Anno Domini 2024 December 31

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Tuesday, 31 December, the final day of the secular calendar, in the year of our Lord 2024. The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Tuesday (today): 5:30 PM, Mass, S. Sylvester, Bishop & Confessor.
  6:30 PM, Evensong.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Sung Mass with incense, the Feast of the Circumcision.
• Thursday: 6:30 PM, Mass, Octave Day of the Feast of S. Stephen, Protodeacon and Protomartyr. 'Followed by Soup & Study.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Mass, Octave day of S. John, Apostle & Evangelist.
  Immediately following, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: 10:00 AM, Mass, Octave Day of the Holy Innocents.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 Am, Mass, Vigil of the Epiphany.

We have not only survived, but done quite well during this particular Season of Holy Days (from which is derived holidays). Of-course, we will very soon plunge-into Epiphanytide, followed even more quickly by Great Lent. Thanks be to God for the Kalendar, which keeps us focussed-upon those things that are needful for our salvation and health.

Speaking of the Kalendar, our 2025 Ordo Kalendars are now for sale. They are still only $15.00; please see Charlotte Haden to get your copy, and those you wish to purchase for gifts ~ they make wonderful tools for the teaching of the Faith.

Our Annual Parish Meeting is just-under two weeks from now. It falls on Sunday, 12 January, in the year of our Lord 2025. On that Sunday, there will be only one Mass, at 10:00 AM. The Parish Meeting will be held in the Nave. Afterwards, we will stroll down the hallway, to the Parish Hall, where we will enjoy another wonderful meal prepared by all y'all.

I repeat again my thanks to the people ~ who are the Parish ~ of Saint Matthew's, not only for the immense and generous aid rendered for- and during my Consecration to the Episcopacy, but also for the love and support rendered to me during the time that I've been both Interim and Rector of Saint Matthew's. This July will mark the Fourteenth Anniversary of my arrival here ... time doth indeed fly.

My Consecration is not mine alone, but belongs as-much to the Parish as it does to me. Without the continual encouragement of a strong and healthy Parish, no man may ever be Consecrated a Bishop, nor should he be, if he cannot do his part to support such a relationship. Congratulations to all of Saint Matthew's, for having done your part in promoting another Heir to the Apostles, to sustain and govern His one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I remain

in His praise,

The Rt. Rev'd T. L. Crowder

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

Anno Domini 2024 December 24

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Tuesday, 24 December, in the year of our Lord 2024. It is also Christ Mass Eve! The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Tuesday (today): 11:00 PM, Midnight Mass (first Mass of Christ Mass).
• Wednesday: 10:00 AM, Sung Mass, Christ Mass Day,
• Pontifical High Mass, from the Throne.
• Thursday: 6:30 PM, Sung Mass, S. Stephen, Proto-Deacon, Proto-Martyr. NO SOUP AND STUDY, MASS ONLY.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Sung Mass, S. John Evangelist, with Gregorian Canon.
  Immediately following, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: 10:00 AM, Sung Mass, Holy Innocents.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Mass, Christ Mass I. Parish Brunch following 10:00 AM service.

Merry Christ Mass everyone! As-noted above, there are some shifts from our usual schedule. The first Mass of Christ Mass will be celebrated tonight at 11:00 PM, so that the Mass will carry-into the new day. On Thursday, we will celebrate the Feast of S. Stephen, but will not have Soup and Study following. After Thursday, we will return to our usual schedule of services.

As likely all of you know, I was Consecrated a Bishop this past Saturday, 21 December, the Feast of S. Thomas, Apostle and Martyr, and the Winter Embertide Saturday. It was a wonderful service, with a delicious pot-luck following. Archbishop Barton was the Chief Consecrator, with Bishop Brown assisting. The Most Reverend Thomas J. Kleppinger sent Letters Permissory.

I look-forward to seeing all y'all tonight and tomorrow ~ hopefully, some of you will make both services! Our 10:00 AM Mass on Christ Mass Day will be a special event, as we will have sufficient Clergy available to Celebrate a Pontifical High Mass, something seldom seen these days. This has been a beautiful, light-filled Season, and the brightest of all lights, the Light of the World, will be soon with us, and that right soon. I remain

in His praise,

The Rt. Rev'd T. L. Crowder

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

Anno Domini 2024 December 17

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Tuesday, 17 December, in the year of our Lord 2024. The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Tuesday (today): 6:30 PM, Mass, monthly Parish Requiem.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Mass, Ember Wednesday in Advent.
• Thursday: 6:30 PM, Mass, Feria, followed by Soup & Study.
• Friday: NO SERVICES.
  10:00 AM, practice for the Consecration.
  12:00 PM (noon), cleaning and other prep for the Consecration.
• Saturday: 10:00 AM, Consecration of the Rector as a Bishop in God's one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Potluck to follow.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Mass, Trinity IV.

As-noted above, Friday and Saturday will deviate from the normal schedule. The other days will retain their usual order. Friday morning will see the practice for the Consecration, which will not take two hours, but likely less than that. At Noon, the ladies will prepare and clean the Parish, in-anticipation of the Consecration, to be held the next day, Saturday, at 10:00 AM.

Last week, we discussed some aspects of the Episcopacy. There a few more points that should be addressed. As-with any advancement that expands personal authority, there are pitfalls to being made a Bishop. Even the brief history of the so-called Continuing Movement is replete with stories, generally running 'I knew so-and-so for years, when he was a Priest, and everybody loved him, but then he got the pointy hat, and changed overnight, not for the better.'

Although this is something of an oversimplification, in my opinion the chief culprit is vanity. We see this in the Priesthood as-well; men mistaking God's gift of an Ordinal Sacrament for an affirmation of their own, personal superiority. God gives the blessing, and, at the man's death it returns to the Father. We, in a sense, borrow it, use it ~ ideally ~ for His glory, and then return it.

It is the same, though magnified, in the Episcopacy. No one deserves to be a Bishop. In His mercy, and through the necessary equipping of His Church, God makes men Bishops. They continue to worship, praise, adore and serve Him, and then they die.

Yet, no matter the character of the Bishop, we must always respect the office. In a similar way to that in which the Holy Ghost, as the breath of God, passed over the waters at the Creation, so too are our modern Bishops the breath of the Apostles, carrying their will to serve and sacrifice for the Father down through the ages. In the best case, they give their all for Holy Mother, the Church. Let us pray that this ever remains the case.

In our Parish, virtually nothing will change as a result of my Elevation. I will still, when here, be functioning as the Rector of Saint Matthew's. Continuing to call me Father is perfectly acceptable for members of the Parish to do. Yes, some of my vestments will change, again not for personal glory, but because I must now, more than ever, show-forth the presence and role of the Episcopacy, and respect it.

