known as the Anglican Use Society of Orange County. We aren’t just meeting to talk about the possibility of doing something. We aren’t just meeting to have an ecumenical dialog or worship service. We aren’t just meeting to even pray about it: we are actually doing it!

Folks, I don’t know about you, but this is exciting and I’m deeply honored to be a part of it! This is history in the making! I don’t know about you all, but I’m still rather blown away by all this: by the way things have come together so quickly and so organically, by the way everyone is so enthusiastically and generously participating in building this group, and most importantly by the strange way in which our needs are being met, even when we aren’t even aware of them at first. If the speed in which this has all come together, and the firm foundation upon which all of this is based upon, is any indication of anything, it is that this is the work of God among us! Trying to capture the excitement about this and our future together is nearly impossible to do. Some of you have told me you’ve been waiting for this day for years now! Well, here we are. It is today. Today is the beginning of something new, something holy, something unheard of even a few years ago. Our Holy Father, when in England for Cardinal Newman’s beatification, called Anglicanorum coetibus “prophetic,” and all of us here in this room know exactly why he said that!

Those of you who were at the meeting to gather committment to this initiative may remember the plan was simply to call this the Anglican Use Society of Orange County. For the lack of a better name, that was a practical designation. Well, it was always designed to be temporary, but I didn’t realize it would be this temporary! The name, Blessed John Henry Newman, was chosen for our group because of two reasons: 1) we are in the process of forming a corporation and needed a name and the attorney wanted to know what we’d end up naming our new church when the day came, and 2) we need a patron and we need to go into the Ordinariate with the patron’s name. The Ordinary – if it pleases him and it pleases God presumably – will actually erect parishes of the Ordinariate and the sooner we are lined up for this, the sooner we can become a proper parish church.

I don’t know if you realize this, but if we continue with the momentum we’ve started out with, we just might be the world’s first Blessed (or hopefully soon, Saint!) John Henry Newman Catholic Church! As far as I know, there is one geographical parish in England named after him which has four churches, none of which are named after him. There are schools and of course university chaplaincies named after him, but so far, not one actual church! But why Newman? Certainly we could’ve chosen a shorter name, right? Why him? Simply put: he’s ours. It is due to him that all of this is going on. He not only paved the way in his writings and personal sacrifice, but also in his intercession for us. He is the Anglo-Catholic’s Anglo-Catholic. But he has also lived through what many in this room have lived through to get to this point – though probably much worse than most of us here. I’d like to read you a little from his biography by Richard Hutton:

“For four months after his conversion he continued to reside generally at Littlemore, visiting Oscott at Cardinal Wiseman's invitation in November 1845, only to be confirmed, and not leaving Littlemore and the University of Oxford fully till February 1846. It was a great wrench to him to separate himself from the University to which he had always been warmly attached, and where he had pleased himself by thinking that he should live and die. And it was all the greater wrench that his course was at this time so gravely misunderstood and so widely misrepresented amongst his old friends and former colleagues. Indeed it was twenty years after his conversion before he got the opportunity of persuading the world that he had acted only on conviction, and on conviction very slowly formed, very anxiously reviewed, and indeed for a considerable time deliberately suspended in order that he might adequately test its force. For many years after his conversion ‘the Protestant tradition,’ […] treated his conversion as a sort of conspiracy deliberately devised for the subversion of the truth.”

I would venture to say that this resonates with most of us in this room on a very deep and personal level. Most of us are from Protestant and Anglican backgrounds, and most of us have had – at best – lightly strained relationships with family and friends over converting to the Catholic Church; I would bet that some of you – like myself – have lost good friends and family relationships over the matter and have gone through hellish times which have not only tested your faith but the very fiber of your being. After all, anti-Catholicism is one of the last socially acceptable forms of bigotry and with secular humanism only increasing in popularity, it will become increasingly more so. But we have an advocate to Christ on our behalf: Blessed John Henry Newman among so many others. He has paved the way for this glorious day and for this reason we are honoring him!

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.”

Every good gift is from above. Keep this in mind as we worship God, very shortly, in the form of the Blessed Sacrament. Today is a gift of God, our path that we forge ahead together is a gift of God, and our future in his Church together is a gift of God. God, the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change! Some of you know John Henry Newman’s motto he chose for his grave: Out of shadows and phantasms into truth. We are blessed, because on this day, we are choosing to walk together in seeking that perfect unity with God himself, out of shadows and phantasms into truth: the same God with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change! Anglicans have longed for a corporate way in which to do this. Today is the day we begin to walk that unchanging road of truth, reflected by beauty and unity.

