However, the new location is The Queen of Life Chapel, a private oratory at the law offices of the Busch Group in Irvine, CA. In addition to the photo of the interior on the main web page, another from the opposite direction appears here. I see four rows of pews, with precious little room to swing a thurible, although the main page of the Newman mission still shows one being swung. Indeed, any sort of procession looks to be awkward here.
More important, there doesn't appear to be either an organ or provision for a choir, so I'm assuming that in addition to what must be some sort of downsizing for the mission, any musical program has gone by the board in the years since 2012. (Typical cost for a paid organist and choir would be $2-3000 per month.) I will be most grateful if anyone familiar with the current situation at Blessed John's can correct or clarify my impressions, but I can only surmise that the move may have been for financial reasons -- the Ordinariate mission, I assume, was paying some sort of rental to the host parishes for use of either the main nave in off hours or a side meeting room, as is suggested by its former location at St Mary's -- and membership may have declined to the point where a less expensive venue might have been needed. UPDATE: Photos of the Easter mass in the former location are suggestive as well. At best, two dozen -- at Easter?
I'm wondering what else may be fading away in the US-Canadian Ordinariate, and whether responsible parties are paying attention. My understanding is that an attempt to start an Ordinariate group of about 50 on Long Island fizzled (at best, as described here, it's a "group left to fend for itself", attending novus ordo mass at a Spanish language parish), and now I can't help but wonder if the only mission in the second-largest metropolitan area is dying out now, too.
If you want to see a real thurible being swung, by the way, check this out. Not an Anglican in sight.
