DE TRINITATE
Newsletter of the Society of the Holy Trinity
Societas Trinitatis Sanctae
Volume 5, Number 1, Lent 2002
From the Senior
HOLY
LEARNING
Our
common Rule speaks of the desire of pastors to “glorify God with our minds and to
be more faithful and learned teachers of the Faith.” A faithful pastor reads
and studies widely and systematically, not only to be functionally competent as
a teacher of the Church, but also because reverence for words and ideas is one
of the habits of the baptized mind. Such reverence is most intently directed to
the language, images, stories, and ideas of Holy Scripture. But love for the
Word is supported by the love of wise theological and literary expression that
probes the mystery of the Creation, the fearfulness of evil, and the wonder of
the Redemption. You will find in this letter (and in future editions) some
brief reviews of what fellow pastors are reading—yet another way of encouraging
one another in the habit of holy learning.
STS
FOR ROMAN CATHOLIC PARISH PRIESTS?
I
have next to me a work-in-progress, a draft of a Rule for a “Society of the
Holy Trinity … a private clerical association of the Christian faithful for
Catholic priests, either secular or religious, who are in full communion with the
Bishop of Rome and their own proper Ordinary.” The document is being circulated
by Fr. Jay Scott Newman, a canon lawyer and parish pastor, who is in
conversation with 100-or-so other priests. The following words in the proposed
Rule fill me with hope. “This Society is founded in fraternity with and after
the example of a similar association among Lutheran pastors who are committed
to the renewal of their own ecclesial life and to the restoration of full,
visible communion among all Christians and reconciliation with the Bishop of
Rome. This Society shall cultivate the closest possible cooperation with the
members of our counterpart Lutheran Society and all such similar associations
as may arise among Orthodox priests or Protestant pastors.” As an evangelical
catholic, I continue to believe the way ahead for “Lutheran confessional
renewal” leads away from all self-contained “Lutheranism” and toward a deeper
lived baptismal solidarity with other orthodox Christians, most urgently with
Roman Catholics. Like several other initiatives born of our common work and
prayer in the STS, I do not know what God may make of Fr. Newman’s
conversations. But keep him in your prayers. And encourage your Roman Catholic
brother priests to inquire (St. Mary’s Church, 111 Hampton Avenue, Greenville,
South Carolina 29601 / 864-271-8422).
THE
GENERAL RETREAT, 2002
This
past January, the Council of the Society of the Holy Trinity met in retreat at
Loyola House, Morristown, NJ. In their planning, the Council took notice that
our next General Retreat will mark the fifth anniversary of our founding. There
are plans in the making to celebrate and to use the occasion to invite others
to pray with us. We will share the details as we go. But the most important
detail is the presence of our members. Mark your calendars (September 17–19),
and note the details in the calendar later in this newsletter.
THEOLOGICAL
CONFERENCE
The
American Lutheran Publicity Bureau will sponsor a “Christian Sexuality
Conference,” to be held on October 24–26, 2002, at Ruskin Heights Lutheran
Church, Kansas City, MO. According to Russ Saltzman, STS, who is the lead
organizer of the conference, the purpose is to provide the ELCA with a platform
for the critique of gay theology with regard to the doctrine of creation, the
nature of original sin, the doctrine of salvation, and ecumenical
accountability. Speakers will include Merton Strommen, James Nestingen, Amy
Schrifrin, Robert Benne, Jay Scott Newman, Russell Saltzman, and your Senior.
The STS council wishes to encourage the participation of our members and their
congregations, and we will be publishing registration information soon.
Phillip
Max Johnson, Senior
(Members please note
the Senior’s new e-mail address at the end of
this issue of De Trinitate.)
Brief Reflections of
Society Reading
We will … engage one
another in disciplined reflection on the mysteries of the Faith … desiring to
glorify God with our minds and to be more faithful and learned teachers of the
Faith (Rule, Preamble, par. 6; cf. Ch. VI). This column of brief reviews
will appear in De Trinitate from time
to time, as space permits. In this issue, we feature the reading of a Society
member and a friend of the Society.