Unity, the chief aim of our endeavors, is only found in unity with the Successor of St. Peter, the rock on which Christ built his Church. This same unity is expressed in one of the titles of our Lady. Besides Our Lady of Walsingham, which is familiar to all of an Anglican heritage, another uniquely Anglican title for her – and American Anglican at that! – is Our Lady of the Atonement. The very first Anglican Use church in the Catholic Church was named this. Atonement – or, at-one-ment – is about Mary’s unique role in the redemption of the world, effecting unity between God and men.

“The Rosary League of Our Lady of the Atonement was formed in 1901 with the purpose ‘to pray and work for the restoration of Mary's Dowry, England, to our Virgin Queen, the Holy Mother of God.’ Later, the object of the league became more extensive and included not only the conversion of England but the entire world. The league was formed by Father Paul Wattson and Mother Lurana Mary Francis White, members of the Anglican Communion until they, with fifteen others, were received into the Catholic church in 1909. The little community grew, and is now known as the Franciscan friars and sisters of Graymoor. In 1919, Pope Benedict XV gave his approval and apostolic recognition to the title of Our Lady of the Atonement.” There must be something about the Popes named Benedict!

Unity is our theme, and it is God’s. It is an integral part of holiness. To become holy – to become saints ourselves – is the goal of our lives here on earth. It reflects our chief aim, to glorify God! But in order to become saints ourselves, we must give our all to do what God requires of us. And those of us here today know that God is calling us into unity with his Church, with his own body here on earth. Today is the day when we turn our backs on sinful excuses for the continual separation from the Body of Christ. Today is the day when yet another aspect of our lives is beginning to be healed. Today is the day when the process begins whereby families of separated Christians – even within marriages themselves – can be healed. Today is the day when we can realistically look forward to being truly and fully at one altar before the One God. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives: lives that will be bonded together in the Catholic Church according to the Anglican Use. Today we set in motion a future that is full of possibilities of growing as a new parish family to raise our children and grandchildren in the tradition that formed us, but which is better than we can possibly image!

I envision a future where we take the best of our Anglican heritage and use it enthusiastically to help save the world in our own little way: the Anglican choral and musical tradition, the Anglican educational tradition, the Anglican liturgical tradition, the Anglican evangelistic model, and the Anglican spiritual tradition: all grounded upon the Rock of Peter in Christ’s ONE holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I look forward to looking back on this day ten years in the future, when we’ve begun starting a church school of our own, founded upon the greats, with a vibrant and expanding music program, where we can give the best of who we are to the Church, while at the same time, she nourishes us as a loving mother, ever bringing us closer into union with Our Lord Jesus Christ.

A few have blazed this trail before, and are ready to give aid and direction to us as we follow in their steps. Are you ready to take many more leaps of faith? Are you ready to follow the Lord in whatever he has for us in the future? It won’t be easy, but it will be right. But as long we continue to focus on him, on his mother – our mother – Mary, and on the saints interceding for us, we too will help shape the future and help participate in the redemption of our own souls and the souls of those around us here in Orange County. Today is the day this all begins, and I’m truly honored and humbled to be here with you. We have now moved beyond talking, to doing. Today, we are doing it. Today, God brought us here.

“Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.”

Our Lady of Walsingham: pray for us. Our Lady of the Atonement: pray for us. Blessed John Paul II: pray for us. Blessed John Henry Newman: pray for us.

+In the Name of God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost

First Meeting: May 29 at 6pm

Dear All,

After talking with Fr Baumann, I've scheduled our first meeting - Evensong, May Crowning/Devotional procession, & Benediction - on Sunday, May 29, 2011 at 6pm at Blessed Sacrament Episcopal Church, Placentia, CA. There will be a light reception and a time for us all to get to know each other a bit afterwards. At the meeting the following weeks, we will be going through the Evangelium course together. It is designed to both be a good intro to the Catholic faith as well as bring those who are already mature in the faith even deeper. It is a very well designed course and I think we'll learn a lot and have fun doing it as well.

I'm pleased to announce that Sandy Fryling has enthusiastically agreed to be our choir director, and she's looking for people to fill slots for the schola. Please contact me if you are interested and I'll let her know. We will be having choir practices at 4:30 on Sundays before the services at 6. I don't know how regular these practices will be, (it's Sandy's call) but for now that is the plan. Also, I need names of guys to serve as acolytes. I still need to fill spots for a crucifer, two torch bearers and two readers. We will eventually get a rota going, but for now to form a rhythm, I'd like to have some set roles for these. Let me know if you're interested in either singing in the schola or acolyting.

God bless you all and see you on Sunday, May 29th at 6:00pm at Blessed Sacrament Episcopal Church!!