This occurrence is, in my mind, as-much a reflection on the Parish as it is on myself. It is an honour for- and to Saint Matthew's. This will be a new time for us, and will bring new adventures. Let's get started! I remain

in His praise,

The Venerable T. L. Crowder

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

Anno Domini 2024 December 10

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Tuesday, 10 December, in the year of or Lord 2024. The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Tuesday (today): 5:30 PM, Mass, Of the Octave of the Conception of the BVM.
  6:30 PM, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, Evensong.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Mass, Of the Octave.
• Thursday: 8:00 AM, men's Morning Prayer & Breakfast.
  6:30 PM, Mass, Of the Octave, followed by Soup & Study.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Mass, S. Lucy, Virgin & Martyr, using the Gregorian Canon.
  Immediately following, Veneration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: 10:00 AM, Mass, S. Ambrose, Bishop, Confessor, Doctor.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Mass, Gaudete Sunday (Advent III)

For the first time in a bit, our weekly schedule follows the normal pattern. Perhaps the fact that this Sunday will be the Rose Sunday for Advent makes it a bit out of the ordinary, but we do see it every year, so not really any sort of variation from the overall Kalendar. Speaking of the Kalendar, our AD 2025 Kalendar has been sent to the printer. We are hopeful that they will be available before the end of this calendar year.

Inasmuch as the Consecration will soon be upon us (Saturday, 21 December, 10:00 AM), it might be fruitful to have a discussion on Bishops, and the Episcopacy (the construct concerning Bishops, just as Priesthood for Priests). Bishops, as we know and recognise them in our time, did not exist in the Apostolic Church. Yes, of-course, there were Bishops, but the modern form and function of them had not yet evolved.

A Bishop ~ from the Greek 'Overseer' ~ in those days was clearly the authority in the Church, having received his mandate from the Apostolic Succession, a truth that has been with us from the earliest time. Yet, the claim that S. Peter was the first Bishop of Rome is overreaching, even if we limit ourselves to the notion of physical territoriality assigned to the episcopacy, as this is, again, a notion that had not yet been born. Even S. Linus, to whom first Bishop of Rome is often assigned by those of us who reject Roman claims for S. Peter on a variety of grounds, fails this test of our understanding that a Bishop is responsible for a geographical region, which we now call a Diocese.

There has never been, nor shall there ever be, a human office that surpasses that of Bishop. One who is even slightly familiar with the topic might now question what about Archbishops, Metropolitans, Popes, and the like? As the early Church began to grow, that suspect seed endemic to all organisations ~ bureaucracy ~ began to be present in Holy Church. Thus, after the idea had become common that a Bishop was assigned to a certain geography, when those geographies became both adjacent and numerous, as in the case of a major urban centre like Rome, someone had to be responsible for overall organisation, settling disputes and the like. Hence, a Metropolitan Bishop, Overseeing, as it were, a metropolis, and the dioceses therein.

Bishops, then, are equal in theological authority and description. Even the Pope, which position has amassed vast authority and power in recent centuries, retains as his essential title Bishop of Rome. The idea of Petrine Centrality ~ that Peter ruled the Apostles, and his successors, the claimed Bishops of Rome, ruled the Church ~ is incredibly new. Archbishop Haverland makes an excellent discussion of this in his book. This notion was the product of Vatican I, one of the Councils of the Church claimed by Rome, but rejected by the Eastern Orthodox and we Anglicans. This council was held in AD 1871.

In our times, we commonly encounter three sorts of Bishops. These are separated by the authority given to them, but, here again, in the higher term, a Bishop is a Bishop is a Bishop. We most usually think of the Bishop Ordinary. This man is assigned the oversight of a Diocese. He it is who visits your parish, Confirms your children, Receives converts, and is the Father in God to your Diocese, your Clergy, and ultimately to you yourself.

A Bishop Coadjutor is a man who has been elected, by a Diocese, to be the immediate and lawful successor of the current Bishop Ordinary. These are elected for a variety of reasons. Regardless, when the current 'Ordinary dies, retires, steps-down, or is otherwise ~ God forbid ~ removed from his Office, the 'Coadjutor, having been previously and duly elected, immediately assumes the position of Bishop Ordinary, without having to call an Electoral Synod.

The last sort currently, commonly encountered, is the Bishop Suffragen. These men are elected to serve as assistants, in those matters which are properly the purview of Bishops. Occasionally, they are elected to assist an Archbishop in his Office and Duties, to represent him in Episcopal matters. I was originally elected as a Bishop Suffragen, to assist Archbishop Barton in his Office, as a member of his staff, until other events intervened, making it necessary that I take the role of a Bishop Ordinary. A 'Suffragen most commonly serves in a Diocese, making parochial visits, Confirming and Receiving, to ease the workload of the 'Ordinary.

Bishops have, from the very first, been both the crown and the conflict in Holy Mother, the Church. They are not conflict by their existence, but by the things up to which they sometimes get. Bishops are men, and, like all human beings, are subject to sinful whims and temptations. Hopefully these are the types of things that are small, and commonplace. Historically, regrettably, some have perpetrated monstrous disasters within and upon Holy Church. As my time approaches to join their number, I beg your prayers, that my works shall all be begun and ended in prayer, and that I shall ever do the will of the Father, and not of mine self, apart from Him. I remain

in His praise,

The Venerable T. L. Crowder

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

Anno Domini 2024 November 4

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Monday, 4 November, in the year of our Lord 2024. The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Tuesday (tomorrow): 5:30 PM, Mass, S. Elizabeth. Mother of S. John Baptist.
  6:30 PM, Holy Rosary, Evensong.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Mass, S. Leonard, Abbot.
• Thursday: 6:30 PM, Mass, S. Willibrord, Bishop & Confessor, followed by Soup & Study.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Mass, All Anglican Martyrs & Saints, with the Gregorian Canon.
  Immediately following, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: 10:00 AM, Mass, S. Theodore, Martyr.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Mass, Trinity XXIV.

As you'll no-doubt have noticed, from the schedule of services above, I will not be travelling this week. So, the schedule will remain in its usual configuration. The comfort of the usual shall prevail.

Let us all keep in our prayers the Annual Convention of the Diocese of Fort Worth, taking-place at the end of this week. There is a strong potential for new policies, new directions in the Anglican presence in the United States, as a result of what is decided at this convention. I strongly suspect that, as 'Fort Worth goes, so shall we, and some few others go, as we take steps towards Anglican Unity; true, organic unity.