Corrective Love: The Power
of Communion Discipline, by Thomas C. Oden (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1995). At
first glance, the title and publisher of this work suggest an apology for
“close communion.” Upon closer examination, one discovers a thoroughly catholic
ecclesiology undergirding this very helpful study. The communion discipline in
question encompasses a broad range, from individual confession and absolution
to the church’s role in society. The author includes case studies while
bringing an exhaustive knowledge of the great tradition to bear on the office
of the keys. Rather than a sectarian apology or just another popular guide to
therapeutic pastoral counseling, Oden’s work is modeled on the venerable
pastoral tradition of the cure of souls. Here is a worthy sequel to the
author’s Care of Souls in the Classic Tradition
(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984). Any of the ordained attempting to offer
pastoral care with a claim to orthodoxy would do well to consult this book.
Perhaps it would be an apt selection for your weekly clergy study group.
Members of the Society will find here a thoughtful companion for pastoral
ministry especially relevant to Chapter V of the Rule on confession and
absolution.
Paul
C. Lundmark, STS Dean, Chesapeake-Potomac Chapter
The Truth of Catholicism, by George Weigel (New York:
HarperCollins, 2001). I recommend this book to you with highest praise. Weigel
is best known as the biographer of John Paul II, but this little volume (180
pp.) is a splendid example of contemporary apologetics. Weigel makes a
compelling case for the liberating truth of evangelical catholicism, and I
believe this book will be useful both for introducing modern pagans to the
Gospel and for helping our own people understand the Gospel more clearly. The
book is subtitled “Ten Controversies Explored,” and Weigel does a fine job of
exploding the urban legends that often make it difficult for our contemporaries
to cut through the haze of solipsism and reach the truth about anything.
Although the title suggests an exclusive concern with specifically Catholic questions,
the book is really about the truth of Christianity, with an effort made to
render intelligible to non-Roman Catholics those parts of Christianity that are
distinctively catholic.
Father
Jay Scott Newman, J.C.L., St. Mary’s Church, Greenville, SC
Chapter News
CHESAPEAKE-POTOMAC
CHAPTER
Dean,
Paul C. Lundmark, plundmark@aol.com
The
Chesapeake-Potomac Chapter went on retreat January 6–7 at the Trinitarian
Spiritual Center, Baltimore, MD. Together we prayed the daily office and
celebrated the Holy Eucharist. An open discussion of the Rule provided valuable
sharing of pastoral insights for encouraging congregational practice of daily
prayer and the implementation of the adult catechumenate. Our next retreat is
planned with the Susquehanna Chapter in May (date to be announced) at the
Precious Blood Spiritual Center in Columbia, PA.
Barry
Laird, STS, of the Chesapeake-Potomac Chapter will retire June 19, on the 36th
anniversary of his ordination to the ministry of Word and Sacrament.
ILLINOIS
CHAPTER
Dean,
Paul G. Bieber, paulbieber@unidial.com
Fifteen
persons attended the November 19–20 retreat of the Illinois Chapter at King’s
House of Retreats, Henry, IL. Included in this group were three ELCA pastors
making their first retreat as inquirers, one ELCA seminarian, and one
ecumenical guest. The chapter also held a day retreat for Advent on St. Ambrose
Day, December 7, at the church of St. Luke in Chicago. Six members and one
inquirer were present for a day of prayer, conversation, and gracious
hospitality. A Presentation of the Lord retreat was held on January 28–29 at
the Cenacle Retreat House, Warrenville, IL. Six members and three inquirers
were present for our first 24-hour retreat of 2002, at which Steven Tibbetts,
STS, served as chaplain, and Keith Forni, STS, and Tom Knutson, STS, as
teaching theologians, examining urban ministry from an evangelical-catholic
perspective. The next chapter retreat will be April 22–23 at the Lutheran
Outdoor Ministry Center in Oregon, IL. We are looking forward to serving as the
“host chapter” for the General Retreat in September, and will try to measure up
to the hospitality Rod Ronneberg, STS, and the Chesapeake-Potomac Chapter have
shown to all of us for the three years that the General Retreat has been held
at Bon Secours, MD.
