Ministry Sunday 2002

*Preached by John R. Mabry at Grace North Church December 15, 2002.*

If you had told me, when I was a little boy, that I would grow up to be a Catholic priest, I'm not sure what I would have done. Probably I would have laughed at you, I may have been intrigued, most probably I would have been running scared from then on out, becoming even more of an ardent evangelical than I was. Anything to escape that terrible, terrible fate.

After all, the Catholic part of it was bad enough as it is. Comedian Mike Warnke used to say that "when Catholics died, they just put them in a chute in the basement, and send them straight off to Hell; do not pass 'go', do not collect $200." I certainly grew up believing that. And to be a priest-well, the Bible says that anyone who leads one of God's little one's astray would be better to have a millstone tied around their necks and cast into the ocean. Call it the "cement clerical collar." That's what you do to Catholic priests.

So imagine my parents' surprise when I called them in Alaska to announce that I was going to be ordained a priest. Phone silence has never been so expensive. I could barely believe it myself when I walked down that aisle in procession at St. John's-in-Montclair Episcopal church nearly twelve years ago. There I knelt before an Old Catholic bishop as he did whatever mojo bishops do to turn unsuspecting laypeople into universally dreaded clergy.

But I can't complain. I have had a very fulfilling and very busy ministry ever since. I have spent ten years serving as chaplain in Alzheimer's units and convalescent hospitals, and my ministry here at Grace North Church has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. But it is always difficult to explain to people exactly what variety of priest I am.

Usually, when I reveal my vocation as a priest, someone will make a crack about celibacy. "Oh, I'm not a Roman Catholic priest," I hasten to correct them. "Rome is the only catholic church in the world that demands their priests be celibate. I'm an Old Catholic priest."

Then they usually turn their heads sideways the way my dog does when I get silly and dance for her in my pajamas. "Old Catholic?" They say, "You don't look old to me." Unfortunately, I won't be hearing THAT stock response for too many more years.

"Yes," I tell them, "We separated from Rome about 300 years ago." This usually exhausts their interest in such matters, but sometimes their curiosity is peeked, and I end up giving them the thumbnail history of Old Catholicism. It struck me as I began reviewing my feelings about the ordained ministry this week, that I have never told YOU the story of Old Catholicism. And since our parish is, more or less, indicative of the Old Catholic ideal, and due to my ministry here, our fate has become bound up in this obscure Christian tradition, it might be a good idea to explore it.

After all, we have explored the two poles of our birth, Congregationalism and Anglicanism in great depth. But, as an independent catholic parish, there is much about Old Catholicism that it seems we are growing into. This is especially exciting as many other Old Catholics have written and called me to see what we are doing here at Grace. They are interested in adapting the congregational catholic model to their own communities, and thus it seems to me that not only does Old Catholicism influence us, but that Grace North Church may have a role to play in the history of Old Catholicism as well.

So, put on your history student hats, 'cause here goes:
The Utrecht chapter of the Roman Catholic church in Holland had, sometime
in the late middle ages, been granted the privilege of electing their
own bishops, quite a unique arrangement. Around the year 1670, their
bishop died, and a new one was elected. The paperwork was sent to Rome to
be rubber-stamped (or the 17th century equivalent). But the pope had
died, and the new pope said, "Hey, nobody else gets to do this, why
should you?" So he rejected their bishop, and appointed one of his own.
The Utrecht chapter rejected the appointee, and during the stalemate the
see remained vacant for 50 years.

At that time, Archbishop Varlet was on his way from Montreal to his new
see in Babylon (believe it or not, they STILL called it that). He stopped in Utrecht overnight, and was approached by the catholic faithful, who told him, "We haven't had a bishop for 50 years, and have 600 people here who need to
be confirmed. Please do your episcopal duty." He did, and confirmed them.
He then went on to his new see.