I call upon all of us to renew, or to begin, prayers for Holy Mother, the Church. These prayers can address many aspects, many elements of the Church. They can concern themselves with the most immediate level, if you will, of Holy Church ~ our own Parish. Perhaps you'll feel called to pray for our Diocese of the Holy Sacrament, in all of the work that lays before it. The CAC can always use our prayers and intentions. Also, the greater Churches, larger than are we, some of whom seem to be heading towards the enactment of our Lord's greatest commands, concerning the unification, indeed the restoration, of God's ONE, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

If we do not begin to emphasise these matters in our own prayers, in our own petitions to God, the likelihood that we will actually begin to commit real-world actions in-support of our intentions, is slim-to-none. All things begin and end in prayer. Let us, therefore, begin this great work today, in each of our hearts, by consecrating some of each of our prayer-time to it. Only in this way may we begin. Only in this way may we build. I remain

in His praise,

The Venerable T. L. Crowder

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

Anno Domini 2024 October 29

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Tuesday, 29 October, in the year of our Lord 2024. The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Tuesday (today): 5:30 PM, Mass, Bl. James Hannington, Bishop & Martyr.
  6:30 PM, Evensong.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Mass, Feria of Trinity XXII.
• Thursday: NO SERVICES; Trunk-or-Treat from 5:30 ~ 7:30 PM (Come early to set-up).
• Friday, All Saint's Day: 9:00 AM, Sung Mass, with Gregorian Canon, followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
  6:30 PM, Said Mass.
• Saturday, All Soul's Day: 10:00 AM, Mass, Requiem I.
  5:00 PM, Mass, Requiem III.
• Sunday: 8:30 AM, Deacon's Liturgy, Trinity XXIII.
  10:00 AM, Mass, Trinity XXIII.

As you can see, we are now entering the busy season of the Church. Things in that vein will commence on Thursday evening, All Saint's Eve, or the Vigil of All Saints, with our annual Trunk-or-Treat, in-front of the Parish. We line-up cars at the bottom of the drive, trunks facing Main Street, and dispense goodies to the wee wanderers that come-by the Parish. We show-up around 5:00 PM, get set-up, and dispense treats from 5:30 'til '7:00 or 7:30 PM.

The next day is, of-course, All Saint's Day. We will have our usual 9:00 AM service, with the Gregorian Canon, saying the Mass for 'All Saints. The Mass will be sung. After the Mass, we'll continue the standard schedule, with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, for one-hour after the conclusion of the Mass. For those unable to attend the morning celebration of the Mass, it will be repeated at 6:30 PM.

Saturday brings us to All Soul's Day. At 10:00 AM, we will say the First of the three authorised Mass-settings for this day. Since the Missal directs that the Second Mass be used for regular observances for the Dead, which we do monthly at S. Matthew's, the Third Mass will be said at 5:00 Saturday evening.

We have recently made several changes to our weekly schedule of services. The first is that on the First- and Third Sundays, Deacon Collins will say a Deacon's Liturgy, at the 8:30 Service. Deacons are neither able to Bless nor Consecrate, but are able to distribute the Holy Sacrament, after it has been consecrated by a Priest, or a Bishop.

This can be an invaluable service, particularly when the Priest is away, or ill, or for other reasons is unable to say the Mass. Including it in our regular schedule gives the Parish an opportunity to become familiar with the service, and keeps our Deacon in fighting trim, so-to-speak, with regular opportunities to practice the Liturgy. On Sundays when we have a Deacon's Liturgy, Dcn. Collins will preach at both services.

Our long-standing 5:00 PM time-slot for the Saturday evening Mass has been moved to 10:00 AM. Originally intended to serve as an anticipatory Mass for those unable to attend on Sunday mornings, it was seldom used for that purpose, and wound-up being the Mass for the ladies who prepare the Church for the Sunday services. This move will allow them to complete their tasks earlier in the day, freeing up their personal time in the evenings. PLEASE NOTE that, in the interest of time, a full Mass is not said on Saturdays, unless a major Feast Day fall thereon; we simply distribute the Sacrament, the ladies having already spent the netter part of an hour in labora for the Parish. I remain

in His praise,

The Venerable T. L. Crowder

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

Anno Domini 2024 October 25

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Friday, 25 October, in the year of our Lord 2024. The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Saturday (tomorrow): 10:00 AM, Mass, Bl. Alfred the Great, King & Confessor.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Mass, Christ the King.

Please note the change above, marked in red. From tomorrow forward, inclusive, the Saturday Mass will take-place at 10:00 AM. The old time was originally chosen as a nod to the old, Roman custom of anticipatory Mass. If you knew that you could not attend on Sunday, you could fulfill your Sabbath obligation by receiving the Sacrament on Saturday evening. However, that being a relatively uncommon practice in Anglican circles, it has rarely, if ever, been used as-such, here at Saint Matthew's. Now, you may attend Mass on Saturday morning, and have the rest of the day free.

This Sunday, after the 10:00 Mass, there will be no coffee-hour. We will, instead, depart the Parish for the County Grill, on the George Washington Memorial Highway, just over the York County line. This is our monthly Parish Brunch, usually held on the last Sunday of the month. Come and join us, even if if you attend the early service!

Starting yesterday, and ending tomorrow, Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church is holding their annual Fall Greekfest. This is a major fundraiser for their Parish ~ let us support our brother- and sister Christians in their work for our Lord. Go and get your lamb-shank today!

We've all heard the saying that familiarity breeds contempt. Although we hope that this is not always true, it often is. Here, at S. Matthew's, we offer the Holy Sacrament, usually eight times per week. I doubt that there is another Parish, of any Church, within hundreds of miles of us, that can claim the same.

I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone of this tremendous gift, and to urge all of us to take greater advantage of it. The human body may consume all manner of things to sustain its existence. The human soul, however, has only one food of which it may partake to insure its survival ~ the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus, the Christ.

We should all present ourselves at the table of our Lord as often as we may. It should be our greatest priority, every day of our mortal life. If we fail to prepare ourselves in this life, for the next, we shall never see it. At-least, we shall never see the parts of it that we wish, but only those that we do not. I remain

in His praise,

The Venerable T. L. Crowder

Rector, Saint Matthew's Parish

Anno Domini 2024 September 21, Ember Saturday

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Saturday, 21 September, in the year of our Lord 2024. The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Saturday (today): 5:00 PM, Mass, Ember Saturday.
• Sunday: 10:00 AM, Mass, Feast of Saint Matthew, observed, with Confirmations, followed by pot-luck.
• Monday: 10:00 AM, Mass, S. Linus, Bishop & Martyr.
• Tuesday: 6:30 PM, monthly Parish Requiem.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Mass, Blessed Launcelot Andrewes, Bishop & Confessor.
• Thursday: 6:30 PM, Mass, Feria, followed by Soup & Study.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Mass, SS, Cosmas & Damian, Martyrs, with Gregorian Canon.
  Immediately following, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: 5:00 PM, Mass, S. Wenceslas, Prince & Martyr.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Mass, S. Michael & All Angels, commemorate Trinity XVIII.

Tomorrow is a day of celebration! Bishop Nalls wrote very recently that he was unable to be here, but Archbishop Barton saved the day, by granting me Faculties to do the Confirmations in his stead. Though not typically an Anglican practice, it is well-attested for both the Roman and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Once more, the traditional practices of Holy Mother, the Church, find us in our hour of need.