METRO
NEW YORK CHAPTER
Dean,
Rodney L. Eberhardt, rev14@aol.com
The
membership of the Metro New York Chapter of the Society currently stands at 16,
with 3 persons who have expressed their desire to become members. We have
established the pattern of three 24-hour retreats annually in November,
February, and May. Each retreat is built around prayer offices, private confession
and absolution, and a celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
The
November retreat is designed to be a study retreat with presenters from within
the chapter. Topics have included: Eucharistic Theology and Practice,
Confession and Absolution, and The Meaning and Use of Icons. The recent plane
crash in Queens forced the postponement of our November study of an evangelical
catechumenate.
The
February retreat centers on a presentation by someone from outside the chapter.
Frank Senn, STS Vicar, has presented a study on Lent and Holy Week liturgical
practice. Bishop William Lazareth, STS, led a presentation on Lutheran-Roman
Catholic ecumenical issues, focusing on the joint statement on justification.
On February 25–26, Dr. Lionel Mitchell led a study, Celebrating the Great 50
Days.
Our
May retreat focuses on spiritual renewal by providing time for rest, prayer,
and mutual conversation and support. This is also a time for us to focus on
chapter business, concerns of the Society, and our individual members. This
year the retreat is scheduled for May 13–14 at St. Ignatius retreat center in
Manhasset, NY.
The
chapter has commissioned seals of the Society and the Luther rose for use on
tippets and other vestments. These are available to any chapter member by
contacting the Metro NY Chapter dean. Our membership has been consistent and
committed over the last couple of years, and our chapter retreats continue to
provide opportunity for the upholding and renewal of pastoral ministry.
NEW
ENGLAND CHAPTER
Dean,
Richard L. Miesel, rmiesel@societyholytrinity.org
The
New England Chapter met in retreat on November 25–26 on Edmund’s Island near
Mystic, CT. The presenter was Ronald Bagnall, STS, whose subject focused on the
Augustana tradition of the Lutheran church, its doctrine and practice
concerning the catholicity of the Church, the office of the ministry, the
liturgy of the mass, the works of mercy, and the use of the Catechism.
Questions for discussion centered on what in this tradition is worth saving or
restoring and what can be learned or applied today.
NEW
JERSEY CHAPTER
Dean,
John D. Larson, lcmrutgers@yahoo.com
In
our chapter retreats, we have continued a steady prayer life together, with the
most common format of a noon-to-noon pattern structured by the daily office.
For our mutual teaching and learning, we have most often shared a particular
form of the lectio divina discipline.
We read a passage of sacred Scripture aloud and reflect on it; often we include
an additional passage from Christian tradition. Three examples illustrate this
pattern. At one retreat, continuous portions of Psalm 119 were included in each
of the daily offices. We also read aloud “Preface to the Wittenberg Edition of
Luther’s German Writings, 1539” (Luther’s
Works, Vol. 34). Here Martin Luther describes the theologian as one who
studies Scripture in the way taught by King David in Psalm 119; the three rules
are oratio, meditatio, tentatio
(prayer, meditation, and Anfechtungen—struggle
with the Devil). At another retreat we considered the scriptural passages on
Holy Baptism, then read aloud a portion of the Small Catechism that had not
been included in the 1959 edition of the Book
of Concord, but which is included in the 2000 edition—“The Baptismal
Booklet: Translated into German and Newly Revised.” Our lectio divina reflections turned especially to parish practice,
exorcism, and the life of the baptismal community. On another occasion, we
invited Richard Niebanck, STS, to help us explore the most helpful ways of
praying the psalms. Richard helped us to take the historical-critical approach
down from its predominating perch and to see again how Christ-centered the
psalms are; in this reading, the exegesis of St. Augustine was especially
valuable.
The
members of the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter and the New Jersey Chapter now
share chapter retreats. Our Senior has been encouraging us to consider becoming
one chapter, and we may decide to do that in the future.