Unfortunately, Rome was extremely displeased with this action, and
recalled him. Varlet stopped again overnight in Utrecht, and was again
approached by the faithful, who said, "Look they're going to take
everything away from you. Why don't you stay here, and be our bishop?" He
agreed, and in 1724 the Utrecht chapter schismed itself from Rome, with a valid
Roman Catholic bishop at its head.

The little church spread throughout Holland, and remained a small, national
Catholic church in the Netherlands (kind of like the national Orthodox
Churches, such as the Greek Orthodox or the Russian Orthodox churches)
and it remained so for about 150 years. Then, another fateful event occurred.
In 1870 the pope called the first Vatican council.
As a result of this council, several surprising pronouncements emerged
from Rome, such as the doctrine of papal infallibility and the doctrines
of the immaculate conception and assumption of Mary.

Several theologians in Germanic countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland,
etc.) were very upset by these "changes" in the eternal faith, and so
they decided to hold to the "old" catholic beliefs prior to Vatican I.
They petitioned the Old Catholic archbishop of Utrecht to send them
bishops, and the Old Catholic movement spread across Europe.

The Roman Catholic church regards Old Catholic orders and sacraments
"valid but illicit", and allows their communicants to receive sacraments
from Old Catholic clergy only when a Roman Catholic priest is unavailable
(similar to their feelings about Orthodox Christians).

In an interesting sidenote, Rome declared Anglican orders null and void.
Thus, partly to offset Roman objections to their validity, and partly to assuage their own insecurity about the integrity of their succession, the Church of
England entered into full communion with the Old Catholics in 1932. Since
then there has been an Old Catholic bishop assisting at every
Anglican consecration of bishops up to the present time. Thus the Church
of England has "re-absorbed" the valid succession thanks to their Dutch
friends.

In the early 20th century, a misguided Old Catholic mission to England
resulted in several Theosophists at the head of the mission (and in
possession of the apostolic succession). This little band of theosophical
catholics broke official ties to Utrecht and dubbed themselves The
Liberal Catholic Church. Through the wide influence of the Theosophical
Society at the time, their church spread to India, Australia, and
America. The Liberal Catholic Church is still the largest body that is of
the Old Catholic succession, though not part of the worldwide Old
Catholic Communion. If you would like to visit a Liberal Catholic service, you need only come here on Saturdays, as St. Raphael's Liberal Catholic Church holds its weekly mass in our sanctuary at 10am.

Well, schism happens (THAT's a bumper sticker I have to make someday), and the Liberal Catholics and their offspring seemed to do nothing but multiply and
divide for the better part of a century. There are now over 1000 bishops
of the Old Catholic succession in the USA alone. Many form small
"denominations" with other bishops, each have about 5-20 priests and
deacons "under" them. There are few church buildings but many house churches. Also, many "independent" catholic clergy (as we often generically call ourselves) do a lot of good work as hospital chaplains.

Only one body in the USA is in communion with Utrecht (the Polish
National Catholic Church), although many are in dialogue. The rest of us
serve in the complete absence of any hierarchical structure beyond our
immediate bishop. Talk about herding cats! Since there is no authority
above the local bishop, there is an amazing diversity of worship styles
and theologies, with many churches "blending" with other traditions, such
as the "Friends Catholic Communion" (Catholic Quakers) or The White Robed
Monks of St. Benedict (Catholic Zen Buddhists). There are arch-conservative Old Catholics who do the Mass in Latin, and extremely liberal ones who ordain women, gays and lesbians, and of course, everything in between. There are a lot of crazy people in this movement, but also a lot of really grounded, dedicated ministers who just didn't "fit in" with the more "normal" denominations. I like to think I'm one of THEM.

"How large is the Old Catholic movement?" you might ask. Well, there are currently approximately 10,000 Old Catholics in Holland, 10,000
each in Switzerland and Austria, 40,000 in Germany, and about the same
number in the USA. I have no idea the count in Australia. So, there are
about 120,000 Christians of Old Catholic origin in the world today, give
or take a thousand or so.