REMEMBER, there is only one Mass, tomorrow, at 10:00 AM, as-noted in the schedule above. We will Confirm four new members ~ members in every sense of the word ~ into Holy Church, which is the Body of Christ; into her most holy Sacrament; and into our family of Saint Matthew's. Once the Mass has concluded, we will repair to the Parish Hall for a typical, wonderful repast prepared by loving hands for our Parish.

Let us take tomorrow as a day free from the world. We shall all be in the Kingdom of God, in His light, His truth, His grace. Leave all that troubles you at the door, and enter-into the love of our Lord, as we celebrate four more souls for the Kingdom! I remain

in His praise,

The Venerable T. L. Crowder

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

‘Weekly Post. Anno Domini 2024 September 14

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Saturday, 14 September, in the year of our Lord 2024. The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Saturday (today): 5:00 PM, Sung Mass, Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
• Sunday: 8:30 AM, Mass, Trinity XVI.
  10:00 AM, Mass, Seven Sorrows of the BVM.
• Monday: 10:00 AM, Mass, S. Cyprian, Bishop & Martyr.
• Tuesday: 5:30 PM, Mass, S. Hildegard, Virgin & Doctor.
  6:30 PM, Sung Evensong.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Mass, Ember Wednesday.
• Thursday: 6:30 PM, Mass, S. Theodore of Tarsus, Bishop & Confessor, followed by Soup & Study.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Mass, Ember Friday, with the Gregorian Canon.
  Immediately following, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: 5:00 PM, Mass, Ember Saturday.
• Sunday: 10:00 AM, Mass, Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. Patronal Feast, visitation of Bp. Nalls, Confirmations.

Tomorrow, at the 10:00 Mass, Danny Head will receive the Rite of Holy Baptism. He will become the newest member in the family of Christ that is Saint Matthew's Parish. Please join us as we welcome him.

A week from tomorrow will be a banner day for our Parish. Bp. Nalls will make his first annual visitation, to help us celebrate the Feast of our Name Day, Saint Matthew. Also on that day, we will have a number of Confirmations. That will be a most joyous day for us!

On that Sunday, 22 September, there will be ONE MASS, AT 10:00. After Mass and Confirmations, we will have a pot-luck in the Parish Hall. 'A day of feasting, in several senses, to be sure.

In lesser news, on Wednesday evening, the House of Bishops for the Convocation of Anglican Churches unanimously elected me as the Suffragen Bishop to the Archbishop. Last night, the National Council confirmed the election by their unanimous vote. The canonical process is thereby completed.

I AM NOT LEAVING SAINT MATTHEW'S! Inasmuch as I am already on the Archbishop's Staff, my obligations to the greater Church will not be much more than they are now. Weekday travel will occasionally be necessary, but I see no reason that there should be any disruption to our Sunday services.

I have requested, and received approval from the Archbishop, for 21 December as the date for the Consecration. Anciently, Priests and Deacons were only Ordained at the Ember Seasons; I see nothing amiss in making a similar requirement of Bishops. Further, that will be the date of the Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle and Martyr; an additional and happy benefit of the day, it being my name-day.

The Consecration will take place at Saint Matthew's. The 21st will be a Saturday, this year. Details have yet to be fixed, but I imagine a 10:00 AM starting-point, so as to finish the overall festivities in-time for those who are also travelling on that day. As things are finalised, more precise information will be distributed.

I ask your prayers on my behalf, as I undertake another, deeper level of sacrifice for Holy Mother, the Church. There are those who focus only on the pomp and prestige of becoming a Bishop. Holy Scripture warns us against such.

For my part, though I do not think it a terrible thing, it does entail the assumption of greater burdens in the service of our Lord. Less of my time and energies will be mine, to spend as I please. The reduction of my will ~ I must diminish, so that He may increase ~ can be only a good thing. Perhaps, someday, the 'I' shall vanish, leaving only the perfect grace and love and peace of the good and faithful servant, when I reach that distant shore. I remain

in His praise,

The Venerable T. L. Crowder, Bishop-Elect

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

‘Weekly Post. Anno Domini 2024 September 9

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Monday, 9 September, in the year of our Lord 2024. The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Monday (today): 10:00 AM, Mass, S. Peter Claver, Confessor.
• Tuesday: 5:30 PM, Mass, Feria.
  6:30 PM, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, Evensong.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Mass, SS. Protus & Hyacinth, Martyrs.
• Thursday: 8:00 AM, men's Morning Prayer.
  6:30 PM, Mass, Holy Name of Mary, followed by Soup & Study.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Mass. Feria, with the Gregorian Canon.
  Immediately following, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: 5:00 PM, Sung Mass, Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
• Sunday: 8:30 AM, Trinity XVI.
  10:00 AM, Mass, Seven Sorrows of the BVM.

There are four Marian Feasts this month, two of which fall on Sundays. These Feasts are of-precedence, meaning that they replace a Sunday in Trinitytide. We have celebrated the first (The Nativity of the BVM), and the second (The Seven Sorrows of the BVM) will fall on this Sunday.

Two Sundays from now, on 22 September, Bishop Nalls will join us at Saint Matthew's. Not-only is this our annual Celebration of the Feast of Saint Matthew, but we will also Confirm several folks, and Receive others, into the family of The Christ that is our Parish. There will be one Mass on that day, at 10:00 AM. Following the Mass, there will be a potluck in the Parish Hall. Come one, come all, bring food and fellowship to share!

Holy Confirmation is one of the seven Sacraments of Holy Church. Strangely, it is not listed as one required for salvation, those being limited to Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. I suppose that this is due to these having perfectly clear scriptural provenance, coming from none other than Jesus, the Christ, Himself.

Even in the Ancient Church, one had to complete Confirmation ~ the right teaching and subsequent understanding of the Faith ~ before being admitted to the Holy Communion. In modern times, the Roman Catholic Church has restored this order in their RCIA program, Confirmation and first reception of the Holy Sacrament occurring at the end of the process. We, of-course, as Anglicans, never abandoned this ancient practice.

The act of Receiving someone into the Church indicates that they have been Confirmed in a tradition ~ Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox ~ that we accept as being valid per the Holy Tradition of the undivided Church. However, having left that church body, and joined ours, they must publically accept our understanding and teaching of that Tradition ... must swear allegiance, if you will, to the Anglican way of thinking, being, and doing, in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus, the Christ.

This will be a joyous event for us all! Please come, and please feel free to invite guests to this celebration of the life of our Parish. Do not forget Archbishop Barton's challenge to personally invite people to worship and joy with us. This is, and has always been, the single most effective means of fostering church growth. Go ye out therefore, and do it. I remain

in His praise,

The Venerable T. L. Crowder

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

‘Weekly Post. Anno Domini 2024 September 3

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Tuesday, 3 September, in the year of our Lord 2024. The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Tuesday (today): 5:30 PM, Mass, Feria.
  6:30 PM, Holy Rosary, Evensong.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Mass, Feria.
• Thursday: 6:30 PM, Mass, S. Lawrence Justinian, Bishop & Confessor, followed by Soup & Study.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Mass, Feria, with Gregorian Canon.
  Immediately following, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: NO SERVICES.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Mass, Nativity of the BVM.