UPSTATE
NEW YORK CHAPTER
Dean,
Richard J. Niebanck, catspike@dmcom.net
The
Upstate New York Chapter met in retreat at the Stella Maris Retreat House in
Skaneateles, NY, December 3–4. Twelve members and friends of the Society were
in attendance. In addition to praying the daily office, the chapter enjoyed the
presentations made by Lynn Ash, STS, whose subject was sacred music—from the
Old to the New Testaments, the early Church, the chant traditions of the East
and West, the musical treasures of the Lutheran church, to the present.
Excellent musical recordings accompanied her presentation. The chapter adopted
a plan to study through the Lutheran Confessions in a series of seven retreats.
The first of these will be held March 12–13 at the Stella Maris center. We will
discuss Articles 1 to 21 of the Augsburg Confession and its Apology under the
leadership of Wesley Hamlin, STS. John Priest will serve as chaplain for the
retreat.
Reported
by John Priest, STS Secretary, Upstate New York Chapter
VIRGINIA
CHAPTER
Dean,
Louis A. Smith, 1smith@cfw.com
The
lententide retreat of the Virginia Chapter is scheduled for March 4–5 at the
Episcopal Diocesan Center, Roslyn, Richmond, VA. The retreat will be led by
Richard Niebanck, STS, who will consider the great English metaphysical poets
and their witness to the Triune God.
The
chapter dean, Lou Smith, was privileged to present a paper critiquing the ELCA
ecumenical agreements at the January Symposium on the Lutheran Confessions at
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN.
From the Vicar
Our
Senior suggested that we share with one another something of our recent
reading. I have read some theology, but instead of that let me share something
off the beaten path—even off the beaten cow paths of Devonshire. For anyone
interested in parish ministry in a time of radical change in church and
society, The Voices of Morebath:
Reformation and Rebellion in an English Village by Eamon Duffy (New Haven
and London: Yale University Press, 2001) has a lot to recommend it. This book
provides specificity for Duffy’s stunning effort at historical revision, The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional
Religion in England, 1400–1580 (New Haven and London: Yale University
Press, 1992), in which he demonstrated the vitality of late medieval religious
practice in England and what became of it in the Reformation.
It
seems that the Morebath Parish in the southwestern English shire of Devon was
served by one priest from 1520 until his death in 1574: Sir Christopher Trychay
(priests were called “sir” in those days, not “father”). Think of it: this
parish and its vicar lived through the vicissitudes of the Henrician,
Edwardian, Marian, and Elizabeth Reformations. (Those who are surprised to see
Queen Mary included in this list need to remember that she was a Catholic
renewalist, not a Tridentine reactionary, and that her Archbishop of
Canterbury, Cardinal Pole, was considered a radical by Rome.) Parish churches
had to cope with liturgical policy changes mandated by the state during all
this time, from “take the images down” (Henry VIII), to “replace the high altar
with a communion table” (Edward VI), to “restore the high altar and its rood”
(Mary), to “destroy the roods and chasubles, but you can keep your surplice and
cope” (Elizabeth I).
The
impact of these changes on this humble parish are deciphered by Duffy from the
meticulous account book maintained by Sir Christopher on behalf of the church
wardens throughout his whole vicarage. Could a history of liturgical (and
theological) change be discerned from our parish records in terms of what was
bought and sold? Even when new books
for worship were mandated by the state, such as the Coverdale English Bible,
the Erasmus Paraphrases, and The Book of Common Prayer (1549, again
in 1552, and then again in 1559), how quickly could changes be implemented if
the parish couldn’t afford to buy expensive books? And what accounts for the
fact that vestments, lights, and images removed from the church in Edward’s
Reformation suddenly reappeared during the Marian restoration?
Some
of the parishioners were obviously fencing these things; they purchased these objects
and then sold them back to the church. But they were used to being responsible
for the parish’s wealth. Morebath was a sheep-raising village. The parish’s
wealth consisted in a herd of sheep farmed out individually to members of the
parish who added the parish’s sheep to their own, sheared them in the spring,
and turned in the money to the parish. Sir Christopher read out from the pulpit
an accounting of the parish’s proceeds every Palm Sunday. (Why on Palm Sunday?
Remember that the sheep shearing was done in the spring and the new civil year
began on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation.) Can you imagine dividing
your congregation’s funds among the members to be invested and an account given
at the annual meeting?