Old Catholicism may be the best-kept secret in Christendom, but with 120,000 communicants, we are not an insignificant number. Rome certainly doesn't think so either, as they have been trying to get the Old Catholics back under their wing for a hundred years now, to no avail. Old Catholics give witness to the world that catholicism and local autonomy are not mutually exclusive. It is a witness that inspires me, and I am personally deeply grateful to this arcane tradition, for it has given even someone as weird as me a place to serve, a place to call home.

It is for this reason that when I planned my vacation this autumn, I decided to include a pilgrimage to Utrecht, Holland. Utrecht is the Old Catholic Vatican City, and St. Gertrude's Cathedral, our St. Peter's.

I was very moved to enter St. Gertrude's Cathedral. It is one of the most splendid churches I have ever visited, a cathedral worthy to be the archiepiscopal see of a denomination. The inside is covered by blue-green mosaics, with a grand high altar and yes, even a tiny lady chapel no larger than our own.

I was privileged to speak with the priest there for about a half hour. At the end of our conversation, he gave me the email address of the archbishop of Utrecht, and the thought of interviewing our "pope" seemed irresistible. My partner in crime and travelling companion Flavio videotaped our visit, and slowly a plan began to hatch for us. Why not return next year, interview the Archbishop of Utrecht, and make a documentary on the history of Old Catholicism? Furthermore, why not include in our documentary the saga of Grace North Church, and the unique ways in which we are living out the Old Catholic ideal of local autonomy paired with heart-felt catholic liturgy?

It is a compelling story that not very many people have ever heard. And in these times of increasing suspicion of clergy and crumbling hierarchical structures, I believe that Old Catholicism in general and Grace North Church in particular have an important example to set for the world. I am proud of what we have done here, and I want the world to know about it, because I think the creative leaps we have made and the community we are can offer the church a better way.

A way in which the hierarchy is inverted, where "the church" is not synonymous with "the clergy," and, in fact, where laypeople are seen as the real ministers. For truly it is you that are on the front lines. It is you that takes the grace you receive at this table into the real world. It is you who are called to be Jesus to those you work with, those you teach, those you manage, those you serve. And it is you who ARE the church, who make the decisions about what we do and where we go, not the clergy. The job of deacons and priests in our system is very simply to minister to you so that you can minister to the world. So Richard and I teach, we preach, we counsel and visit the sick, and that is all.

And bishops in our system? Richard and I need someone to minister to US, too. In our system here, a bishop has no control over a parish, but only serves as pastor to the pastors. A bishop may come at the invitation of the community for confirmation or ordination, but that is where the association ends, unless the bishop also wants to be a parishioner. It is a radically different system, and because it works, because it is just, because it models the surrender of power that Jesus demands of us, it is a gift that we have to offer the world.

So I invite you to daydream with me about how to share our story with the world, possibly through the making of a small independent film. Of course, any suggestions, donations, photography tips, or frequent flyer miles will be welcome. It is a part of our story, and we are a part of it as well. As I spun around, gazing at the mosaic ceiling of St. Gertrude's Cathedral, I felt a lump of pride swell in my throat. This history belongs to me. It belongs to us. And the worldshould know about it, don't you think? Let us pray

God of miraculous serendipity, God of the small and the weird, we gather here as faithful but odd members of the one holy, catholic and apostolic church. When Jesus came, he told us that the Sabbath was instituted to serve humankind, it is not humans who must serve the Sabbath. Just so, it is the church that must seek to serve, not to be served. Inspire us, O God, to continue to be true to the light you have placed within us, the reason you have gifted us with, and the tradition that guides us. Help us to bear witness to the great things you are doing in our midst. Bless us, and help us to be a blessing to those we meet. For we ask this in the name of the one who surrendered his power, and inspired a small band of friends to do the same, and in so doing, changed the world, even Jesus Christ. Amen.