You'll note that there are no services scheduled for this-coming Saturday. I will be in Amherst, saying the Requiem Mass for Elizabeth Nalls, the wife of our Bishop, Charles Nalls. The schedule there, much-less the return travel to Newport News, makes my getting-back in-time for the usual Saturday afternoon Mass questionable. Our Sunday schedule will proceed as-per usual.

The Requiem will commence at 11:00 AM. At that hour, please join us in prayer, no-matter where you may be. Please pray for the holy progress of Elizabeth's soul. I remain

in His praise,

The Venerable T. L. Crowder

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

‘Weekly Post. Anno Domini 2024 August 27

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Tuesday, 27 August, in the year of our Lord 2024. The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Tuesday (today): 6:30 PM, Mass, monthly Parish Requiem.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Deacon's Liturgy, S. Augustine of Hippo, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church.
• Thursday: 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer, followed by Supper and a Movie.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Deacon's Liturgy, S. Rose of Lima, followed by
  Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: 9:00 AM, Mass, S. Aidan, Bishop & Confessor.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Mass, Trinity XIV.

As you will note, there are a number of changes in our schedule for this week. Inasmuch as I'll be out-of-town Wednesday through Friday, there will be no Mass said in the Parish on those days. The most holy Sacrament will be available, by Deacon's Liturgy, on Wednesday and Friday. Evening Prayer will be said on Thursday evening. After that Office, supper as-per-usual, followed not by our usual study session, but by a movie! Come and enjoy some fellowship, along with Christian entertainment, on Thursday evening.

THE SATURDAY MASS WILL BE AT 9:00 AM. This will be followed by our quarterly vestry meeting. As a reminder, all are welcome to attend vestry meetings. Thanks be to God, this should be one of our preferred, brief meetings, as there are no controversies in the greater Church to cause us any bother.

Although we know that, in the Early, persecuted Church, Deacons were dispatched with the Holy Sacrament to carry it to those who would not otherwise receive it, little if anything is known what liturgy may or may not have attended this distribution. Additionally, Holy Church could not afford to gather in great numbers, for fear of discovery, and the destruction that would follow. Thus, Deacons were established 'to serve at table' ~ not sandwiches, as some of our protestant brethren would have you believe, but rather the food of Salvation.

After persecution against the Church ended, Deacons fell-into disuse, so-to-speak, in the Western Church. Although always numbered amongst the Major holy Orders, the Office of Deacon was, for some centuries, merely a transitional step from 'lay to ordained service, in-anticipation of becoming a Priest. Indeed, in both the Roman and Anglican systems, one was simply made a Deacon after having completed their middler year of seminary.

In the Eastern Orthodox Churches, this was not the case. They ~ more appropriately ~ regarded (and still do) becoming a Deacon as a major shift in the fundamental being of the man upon whom it was bestowed. He became a part of Holy Orders, leaving lay life behind. He had been changed; he had been made a Sacrament.

When you ask a Cleric of the Eastern Churches when he was Ordained, he will give you the date of his Diaconal Ordination. In the West, we typically give that of the Priesthood. While we all know that every Priest, every Bishop, will always be a Deacon, we have lost that deeper sense maintained in the East of the sacred nature of Holy Orders as a whole. Even the ordinal rite in the West refers to it as an inferior order. Perhaps this should change. I remain

in His praise,

The Venerable T. L. Crowder

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

‘Weekly Post. Anno Domini 2024 August 22

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Thursday. 22 August, in the year of our Lord 2024. The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Thursday (today): 6:30 PM, Mass, Octave Day of the Assumption, followed by Soup and Study.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Mass, Vigil of S. Bartholomew, with the Gregorian Canom.
  Immediately following, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: 5:00 PM, Mass, S. Bartholomew, Apostle & Martyr.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Mass, Trinity XIII. Parish Brunch following 10:00 Mass.

As-noted in our schedule, the monthly Parish Brunch will fall on this-coming Sunday, after the 10:00 Mass. We will meet at UNO, in the Kiln Creek shopping center. We've eaten there a number of times previously, with no complaints!

Although it is a way off, remember that we will be hosting the AD 2025 Synod for the CAC. Everything, including the timing, has been left to our discretion. We've not yet had any internal discussions on this, but I ask that everyone keep it in their prayers.

We are now at the half-way point of Trinitytide, which occupies the second-half of our Christian year. In it, we study the ways and teachings of Holy Mother, the Church. This is chiefly accomplished through the many Pauline Epistles, and their corresponding, illustrative Gospel readings.

The first day of the Christian year, which commences, naturally-enough, the first-half of the Kalendar, is the first Sunday in Advent. This will be upon us sooner than we think, as this year it will fall on 1 December. The Seasons ~ or 'tides ~ of this first part of the Kalendar trace our Lord's incarnation; His earthly life. Throughout it, we learn directly from the Son of God what it means to be His servant, to be a Christian.

Perhaps the central lesson of Trinitytide is the distinction between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law; between heavenly things and earthly things, between supernatural things and material things. The first time that this lesson was clearly presented was on Trinity VIII. This-past Sunday, we saw another explicit reference to the idea ~ the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

As we pass-through this yearly cycle of teachings, be always mindful of where we are in the Kalendar, for in so-doing, it may serve as a reminder to check our own lives, as-to where we are in-relation to God, and the lessons being taught us. I remain

in His praise,

The Venerable T. L. Crowder

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

‘Weekly Post. Anno Domini 2024 August 6

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Tuesday, 6 August, in the year of our Lord 2024. Of-course, as it is every year, today is the Feast of the Transfiguration. Every Parish should celebrate the Mass on this day; everyone in every Parish should attend. The scheduled Services are as-follows:

• Tuesday (today): 5:30 PM, Mass, Feast of the Transfiguration.
  Immediately following, Rosary & Sung Evensong.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Mass, Holy Name of Jesus.
• Thursday: 8:00 AM, men's Morning Prayer & breakfast.
  6:30 PM, Mass, Bl. John Mason Neale, Confessor, followed by Soup & Study.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Mass, S. John Vianney, Confessor, with the Gregorian Canon.
  Immediately following, Veneration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: 5:00 PM, Mass, S. Lawrence, Deacon & Martyr, followed by a meal of roasted meats with fixin's.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Deacon's Liturgy, Trinity XI.

Sunday this-coming I'll be in Glen Allen, with the good folks of Saint Athanasius Parish. Deacon Collins will handle the Sunday services, here at Saint Matthew's. These Deacon's Liturgies will be at the usual Mass times.

