As you point out, Christ the King has much in common with any diocesan parish(es) Fr Kirk has been attending during his brief stint as a Catholic. It began as a Charismatic Episcopal Church congregation and was then Anglican Church in America for perhaps two years, but seems to have taken its "brand" from Fr Meeks. But Fr Kirk has never been any kind of Anglican, even for five minutes.We're back to the question of "what's Anglican?" The Pastoral Provision recognizes Methodists as Anglican, which is arguable, and Fr Kirk was a Methodist -- but Methodists aren't very Catholic, since they recognize only two sacraments, and they have a strong tradition against alcoholic beverages, so that most parishes serve grape juice for communion instead of wine. Anglicans do have the leeway to believe in the Real Presence, while Methodists don't. And if Methodists are Anglican, what about Quakers, who derive from Anglicans as well?
The problem is even bigger with St Timothy's Catonsville. Its priest, Fr Worgul, says of his formation,
I was raise [sic] in a pious Baptist family, and growing up was deeply moved by the great preaching of our pastor who always emphasized the greatness of God and how He can accomplish the supernatural through little people. I loved the Gospel tradition and it has followed me throughout my life. I remained a Baptist even as I attended a Presbyterian Seminary and studied Hebrew Bible in Graduate School. I taught Old Testament and Hebrew in a Baptist Seminary for 15 years. It was during this time that I studied the Church Fathers and the Catholic mystics, and this, along with my studies of Hebrew Bible, opened for me the sacramental world view of the ancient Church. Finally, my wife Kathy with our two young children, became members of an Anglican religious community where I first became a priest, and then on to the Catholic Church through the Ordinariate where I became a Catholic priest in September, 2013.St Timothy's came from The Episcopal Church, where it occupied property owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. It was unable to obtain a deal equivalent to St Luke's Bladensburg, though the St Luke's parish was unable to continue in that property, either. It had brave intentions of finding new property, but it has continued to use the Catholic parish at St Mark's.
My regular correspondent points out,
As at Christ the King, mass is celebrated versus populum. Music is accompanied by guitar and electric keyboard. A video of the (small) congregation singing "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" can be viewed on-line. They have female servers. Fr Worgul has a (week)day job as Pastoral Associate for Evangelization and Adult Formation at a diocesan parish and celebrates at St Timothy most Sundays. The guitar player provides the operational leadership. Mt Calvary is of course more in the traditional Anglo-Catholic mode. Supposedly Fr Kirk will divide his time among these three Maryland locations, which should provide a challenge for him.The St Timothy's parish says of itself,
We're committed to worship in Spirit and Truth and Joy through:Although the Sacraments page recognizes Reconciliation, the home page gives no times for when one might avail oneself of it at the St Timothy's community. St Timothy's certainly has a Baptist feel to it.
- Preaching the Bible
- Reading from the Bible
- Praying the Spirit of the Bible
- Singing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
- Participating in the sacraments of Baptism & Communion
There's something very roundabout going on in suburban Maryland. A visitor kindly sent me a copy of B C Butler's The Church and Unity, which has put me to thinking about the teachings of the Church on evangelization in Vatican II. What we see in the North American ordinariate seems at best a confusing and overcomplicated application of those principles, which I want to talk about tomorrow.