One
of the most startling things I learned from this book was how invested the
people of the parish were in their church in the late Middle Ages. Every group
and guild in the parish had responsibility for one area in the church building.
They might have paid for the lights that were kept burning before the shrines.
For example, the young maidens might raise the money to buy the candles placed
before the image of the Virgin Mary. Once the images were removed, or vestments
were no longer needed, neither were the devotional efforts of the members
needed. By the time the Reformation was complete, the whole parish could be run
by the vicar and a vestry of a half dozen men. (Another surprise is that there
were women church wardens in the pre-Reformation period.) The Reformation made
a doctrine of the priesthood of believers; the pre-Reformation church practiced
it.
Here’s
a book that offers a unique window into the ordinary life of the church in a
time of radical change and how the members and their priest coped with the
crises. Moving from a richly appointed Catholic parish with daily mass to a
plain Protestant church in which the offices were read was not an overnight
event; it occurred over a period of 50 years in Morebath. Duffy admits that the
transition might have occurred more quickly elsewhere (e.g., in southeastern
England). But Sir Christopher and his members found ways to thwart the designs
of the churchwide offices in London while seeming to comply with state-enforced
ideology. Maybe the humble Vicar of Morebath can give lessons to some of the
rest of us today.
For
a more sympathetic view of the Edwardian Reformation, see Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Boy King: Edward VI and the Protestant
Reformation (St. Martin’s Press, 1999), which I also read over Christmas.
Frank
C. Senn, Vicar
STS Calendar
March 3-4 New
England Chapter retreat, Enders Island (near
Mystic, CT). Contact Richard Miesel.
March 4-5 Minnesota
Chapter retreat, Christ the King Retreat Center, Buffalo, MN. Contact Bill
Wilson.
March 4-5 Virginia
Chapter retreat, Episcopal Diocesan Center, Roslyn, Richmond, VA. Contact Louis
Smith.
March 10-11 Susquehanna
Chapter retreat, Danville, PA. Contact Paddy Rooney.
March 11-12 New
Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania chapters retreat, Loyola House, Morristown, NJ.
Contact John Larson.
March 12-13 Upstate
New York Chapter retreat, Stella Maris, Skaneateles, NY. Contact John Priest.
April 22-23 Illinois
Chapter retreat, Lutheran Outdoor Ministry Center, Oregon, IL. Contact Paul
Bieber.
May, TBA Chesapeake-Potomac
and Susquehanna chapters retreat, Precious Blood Spiritual Center, Columbia,
PA. Contact Paul Lundmark or Paddy Rooney.
May 13-14 Metro
New York Chapter retreat, St. Ignatius retreat center, Manhasset, NY. Contact
Rodney Eberhardt.
May 26-28 Rocky Mt.
Chapter retreat, FCJ Retreat Centre, Calgary. Contact K. Glen Johnson.
June 3-4 New
Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania chapters retreat, Loyola House, Morristown, NJ.
Contact John Larson.
Sept. 17-19 STS
General Retreat, Divine Word International Techny Towers Conference Center,
Techny, IL. (17 miles from O’Hare).
Contact John Priest.
DE TRINITATE
News and reflection from the Society of the Holy
Trinity
Volume 5, Number 1, Lent 2002
Editor: Constance
R. Seddon
Editorial office: 14
Oak Road, Briarcliff Manor,
NY 10510-2311 /
914-941-5202
Senior: Pr.
Phillip M. Johnson, St. Paul Lutheran
Church, 440-448 Hoboken Ave., Jersey City,
NJ 07306 /
201-963-5518 / pmjsts@msn.com
Vicar: Pr. Frank
C. Senn, Immanuel Lutheran
Church, 616 Lake Street, Evanston, IL 60201
847-864-4464 / fcsenn@aol.com
Secretary: Pr.
John E. Priest, Immanuel Lutheran
Church, 17 High Street, Delhi, NY 13753
607-746-2098 / jepriest@dmcom.net
Bursar: Pr. Mark
A. Hoffman, 200 St. Ann Drive,
Apt. 1032, Mandeville, LA
70471
985-727-3879 / dukemarquis@charter.net