2006 Anglican Use Conference Fulfills Its Promise
In the last issue of Anglican Embers I wrote that through the annual Anglican Use Conference we intended to spur conversions. Already, less than two weeks after the conclusion of the 2006 event, I can share with you the happy news that we have fulfilled our purpose at least four times over. As we said our good-byes on June 6th two men confided in me their intention to seek entry into the Church at the earliest possible date. Since that time I have learned that two more conference attendees have contacted their local ordinary, so that they too may be received into the fullness of the Faith. I am certain that before long the names of these men will be familiar to all of us interested in the fruits of the Pastoral Provision of Pope John Paul II. In the meantime, please keep these converts in your prayers, giving thanks for whatever role the members of the Anglican Use Society played in bringing about these glorious transformations.
As we give thanks for these conversions we should not imagine that they will be the only fruits of this month’s gathering in Scranton. Fr. William Stetson, one of our conference speakers, has told me that he is in contact with several people he met at St. Clare Church, and since spending three days with us he feels much more connected to what we as Catholic converts from Anglicanism are attempting to accomplish. From my perspective as the leader of a small group of converts, it appears the expansion, perhaps even the rapid expansion, of our ministry is immanent, and the 2006 Anglican Use Conference demonstrated to the Ecclesiastical Delegate’s Secretary the intense interest in the Pastoral Provision that persists 26 years after the decision was issued. We introduced Fr. Stetson to people from 17 states and one Canadian province, and the breadth of that interest will not shortly be lost on him.
I know this because Fr. Stetson, his assistant, Taylor Marshall, and I are planning a late September trip to Texas to visit together the three established Personal Parishes of the Anglican Use. We will bring to them the good news of their witness, even as we enlist their support in the growth of our shared ministry. If you will be in Houston on September 24th please join us at Our Lady of Walsingham for the celebration of that parish’s Patronal Feast. In the wake of a very successful conference I would like to enlist your support, as well, wherever you might reside, and whether or not you are currently so blessed as to be part of an Anglican Use congregation. That is, I want you to share this conference with others.
The speakers we heard in Scranton were quite compelling, and this journal includes in it the text of three of the four speeches proffered there. You might share this edition of Anglican Embers with your friends, or you can order from the St. Thomas More Society recordings of all four presentations. Call me at (570) 343-0634 or go to the web at www.stthomasmoresociety.org if you’re interested in acquiring these recordings as a part of your evangelization efforts. You will not be disappointed, nor will anyone else open to investigating why he should seek entry into the Catholic Church.
Perhaps the converts we’ve helped to win were inspired by what they heard from an excellent group of teachers. Maybe they were overcome by the beauty of the liturgy they witnessed. Or was it the kindness of the people they met who have already made the journey, the relationships they established over the years with people of a similar intention? Whatever the case, however God’s grace reached them, our efforts have borne fruit and will bear more. As we won converts and got to know one another better we added to our numbers in a concrete way. The Anglican Use Conference this year included within it a Confirmation Mass, at which three more former Anglicans not only announced their intention to enter the Church, but actually entered into full communion with the Holy See. One of these newly minted Catholics will in all likelihood soon move to Georgia, far removed from the closest Anglican Use congregation.
My point in bringing up this last point is to remind us of our broader mission, to say why exactly we need to share what happened in Scranton two weeks ago. As happy as we must be to see the Anglican Use congregations grow in numbers and become more familiar with one another, as pleased as we are to see our mission flourish, we ought to be even happier to witness the growth of the community to which all Catholics belong, which is Christ’s body, the Church. Our work of evangelization is an important piece, but just one piece, of a movement so great its fruits can be seen in every corner of the world. As we reflect on our successes, our focus should be on rejoicing that God has been so kind to allow us a share in this great work. As we move forward we must maintain this spirit of humble service to the entire Church. If we do we shall be prepared to take on an increased portion of the august responsibility to bring the Gospel to people of every race and nation, that portion the Lord has even now laid at our feet.
Looking ahead to next year, I am eager to see more of you, and more of those we have not yet met, at the 2007 Anglican Use Conference.
Eric Bergman, Director
St. Thomas More Society Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania