Mount Calvary, the Ordinariate congregation in Baltimore, is to be erected as a canonical parish, with Fr Scharbach installed as Pastor by Bishop Lopes, at a Mass on Saturday, November 11th, at 4 p.m. Their altar will also be consecrated at this service – a rare opportunity to experience this rite. All are invited!This community has kept a remarkably low profile since its entry to the OCSP. It was mentioned here on March 13, 2015 as part of a "second tranche of missions" with Our Lady of Hope Kansas City, but there has been very little news about it otherwise.
Mt Calvary Church Baltimore: Mt Calvary entered the OCSP from The Episcopal Church. Twenty four members out of forty-five voted in favour, so the congregation is perhaps borderline for mission status, although the article I was forwarded on its reception mentions that many former parishioners had already become Catholic, so perhaps there has been some homecoming. The previous parish was apparently viable despite its small size so I assume there is money. They have a professional music director, for example. The previous rector was involved with Latin Mass enthusiasts so it may attract Catholics who enjoy traditional liturgy and music but are not eligible for OCSP membership.My regular correspondent added just yesterday,
This group bought their church from the TEC diocese and must have been able to pay a full stipend to have hired a man [Fr Scharbach] with seven children. I always assumed that the need to find a stipendiary position for Fr S was the reason, or part of it, why Fr Catania was let go from the parish he brought into the OCSP. Presumably this is thanks to a hefty endowment, because the delay in making it a full parish must mean that numbers have only now met the 100 individuals/30 families threshold.However, as has been noted here frequently, the OCSP's interpretation of policy has always been flexible and highly creative, as we shall see with a forthcoming ordination. Regarding numbers, my correspondent added,
Fr S is also administrator of St Timothy's, Catonsville, which is run day-to-day by the lay music director Emory Stagmer. Sunday mass is celebrated by a number of different clergy; rarely Fr S, I imagine, as Sunday mass is at the same time as the High Mass at Mt Calvary. Perhaps their numbers have been added in.It's worth pointing out that Mt Calvary is one of very few Anglican parishes to come into the OCSP following the original Anglicanorum coetibus model, as previously incorporated, with its property, and at the action of a voting majority of its previous membership. Having done this, the pastor who brought the group in was promptly replaced in favor of a more suitable member of the Houston clique.
Since that time, it's hard to see what's improved there -- it's certainly reasonable to speculate that the promotion to full parish comes as a result of pressure on Bp Lopes to find something, anything, to reflect growth.
The possiility that Houston could very credibly turn St Mary of the Angels into a similar Plumstead Episcopi with an endowment continues to be a reason for that parish to be very circumspect regarding its own application for entry.