On the first of November, at Grace Church, in Kentucky, we will be Consecrating the first Bishop for our Diocese of the Philippines. This will be a joyous event, celebrating not only growth for the CAC, but progress in the life of the Philippine Church. I'll be attending that service, participating as the Master of Ceremonies for the Consecration.

The Transfiguration is a Red Letter day in the Book of Common Prayer, requiring all to attend Church on that day. It is described in the first three Gospels as an historic event. It is also alluded-to in 2 Peter. Tradition locates it on Mount Tabor, but many scholars prefer Mount Hermon, while some have even suggested the Mount of Olives.

In the Kalendar, the Feast occurs on 6 August. It was first celebrated in the East, where it appears to have begun as a local, unofficial Feast, and became widely adopted well before AD 1000. In the West, where the Feast was not introduced 'til a much later date, its general observance goes back to AD 1457, when Callistus III ordered its universal celebration in commemoration of the victory gained over the Turks at Belgrade on 6 August, AD 1456.

The Transfiguration was significant as showing the testimony of the Jewish Law and Prophets to the Messiah-ship of Christ, and furnishing a further Divine proclamation of our Lord's sonship. It also served as a foreshadowing of His future glory. Let us join-together at 5:30 this-evening, as we celebrate His glory, and the grace it provides to us, in the Divine Liturgy. I remain

in His praise,

The Ven. T. L. Crowder

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

‘Weekly Post. Anno Domini 2024 July 30

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Tuesday, 30 July, in the year of our Lord 2024.The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Tuesday (today): 5:30 PM, Mass, Feria.
  6:30 PM, sung Evensong.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM: Mass, S. Ignatius of Loyola, Confessor.
• Thursday: 6:30 PM, Mass, S. Peter's Chains (Lammas Day), Soup & Supper to follow.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Mass, S. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop, Confessor, Doctor.
  Immediately following, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: 5:00 PM, Mass, S. Nicodemus, Confessor.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Mass, Trinity X.

As is often the case in these Summer months, there are no looming events on the horizon. The next will fall on 22 September, when Bishop Nalls will join us for our Patronal Feast. On that day, we will both Receive and Confirm new members for the Parish. There will be one Mass at 10:00 AM; a potluck will follow in the Parish Hall.

Our recently-completed Synod was a triumph of the Spirit over the World, the Flesh, and the Devil. I've attended many Synods, over the years, most of them larger than that just-concluded. Indeed, I've even enjoyed attending some of them. None of them, however, came close to the that unity of heart and spirit we experienced in Amherst. There was never a disagreement, no disunity concerning the direction of the Church. We came together in Spirit, in music, in liturgy, and in prayer to define our way forward in the service of our Lord.

The first steps along that path have been taken. Canonical amendments were submitted, briefly explained, and passed in their entirety with a single ballot. Several promotions were announced, and the advancement of men to serve as Bishops in our overseas ministries, having already been approved by the House of Bishops, were made known.

The over-arching promise, which permeated all to which we aspired, was our concordat of communio in sacris with The Diocese of Fort Worth. The promise that they both hold and offer to other Anglicans has, and will continue to grow, in breadth and meaning. The Canon to the Ordinary of The Diocese of Fort Worth, The Rev'd Canon Joel E. Hampton, SSC, was with us throughout the Synod. We are bound to them, and they to us, in the future that awaits.

Pray thanks to God for all that has happened in the last two months. Both the good and the difficult have been essential for our current place, and coming progress. I remain

in His praise,

The Ven. T. L. Crowder

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

‘Weekly Post. Anno Domini 2024 July 23

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Tuesday, 23 July, in the year of our Lord 2024. The scheduled Services are as-follows:

• Tuesday (today): 6:30 PM, Mass, monthly Parish Requiem.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Mass, Vigil of S. James the Great, Apostle & Martyr.
• Thursday, Friday, Saturday: NO SERVICES.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Mass, Trinity IX, monthly Parish Brunch following 10:00 Mass, at Schooners Grill, on Warwick.

As you literally just read, our Parish Brunch is Sunday this-coming. We will meet after the 10:00 Mass, for which there will be no coffee-hour. Schooners Grill will be our destination, on Warwick Blvd., past CNU, on the same side of the Street. There, we will break the fast together, as all Brothers and sisters in-Christ Jesus had ought to do.

The long-awaited, much-heralded CAC Synod will commence this Thursday (yes, two days hence) in Amherst, Virginia. The sponsoring Parish will be Church of the Epiphany, where Bishop Nalls is the Rector. The Friday-morning Mass will be sung by our own Altar-crew, including myself, Deacon Collins, and our Master of Ceremonies, Jim Elsnau.

We are taking nine people from Saint Matthew's! The is far-and-away the largest contingent that we've taken to Synod, even electoral Synods, during my tenure. I'm very thankful for all of those who have decided to join in this experience.

Inasmuch as this is our first Synod with the CAC, it is well that so many from the Parish will attend, and thus be able to experience everything first-hand, and then share their impressions with those who could not attend. It is also gratifying that the oft-repeated appeals were answered by so many who are willing-and-able to join with the greater Church in worship, praise, and works for the Kingdom.

I will see all those who are travelling to Amherst there, on Thursday. I beseech the prayers of those who will remain here, not only for our safe travels to-and-from, but that a successful, indeed a Sacred Synod, will be had and enjoyed by all who are in-attendance. I remain

in His praise,

The Venerable T. L. Crowder

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

‘Weekly Post. Anno Domini 2024 July 16

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Tuesday, 16 July, in the year of our Lord 2024. The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Tuesday (today): 5:30 PM, Mass, Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
  6:30 PM, sung Evensong.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Mass, S. Alexius, Confessor.
• Thursday: 6:30 PM, Mass, Camillus of Lellis, Confessor.
  Immediately followed by Soup & Study.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Mass, S. Vincent de Paul, Confessor, with the Gregorian Canon.
  Immediately followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: 5:00 PM, Mass, S. Margaret of Antioch, Virgin & Martyr.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Mass, Trinity VIII.

Not Sunday this-coming, but the Sunday next-ensuing will be our monthly Parish Brunch. This month we will sample Schooner's Grill, past CNU, on the same side of Warwick Avenue. Please join us for the breaking of the fast, joining-together as all brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus had ought to do.

Our National Synod for the Convocation of Anglican Churches is barely over a week from now. As I understand it, there are four-or-five rooms left at the Elston Inn, on the Campus of Sweet Briar College. Should those be occupied, there are some dorm rooms that will be made-available. In either case, please make an effort to attend these sessions.

There are several topics that I seldom address, some few of which are due to that over-blown sense of Anglican propriety, or nicety. I typically discuss one of these only annually. There is no particular reason to mention it now, other than that it simply crossed my mind. However, breaking with custom, today we have the dreaded Tithe.

