On a Photograph of John Martin Finlay
And on the second Sunday of every month, a mass is celebrated for the souls of departed poets. John Finlay (Paris Diary: Dec. 24, 1973) With hands thrust deep in pockets, collar high Upon your neck, and head turned slightly left, You seek the muse, as poets often do, Where land and sea and sky…
Tract II (Part 1): When Did Anglicanism Begin?
Tracts for the Times 2.0 In my first Tracts for the Times 2.0, I provided a nuanced definition of Anglicanism that I hope will provide an anchor and encouragement in these fractured and fractious times. A definition of Anglicanism was the place to begin because in times of confusion, contestation, and fragmentation, issues of identity…
God the Poet: Metaphor and Metaphysics of Wonder
“It seems to me appropriate, almost inevitable, that when that great Imagination which in the beginning, for Its own delight and for the delight of men and angels and (in their proper mode) of beasts, had invented and formed the whole world of Nature, submitted to express Itself in human speech, that speech should be…
Concerning Conferences
Monday morning, I’m off to Tulsa for my diocese’s Clergy Retreat. Such gatherings are integral to the renewal of a healthy Anglicanism in North America. Illustrative of the busy parish lives we all – clergy and committed laity alike – live, I will arrive a half day late because our parish holds its Sunday services…
On Michaelmas
How can immortal pierce immortal through? This query wracked blind Milton; though he tried To write angelic combat, it was moot, For any wound would seal, all stakes denied. What was it then, that gave your blade the whet To cross and cleave and cast to earth beneath That seven-headed drake? And with what threat…
A Prayer from Babel
Set forth thy true and lively word, O Lord, Amidst this false and deadly earthen tongue With which we are surrounded. For a horde Of men with senseless syllables comes among Us, trampling down thy truth, to build a tower From which they think to wield confusion’s power. Send out thy tuneful sound to earth…
A Brief Treatise on Unity
Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity With every new Prayer Book comes a new set of controversies. The Anglican Church in North America’s 2019 Book of Common Prayer has proven to be no exception to this rule. Amidst the arguments over rubrics and ceremonial, questions of affinity to the…
Liturgy at the Deathbed
“Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the…
Response to Dr. Jared Henderson on Tract I
Thank you, Jared Henderson, for engaging with my definition of Anglicanism. I appreciate the points you make about the apparent lack of appropriate norms. It was impossible, without composing a Faulknerian definition which included many semicolons, to include everything I wanted into one sentence. This is one of the reasons that the one-sentence definition was…
Is Classical Anglicanism Catholic?
Once again, we are very happy here at The North American Anglican to be hosting these conversations. Particularly significant is the fact that many are excited for Anglicanism’s future, and rather than taking a 20th century approach of “every man does what is right in his own eyes,” these essays seek to establish a more…