Anglican Priests Who Invoke Mary. By Uncle Monty.

Anglican Priests Who Invoke Mary.
Story and Photos By Uncle Monty.
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Adherents of traditional Catholicity are not just to be

found within the Roman Church, but also within the

English Church. Such English adherents are called

Anglo-Catholics or Anglican-Catholics. While I am myself

steeped in Low Church Anglican Protestantism, I have a

growing respect for what is called “High Church English

Catholicism.” Incidentally, "High Church" doesn’t mean socially
high class per se, but rather it means the deployment of highly

religious Catholic ritual and symbolism as opposed to Low Church
deritualized and plain protestant ceremonies. And, "Low Church"

doesn’t mean socially low class, either. All too many outside the

church confuse High and Low Church with class strata and

economic status. Such is most misleading.
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However, what is not misleading is to come face-to-face
with dozens upon dozens of devout Anglican-Catholics

like I recently did at the 2oo8 National Festival of the

Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament (CBS).
It was a sight and experience to behold. In some ways
it seemed to me to be more Catholic than Catholic.
Those ordained Anglican priests who were present at CBS
were to me much like Roman Catholic priests in all but name.
Certainly their Roman vestments and their Roman religious
ritual hardly echoed plain old Anglicanism to me. Of course,
the beauty of Historic Anglicanism has always been to ac-
knowledge both its character of Protestantism and Catholicism
side by side and to let it stand at various degrees of affirmation
throughout the ecclesiastical history of the Church of England.
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Without delving deeply here into the issues of Anglican
Catholicism, I thought it best instead to simply present a few
of my images of those so present at the 2oo8 National Festival
of CBS. Thus, I present just seven images here that show

some of the individuals and character of the Confraternity
gathering that was a significant moment in this year’s Church
events even with alot less prior publicity and media fanfare

than my earlier presence at such major events as 354th

Festival Service of the Sons of the Clergy at St. Paul's

Cathedral and before that at Archbishop Rowan Williams’

extraordinary Lecture on Sharia Law at The Royal Courts

of Justice.

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I shall, moreover, attend the most important English

Church event of this year in July when I shall be at The

Lambeth Conference with my eyes, ears, and cameras to

encounter all that is religiously and fraternally distilled

there. But for now, I present just seven images of the

indviduals and character of the Confraternity that I

witnessed with due humble reverence and

contained quiet pleasure ...
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The Superior-General of the Confraternity
is 41 year old Anglican cleric Rev’d Father
Christopher Pearson, SSC, who is shown above.
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At age 63, The Venerable Howard Levett
is a popular Anglican priest among devout
Anglican-Catholics. He is the Vicar of the 1836-
founded Parish of S. Alban The Martyr.
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Anglican Sister Anne Williams was the Homilist
at the National Festival of CBS. She and I thought
it rather funny that she was mistakenly described
as a Catholic nun by the national news media when
she was engaged in conversation with Archbishop
Rowan Williams at Westminster Abbey. Some news
reporter automatically assumed she was a nun
with her title of sister of the old protestant Church
Army and not of the Catholic Church. The Anglican
Church has a long history of religious sisterhood and
devotion under their specific church orders and rule.
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For a moment, I almost thought the Rev’d Father
Paul Gibbons, J.P. was of Catholic Cardinality by
the manner of his traditional dress. He is, in fact,
The Anglican Vicar of Maidenhead at age 71.
“Bravo, bravo …,” I said to myself upon having
now met him and then photographing him.
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To have captured this image in post-modern
Britain was for me a lovely and telling moment just
as the Procession of the Blessed Sacrament was about
to get under way on the cold, secular, and crime ridden
streets of the modern and anti-Christian British
capital of today.
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Mr. John Dilkes represents the best of Church Vergers
and Sacristans within the Anglican-Catholic tradition.
I am privileged, too, to call him among one of my
many Anglican and spiritual friends.
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As for attending the National Festival of CBS, it
was spiritually and socially quite uplifting for those
so present and for me. The Procession of the Blessed
Sacament was a religious event all by itself and in-
deed a very worthy one for all who believe on Him.
Yet, my lasting impression of the Confraternity was
of those marvellous and individualistic Anglican
priests that I met and photographed who first in-
voke Mary in their religious belief and utterance that
seems to me to be far above and beyond the realm of
their Church of England calling to which they are so
rightly ordained.

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Religious sincerity and spiritual expression should,

after all, always transcend the doctrinal parameters

of denominational affiliation and formal membership

of the individual believer. And to come to think of it,

perhaps The Confraternity is a classic religious example

of just that. In any event, I saw Anglican priests who
invoke Mary day in and day out. And, they don’t shy

away from that in any way. So praised is Mary then

by them and by those of The Confraternity of the

Blessed Sacrament.
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Faithfully, Uncle Monty.
+The Feast of Weeks, 2oo8.

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From: SrAnneCA@aol.com

To: thebiggerissue@k.st
Subject: Re: you're in the news!!
Date: Sun 06/15/08 11:46 AM

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Hi again Monty
ignore my last email - I have woken up and

found your article. It has been a busy fortnight.
You're right I did find it interesting

Love and prayers Sister Anne

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