Brother Fire

I love being Catholic. I especially love being a progressive, Independent Catholic. I'm at a synod meeting of our li'l denomination (the United American Catholic Church) and I am so proud of the work that we do. I am reading a couple of different books that talk about what many hate about church -- specifically about the mixed message of churches who talk about mission but don't DO mission. We are a church of doers! My hope is that I can plant, build and grow a church of doers. By the way, the picture above is (from left to right): Bishop Anthony Hash, Father Christopher Ross, myself and Father Tom Shortell.

As I study for the priesthood and discern my future ministry, I can't help but wonder: will I be able to effectively harness my calling toward building a missional church in the independent sacramental movement? I feel called to build a church who's mission is first and foremost consistent with the great commission (Matthew 28: 18-20) and seeks to bring the Gospel to all the Nations; a church that puts faith in action, not one that passively waits for the masses to enter her doors. Often the term 'missional church' is described vaguely. I like the way Mark Powell describes it in this video. Can an ISM church truly be a missional church? I think so. Peace.

Many of the Independent Sacramental Movement (ISM) email groups & blogs have been pretty quiet. I was thinking the other day how it’s been a long time since there has been any talk of unity. But sure enough, it seems that the talk has restarted again. For those of you who are new to the ISM, you may not know that the I ndependent Sacramental Movement (a.k.a. Old Catholicism, Autocephalous Church Movement, Independent Catholicism, Independent Orthodoxy, etc.) in North America is not a church denomination, but rather a group of small churches that are loosely linked by apostolic succession and sacramental theology. While the churches are diverse and indeed independent of each other, most of its clergy have longed for some form of unity with their catholic sisters and brothers. Many have tried to ‘legislate’ unity by forming associations and councils but have failed miserably. It is usually early in the process of forming these associations that theological and ideologica...

Recently a number of bloggers wrote about "Church & Money" -- a SynchroBlog for November (perhaps I will join next month). As I write this, I am about to head off to work for the day -- a 'secular' job with Catholic Charities. When I finish my day developing housing for homeless people living with disabilities, I will have about an hour and a half to have some supper and to commute to my second job selling electronics at a popular retailer. As I prepare to enter ministry, I wonder how I will be able to answer God's call while keeping my rent paid and dinner on the table. Developing a new church is no doubt a challenge. I know that it will require a tremendous amount of work and faith on my part. I also know that I can not do it alone. I will need to start by helping others to build their faith and then harness that faith to do the things that need to be done to build a community. I know that building a church (I'm not necessarily talking about a b...

Dear friends, Finally! I’m so humbled at the prospect of this next step on my path to the priesthood. Please pray for me on December 1st that God bless me in my new ministry. Peace. In the name of +God the Creator, +God the Son, and +God the Holy Spirit. Amen. With praise, glory and thanksgiving to Almighty God the United American Catholic Church joyfully announces the ordination of Donald Ernest Francis Pratt & Antoinette Neally to the Sacred Order of the Diaconate through the laying on of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit by His Excellency Anthony Francis Wayne Hash Archbishop of the United American Catholic Church Saturday, December 1, 2007 At 2:00 St. Joan of Arc United American Catholic Church 2520 Holland Rd, Virginia Beach, VA (Christ Episcopal Church) Reception to follow

It's so hard to keep track of all the denominations and dioceses of the independent sacramental movement. It's good to see that Saint Columba Press is looking to update and publish a directory that's supposed to come out sometime early next year. You can get information about the directory or let them know about your denomination at: http://www.autoceph alous.net/ Peace.

I often assume that most folks are not aware of the independent sacramental movement, so I was startled when I found out that a colleague of mine at Catholic Charities was very familiar with it. She is the wife of an Episcopal priest and it was very validating that in our conversation about church and clergy that we discovered that many of the 'pitfalls' that can be found in the ISM, are also found in the Episcopal church. For example, I mentioned that sometimes it is difficult to feel a sense of legitimacy when there are bishops & other clergy who 'play church' or behave badly. She commented that the ISM isn't the only institution with leaders who behave badly. On the other hand, we got to talk about some clergy who have touched our lives and who we admire. It was a nice conversation. It seems that everytime that I feel isolated in this ministry, I have an experience like this that helps to feel not-so-alone. Peace.