Our tithe is not an option, not a nice extra thing that we do, not a way to stockpile pennies in Heaven. It is a scriptural commandment. Thus, yes, our salvation depends upon it, in-part, among other commandments that we are to live.

One of the Scriptural references mentions first fruits. As-such, we calculate our tithe on gross income, not net, nor otherwise adjusted. As God hath given unto us, so we bless Him, and His holy Church, in-return.

The generally accepted figure is ten-percent of our gross income. This is Scripturally supported, but don't forget The Book of Acts: the standard expressed therein was one-hundred percent ~ be happy with ten! That 'ten, of-course, is supposed to be a starting-point, not a goal.

Ours is a God of mercy. The tithe is always expressed in percentiles, not fixed amounts. Further, these are tenuous times. If you cannot keep to the ten-percent, give what you can. The widow's mite was accepted of our Lord ~ the amount is not the key to salvation, but the sincerity of the gift, the spirit in which it is given. Insincerity was they key to the downfall of Ananais and Sephira.

Love God, as He first loved us. In so doing, we honour him as He wishes us so to do. We are called to be His good, and faithful, servants. Amen. I remain

in His praise,

The Ven. T. L. Crowder, Vicar General

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

‘Weekly Post. Anno Domini 2024 July 9

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is Tuesday, 9 July, in the year of our Lord 2024. The scheduled services are as-follows:

• Tuesday: 5:30 PM, Mass, Saint Thomas More, Martyr.
  6:30 PM, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, Evensong.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Mass, Seven Holy Brothers, Martyrs.
• Thursday: 8:00 AM, men's Morning Prayer & Breakfast.
  6:30 PM, Mass, Solemnity of Saint Benedict, Abbot, followed by Soup & Study.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Mass, Saint John Gualbert, Abbot, with Gregorian Canon.
  Immediately following, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: 5:00 PM, Mass, Saint Silas, Martyr.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Mass, Trinity VII.

We are two weeks and two days from the commencement of the annual Convocation of Anglican Churches (CAC) Synod. The Synod will be held in Amherst, Virginia, on the campus of Sweet Briar College. All events, including meals, will be held there. Our lodging is at the Elston Inn, also located at the school.

EVERYONE who can possibly attend should do so. This Synod marks the beginning of a new life in Christ for Saint Matthew's. We have been in the wilderness, and are now come into the Valley of Peace.

Our entrance-into the CAC will rejuvenate both those who were here before us, and we ourselves. Yes, there are issues of administrivia that must be addressed, and that process is already well under-weigh. Some canonical items will be on the agenda for consideration during our approaching sessions. All necessary forms were e-mailed to you previously; they can be sent again, if needed, or hard-copies may be had at the Parish.

God speaks to us in many ways. We have His holy Scriptures, wherein His will for us is directly revealed. We have His holy tradition, those things that He has taught us via revelation through His most Holy Church. We have, perhaps most importantly, His holy Sacraments, the only way, per the words of our Lord Himself, that the Father's saving Grace comes to us. Thus, God communicates, in every sense of that word, with us in many ways.

The only avenue that extends from us to God-ward is prayer. I was reminded last week by one of our faithful of the power of prayer to achieve all things that are in-accord with the Father's designs. A day without prayer is unimaginable to me. I do occasionally worry that my prayer is too informal, more of a running monologue than the classic formats of thanksgiving, petition, etc., all of which latter should be done briefly.

Pray ~ pray to the Father, or to the Son, or to the Holy Ghost, individually; end in the name of Jesus, or that of the most holy Trinity. Pray for yourselves, your family, and all that you may know. Pray for Saint Matthew's, your family in God, and the seat of your faith and worship, that it will reach the unchurched, growing deeper in faith, and greater in numbers. Pray for the Clergy in the Parish, that they do all that they can and should do in-support of you, and of the greater Church, and of the Kingdom. Pray without ceasing,

in His praise,

The Ven. T. L. Crowder, Vicar General

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

‘Weekly Post. Anno Domini 2024 June 29

Beloved of the Lord:

Today is 29 June, in the year of our Lord 2024. The scheduled services are as-follows

• Saturday (today): 5:00 PM, Sung Mass, SS. Peter and Paul, Martyrs; 22nd anniversary of Fr. Crowder's Priestly Ordination.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Mass, Trinity V. Monthly Parish Brunch after the 10:00 Mass.
• Monday: 10:00 AM, Mass, Feast of the Precious Blood.
• Tuesday: 5:30 PM, Mass, Visitation of the BVM.
  6:30 PM, Holy Rosary, Sung Evensong.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Mass, Of the Octave of SS. Peter & Paul.
• Thursday: 10:00 AM, INDEPENDENCE DAY ~ Hilton Village Parade commences; Mass to follow.
  NO OTHER SERVICES TODAY, including Soup & Study.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Mass, S. Vladimir of Russia, King & Confessor, with Gregorian Canon.
  Immediately following, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: 5:00 PM, Mass, Octave Day of SS. Peter & Paul.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 PM, Mass, Trinity VI.

Tomorrow, immediately following the 10:00 Mass, we will will depart the Parish for our monthly Parish Brunch. This month, we'll be dining at the Crab Shack, located at the foot of the James River Bridge, not far from the Parish. Please join us, even if you attend the 8:30 service, in the breaking of the fast.

Independence Day this year falls on Thursday, of this week. We will meet at the the Parish, and depart at 9:45 AM for the staging area, which is just past Warwick Blvd., heading West on Main St. The parade commences at 10:00. This will be our first parade in many years without Pepper, but hopefully Toby will join us, to take up the banner.

This past week, all of you received an e-mail, which had appended to it the registration-form and other documents necessary for the CAC Synod. It will be held in Amherst, Virginia, over the 25th - 27th of July. If you were unable to open or print the attachments, there are hard-copies for your use at the Parish.

Again, I'm urging EVERYONE who has the time to attend the Synod. There is very little actual business to be conducted, but there will be several educational sessions, in-particular one on Church Music, which will end in a concert! As-such, there will be plenty of time for fellowship with all of our brothers and sisters attending from the various regions of the CAC.