Fr Bartus+

Anglican Use of Orange County Listserv

 

To those whom I may not have contact information for, I wanted to make everyone aware of the new listserv for our group. This is for members of the Society, or those who intend on becoming so in the future, or those interested in regularly worshipping with us.

Here is the link to group itself: http://groups.google.com/group/anglicanusesocietyoforangecounty

Once you have joined the google group, emails sent by members of the listserv will be delivered to your email inbox, and you may also email everyone yourself at once on the list by emailing:

anglicanusesocietyoforangecounty@googlegroups.com

God bless,

Fr Bartus+

Successful Gathering

Last night's Evensong and Benediction was wonderful! Father Baca gave a wonderful presentation of where we are with regards to the Ordinariate in the United States, and we had a great discussion of what it means for Orange County.

We are off to a great start too, as seventeen current/former Anglicans have signed up to create the Anglican Use Society of Orange County and to petition for an Ordinariate parish when the time comes, and we have thirteen others who plan to worship with us. We are starting off small, but steadfast!

The next step is to get paperwork in order and to schedule our first meeting together. More details to come as they emerge!

God bless you all. Ut unum sint.

Fr Bartus+

Sunday, April 3, 6pm: Evensong and Benediction

Everyone who is interested in officially forming the Anglican Use Society of Orange County - the purpose of which is to eventually found an Anglican Ordinariate Catholic parish in Orange County and to promote our Anglican heritage and evangelize the fullness of the Catholic faith - is enthusiastically encouraged to attend the Evensong & Benediction on Sunday, April 3, 2011, at Blessed Sacrament Episcopal Church in Placentia, California. (Join the Facebook Event to remind yourself!)

The speaker will be Father Al Baca, the Ecumenical Officer of the Diocese of Orange, and there will be two sign-up sheets at the reception in the Parish Hall. 1) For those of Anglican heritage  - either current Anglicans intending on joining the Church via the Ordinariate, or current Catholics who are former Anglicans - who intend on forming an Ordinariate parish (and thus, the Anglican Use Society which precedes it, as the Ordinariate is not yet established), and 2) For those interested in joining with us in learning more, but are not ready to commit at this time. Here is the official flyer:

Click here for the flyer.

Please spread this flyer around to as many people interested in this as possible! We need an official list of founding members to present to Cardinal Wuerl and Bishop Brown, so please try to attend this imporantant meeting. If you cannot make this meeting, but want to have your name on the list of founding members, please email me at:

fatherbartus [at] stmaryoftheangels [dot] org

God bless you all,

Fr Bartus+

Next Step: April 3 Meeting

Our first meeting will be on April 3, 2011, at 6:00 PM at Blessed Sacrament Episcopal Church, in Placentia, CA, for an Ecumenical Evensong and Benediction. The guest presenter will be Father Al Baca, Vicar for Ecumenism for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. He will speak on the history and current state of the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. A reception in Scully Hall will follow with a time for questions and answers and general discussion.

At this meeting we hope to collect a list of names of those who intend on forming the Anglican Use Society of Orange County with the purpose of becoming a parish of the forthcoming Anglican Ordinariate in Orange County. It is essential that this list be composed of those current Anglicans/Episcopalians who intend on being received into the Catholic Church via the Ordinariate, or those current Roman Catholics of an Anglican/Episcopal background.

There will also be a list for those simply interested in joining us to learn more, and aren't ready to commit, as well as those intending on helping with the formation of a parish (current Roman Catholics with no Anglican background), so that we can keep everyone in the loop together.

Update: The time of this meeting on Sunday, April 3, will be 6:00 PM.

God bless you all!

Fr Bartus+

Planning Stages

Currently, we are in the process of getting the word out to people in Orange County who are interested in having an Anglican Ordinariate parish one day. It starts small, step by step. The first step is just to see if there's a reasonable number of people committed to coming together to form a group. The next is to begin monthly meetings, and then - if growth occurs - weekly.

All Catholics are invited to join us, as well as anyone from outside the Catholic Church who is intending to be received, and is interested in the forthcoming Anglican Ordinariate. But obviously this is especially for Catholics who used to be Anglican or Episcopalian, have immediate family members who are now Catholic and who were (or are intending on being received), and those current Anglicans and Episcopalians intending to be received into the Catholic Church. In other words, this group is for those serious about both joining the Ordinariate and forming a parish of the Ordinariate in Orange County.

The goal is to have plans for our first meeting solidified very shortly. The first meeting will be Evensong (Rite I) from the Book of Divine Worship, followed by a short presentation of the history of the Ordinariate.

I look forward to getting to meet many new people who, though we haven't met yet, share similar spiritual journeys into the Catholic Church in our common heritage of our Anglican patrimony.

God bless you all,

Fr. Bartus