Amid the basement chapels and cafetoria there are of course OCSP parishes that own churches of substance. Holy Nativity, Payson; Christ the King Towson; Incarnation, Orlando; and St Barnabas, Omaha we have already discussed. Two groups---Mt Calvary, Baltimore and St John the Evangelist, Calgary---bought their churches from their respective TEC/ACC dioceses. Two others---St Thomas More, Scranton and St John the Baptist, Bridgeport---bought redundant churches from their respective Catholic dioceses.I tend to think this assessment is too optimistic. Referring to a "manpower shortage" when the inside joke about the OCSP seems to be "more priests than people" misses the mark, it seems to me. There are three main groups of OCSP priests: those in middle age or approaching retirement, who are probably in surplus, who go to established communities as they are able, though their mobility is restricted. There are marginal candidates looking to come in with new groups-in-formation, though the groups as well as the candidates appear highly marginal, and I think my correspondent is right to call them make-work projects. Then there are the celibate seminarians, who have a good fallback position to move to dioceses should the OCSP go belly-up. Where is the shortage, though, if make-work projects are in train and the best prospects must certainly have Plan B in mind?And OLW, Houston; SMV, Arlington; and of course OLA, San Antonio have built churches. Once a congregation has its own building and facilities for social events and other activities it can offer the fullness of parish life which every Catholic needs and deserves, and there is a reasonable expectation of stability; when Fr Black retires he can be replaced by Fr White. Naturally this is the vision Bp Lopes has for the OCSP, but it is not easy to attain. Buildings are expensive to acquire and maintain and we can see that even a relatively successful church like SJE, Calgary can lose momentum quickly.
The manpower shortage, which is ultimately a financial shortage, leaves the North American Ordinariate very fragile. The OOLW just ordained ten deacons, all of whom will be holding at least a part-time diocesan assignment. Most have no ministry in any Ordinariate congregation. The OCSP under Bp Lopes has chosen not to follow this model, which I think is wise, but it means finding stipends, and this is very challenging.
Two of eight full parishes, St John the Evangelist and Our Lady of the Atonement, face crises of transition.
The informal message we have is that St Barnabas is shrinking, as are other groups like St Timothy's that seemed promising five years ago. Others are tiny and not moving at all, like Our Lady of Good Counsel Jacksonville.
Every glimpse of real communities I've seen so far suggests I've been pretty accurate in estimating the OCSP membership in the low four figures -- though I would revise it to say low four figures and shrinking.