The greater Church is entering-into a time of strong change, which will, I believe, continue for some while. Western Orthodoxy has, at long-last, begun seriously to say enough is enough to the corrupting strains that were introduced by the Episcopal Church, and others. Realignments are in-progress; realignments that will, I pray, result ~ in the not too distant future ~ in organic union as a singular Church. This should be our goal, and must be our prayer ~ to order Holy Church Undivided, as it once was, and our Lord intended it to be. I remain

in His praise,

The Ven. T. L. Crowder, Vicar General

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

‘Weekly Post. Anno Domini 2024 June 25

Beloved of the Lord:

It is good to be back! I was at the West Coast for ten days, visiting family and friends. 'Many thanks to Deacon Collins and our Master of Ceremonies, Jim Elsnau, for insuring that the service schedule carried-on whilst I was away. The currently scheduled services are as-follows:

• Tuesday (today): 6:30 PM, Mass, monthly parish Requiem.
• Wednesday: 12:10 PM, Mass, SS. John & Paul, Martyrs.
• Thursday: 6:30 PM, Mass, S. John Fisher, Martyr, followed by Soup & Study.
• Friday: 9:00 AM, Mass, S. Irenaeus, Bishop & Martyr, with Gregorian Canon.
  Immediately following, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
• Saturday: 5:00 PM, Mass, SS. Peter & Paul, Martyrs; Fr. Crowder's Priestly anniversary.
• Sunday: 8:30 & 10:00 AM, Mass, Trinity V, commemorate S. Paul, Apostle & Martyr; monthly Parish Brunch following 10:00 Mass.

The monthly Parish Brunch will follow the 10:00 Mass, this-coming Sunday. We will leave the Parish, and meet nearby, at the Crab Shack, which is at the foot of the James River Bridge. Please join us, even if you attend the 8:30 service ~ come back, and break the fast with us!

I usually employ this space to relate theological, historical, or spiritual topics. However, this week, there are pressing, local matters that affect us all, and must be made-public. Rather than a sermon, these matters were largely presented Sunday, at both services. For those who were not there, here is the gist of what was said.

Several years-ago, after lengthy, numerous, and growing dissatisfaction with the ACC, our Parish, along with others, voted to leave the ACC. Initially, as was the historical precedent with other parishes in these circumstances, we clergy assumed that we would continue as ACC clergy. Without any previous attempt at communication, Bp. Lerow threatened all of us with Deposition, if we did not abandon our Cures. We refused, sought another ecclesial home, and were welcomed by Abp. Thomas Gordon, of the Orthodox Anglican Church.

Things appeared very well, initially. Over time, questions began to arise about the Church leadership, but these were never made public, as the seeming good-will and christian fellowship was enough to cover the concerns that were had. On 23 April, this year, Abp. Gordon, without any conversation-with or preparation-of the greater Church, resigned at 12:07 in the morning. A midnight resignation being extremely unusual at best, and highly suspect, at worst, much-less one that was a complete surprise to every member of the Church, clergy and lay, a firestorm of speculation and questioning was ignited.

Several amongst the clergy thought it best to bring the questions, that had simmered for some time, into the light, at the approaching General Convention. We prepared two motions: one to remove the finances from the control of the Abp., a state of affairs that exists in no other genuine Anglican Church, by electing a lay-member of the Church as Treasurer. The second motion was to nominate Bp. Nalls as a candidate to replace Abp. Gordon, who was clearly intent upon having his nominee as the only candidate, thereby depriving the Church of any sense of an actual election, from amongst a field of qualified clergy. Once he discovered that we intended to bring these questions into the light, for all to see and hear, at the General Convention, and before we'd even had the opportunity to formally present them, Bp. Nalls, myself, Fr. Westcott, Deacon Collins, and the Parishes of S. Matthew's and Church of the Epiphany were all summarily removed from the OAC by Abp. Gordon.

Several other parishes and their clergy left the OAC, when they discovered what had been done to us. Additionally, Abp. Barton of the Convocation of Anglican Churches, when he heard the news, immediately removed his jurisdiction from the OAC. All of the aforementioned have now joined, under the aegis of the CAC, in common-cause to serve the Christ in the Anglican tradition.

The best, however, was yet to come. The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, which left the Episcopal Church years-ago, was also watching these events. Their Bishop, The Right Reverend Ryan Reed, called Bp. Nalls, and over the course of the conversation, suggested that we join-together in serving our Lord. He asked Bp. Nalls to write a Concordat of Inter-communion, which Bp. Nalls did, in one page (text below). This Concordat has now been signed by both parties, and has been made public by the DFW.

To my knowledge, this is the first such Concordat into which the DFW has entered. It is an extraordinary honour to have been asked and accepted as partners with the single largest Anglican Church in the United States. We are now on the greater front of the battle to preserve and promulgate the Anglo-Catholic faith.

Returning to local matters, as a result of the integration of parishes and clergy into the CAC, Abp. Barton asked that I accept the rank of Archdeacon, in the position of Vicar General for the CAC. With all due humility, I accepted. A new Diocese, Diocese of the Epiphany, will be delineated, and will have Bp. Nalls as its Ordinary.

Things are accelerating, and will likely continue to do so. History is beginning to move, and we are at the beginning, I believe, of a rising current in the life of Holy Mother, the Church. The choices we have made, resulting in the path we currently tread, will enable us to swim, if not guide, this wave of history. May Jesus, the Christ, be glorified in all that we are and do. I remain

in His praise,

The Ven. T. L. Crowder, Vicar General

Pastor, Saint Matthew's Parish

Please find below the transcribed concordat followed by a scan of the signed document

Articles of Ecclesiastical Fellowship and Concordat of Communion

WHEREAS the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth and the Convocation of Anglican Churches, adhere to the Old and New Testaments as the revealed Word of God; the Ecumenical Creeds; the Historic episcopate, priesthood and diaconate; and the historic Anglican liturgies, and further adhere to the doctrine, discipline, and worship set forth in the Articles of Religion of 1801, the Chicago (1886), and Lambeth (1888) statements of the Lambeth Quadrilateral and in acknowledgement of the Articles of Ecclesiastical Fellowship known as the Bartonville Agreement (1999); BE IT UNDERSTOOD THAT:

Article I. As evidence of our fellowship in Christ and the shared Standards of Faith existing between the above-named Jurisdictions, a delegation of clergy and laymen may be sent as observers to each other's Synods and/or Conventions.

Article II. Clergy and/or congregations of the above-named Jurisdictions shall not transfer their connection to the other without the mutual assent of the appropriate authority of said Jurisdictions.

Article III. The ecumenical officers of each Jurisdiction pledge to meet at least once a year to discuss ways of establishing a full confederation of traditional Anglican Jurisdictions in the United States.

Article IV. Recognizing they are working together in the same great cause, and on the same basis the above-named Jurisdictions pledge to each other their mutual communion (communio in sacris) cooperation and support by agreeing to foster growing fellowship among their respective congregations through joint youth events, spiritual retreats, charitable initiatives, worship services, and other godly activities.

Article V. Inter-Communion (communio in sacris) has the following three cardinal points:

• a. Each party recognizes the catholicity and independence of the other, and maintains its own.
• b. Each body agrees to admit members of the other to participate in the sacraments.
• c. Communion does not require from either party the acceptance of all doctrinal opinion, sacramental devotion, or liturgical practice characteristic of the other, but implies that each believes the other to hold all the essentials of the Catholic faith

THIS, the 5th Day of June, 2024, being the Feast of St. Boniface, at Fort Worth, Texas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Amherst, Virginia.