Although there are pockets of life here and there, by and large the Anglican experiment seems to have reached the end of its life.  It was that, an experiment: a church created out of political purpose which could never decide if it was Catholic or Protestant (except with respect to the authority of the Pope), and which attempted to accommodate nearly every theological view within its tent.  We are even now witnessing the death throes of the various forms of that body in nearly every one of its Western incarnations.  The manifest signs in the US were when those who wished to be ..read more

While it is often customary to compare Luther's critiques of the Mass to what Lutherans now see in Roman Catholic Churches, the reality is that until 1961 or so, hardly anyone but the celebrant received communion during the Mass.  Communicants did not receive during the distribution but at side altars where the people communed upon the consecrated reserved hosts even during the Mass -- like two different rites and rituals taking place simultaneously in the same space!  It is not that only a few communed but nearly all but the celebrant (and perhaps assisting clergy) were discouraged ..read more

I often wonder how St. Nickolas and his right hook would have dealt with the problem of denominations.  In the earlier history of the Church, it was not versions of the same truth but clearly right and wrong, orthodoxy and heterodoxy, truth and error.  Now we have every different kind of denomination facing each other on the corners of our towns -- not to mention those who refuse to be a denomination.  What does this mean?  Is there no truth or error but merely a sea of gray, muddy, middle in which no one is really wrong and everyone is mostly right?  Surely our peopl ..read more

I will always remember one of my first pastoral conferences in the Atlantic District.  These were the old days when giants roamed the earth.  They were big name individuals who had been everywhere and knew everyone.  My wife and I walked into the Fallsview (I think it was or may be the Nevele) and immediately encountered a lofty ceiling, a giant fireplace, tall backed leather chairs, and older men speaking and laughing together.  My wife and I were outsiders.  We were new to the District (although I had vicared on Long Island).  This was a Tri-District Conference ..read more

You can easily find out the brand loyalty toward many products.  A particular one is Apple.  Truth be told I do have an iPhone but not much more of Apple.  I am a PC sort of guy even though I have nothing but disgust for Bill Gates.  Microsoft is less of a brand than it is a default.  Microsoft products are less the sought after ideal than the default, what everyone has.  Apple, on the other hand, is a brand.  You pay a premium for its products and you go against the current to be an Apple sort of person.  Branding is powerful.  Many would die to h ..read more

There are many things which have become normal but which cannot in and of themselves be judged good or right or salutary.  While this is true of the world around us, it is also true of the Church.  Normal does not equate to right, at least with respect to God's Word and truth.  Such normality is evidence of how fallen we are within the Church as sinners and not only out there in the world around us. Higher criticism and a skeptical view of the Scriptures is certainly normal.  It is the norm for higher academia both within the so-called church universities and even seminari ..read more

St. Thomas Aquinas has a sort of way with words.  One of my favorites is the things we love tell us who we are.  He has effectively jumped through time to perceive and describe what is the weakness of our age.  "...where a man is accustomed to enjoy pleasures, it is more difficult for him to endure the lack of them..."  We have, to use his own words, become addicted to pleasure itself and therefore work not only to preserve them but to prevent us from having to surrender any of them.   It is an apt description of the joys of sex.  We are addicted to them and ..read more

The Presentation of Our Lord and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary fall on the fortieth day of Christmas.  Though we sing of twelve days of Christmas, this is, in my mind, the real conclusion of the whole Christmas cycle.  Though in just a few weeks we will be past the Transfiguration of Our Lord and into Lent where our attention turns on the glory of His holy Cross and Passion, for now a bit of Christmas business remains.  And here we are, beckoned by the Lord back to the holy mother carrying in her arms her first-born and the Temple requirements fulfilled.  The ..read more

A new Lectionary arrived in Roman Catholic churches across England, Wales and Scotland a few weeks ago.  Though it was officially approved in July 2023 and scheduled for release for this Advent 2024, all the way back in April, it would seem that many Roman Catholics affected by the change are struggling to find copies.  The Lectionary has not been updated since 198.  It was formerly based on the Jerusalem Bible with the Grail Psalms; starting in Advent, the Lectionary will use the English Standard Version—Catholic Edition for readings and the Abbey Psalm and Canticles.  Th ..read more

On the day of my retirement, the parish I have served for 32 years invited two old friends to honor the day with me, my wife, and my family.  One of them is the Rev. Dr. Michael Kumm.  Though he and I are actually distantly related, both having roots in a very small congregation called Golgotha in Northeast Nebraska, I have known and respected this man and his faithful service to the Lord in other ways.  He has been a Navy chief, a seminarian, a parish pastor, and the longest serving chairman of the Board of Directors of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.  His leadership ..read more