A Closer Look At The Ordinariate -- I

I've been exchanging e-mails for the last couple of weeks with an extremely knowledgeable anonymous visitor. Frankly, I don't know why Msgr Steenson doesn't have this guy on speed dial (or maybe I do, come to think of it). He's been extremely helpful in bringing me up to speed on what's going on, or not, as the case may be. I'm extremely grateful for the insights he's been providing.

I asked him to give a rundown on what he knows of each individual parish, mission, or group-in-formation in the US and Canada. I'm providing a slightly edited account of the information he's given me, in installments, starting below:

There are six US groups that are full parishes of the OCSP:

1. Our Lady of Walsingham, Houston
2. St Mary the Virgin, Arlington, TX
3. Christ the King, Towson, MD
4. St Luke's, Washington DC
5. Church of the Incarnation, Orlando, FL
6. St Thomas More, Scranton, PA

Attendance at Our Lady of Walsingham on Lent 1 was 700+, and it has five clergy, so it is obviously growing and thriving. As I have mentioned, I think the facilities of the so-called Chancery were mostly created for parish use, as it has a large lay staff and numerous groups and activities. St Mary the Virgin, Arlington was an Anglican Use parish until the retirement of the previous pastor, at which point it joined the OCSP. The bulletin does not give attendance figures but the budget is $6,000 per week so I assume the membership is several hundred. Christ the King, Towson was a parish of the Charismatic Episcopal Church, and then of the ACA. About 140 of its 200 members were received into the OCSP in 2012. Hard to say if it's growing; the website is not well kept up. St Luke's, DC was an Episcopal parish in Bladensburg, MD. About 80 people were received into the Catholic church in 2012, and they subsequently moved to Immaculate Conception, DC which offered better facilities than their former building. They have apparently experienced some growth at this more central location. Incarnation, Orlando was the ACA cathedral before it became a Catholic church. One hundred and forty members were received in 2012. St Thomas More, Scranton was an Anglican Use parish of the diocese of Scranton, with about 150 members. In 2012 it entered the OCSP and bought a redundant church property for about $250,000 and has an ambitious program of growth.

I'll provide more information in further installments as my anonymous informant supplies it. I'll make some comments at the end, but I think what we see will also speak for itself. I can't express my gratitude enough to my informant for this information.