The Practical Parson

 Recently, a well known Anglican conservative commentator and clergyman named Calvin Robinson was dismissed from his position within the Anglican Catholic Church, after his appearance at the National Pro-Life Summit in Washington, DC.  He wasn't dismissed for attending the summit or even for speaking at the same; but rather for a (for him) unavoidable incident of public trolling those who disagree with his positions on things.  First and foremost, the action in an of itself was not terribly horrible; a simple mocking replication of Elon Musk's "my heart goes out to you" gesture from the night of President Trump's inauguration: which prompted accusations of "Nazi salute", despite it being a quite common gesture before large audiences.  The gesture of placing your hand on your heart and then extending it out towards the assembly is a widespread gesture; and has even been used by politicians on the Democratic side, from Hillary Clinton to Tim Walz, Kamala H...

 Most Sacramental Christians in the English Speaking world have by this point in time heard of the case of Father Philip Johnson from the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina.  Last year, Fr. Philip was publicly accused and denounced for allegedly "violating the sixth commandment" with the mother superior of the Arlington Carmelite convent in Texas.  Bishop Olson of the Diocese of Fort Worth was vehement in his public pronouncements of Fr. Philip's guilt, despite claiming the investigation was still ongoing; and did all in his power to destroy both the career and reputation of a brother priest in the church of God.   Now that a year has passed, there is good news for Fr. Philip and the church as a whole.  Despite Olson the Odious' best attempts to destroy him, the Diocese of Raleigh, NC has determined that he is completely and utterly innocent of ANY and ALL the accusations made against him by the bishop of Fort Worth (as of June 25, 2024).  Though Fr. P...

 In recent decades, more so since about 2007; there has been an increasing demand from people in the world for all churches to open up the ministry to women instead of just men.  While there are some denominations where such a shift would not matter greatly, as they are focused primarily on the written word instead of any actual service; to make such a demand of the sacramental priesthood is a problem which cannot be simply overcome by political ideology or social justice cause.  To put it bluntly, women cannot be priests.   Having nailed the colors to the mast with that statement, I will elaborate: From the beginnings of the Christian Church, the services and means of worship were never intended to be divorced from their Jewish origins.  To this day, within traditional sacramental worship, there are elements of the service which correlate to ancient Jewish temple practices; from the manner in which the priest holds his hands in prayer, to the way in which ...

For those of you who may be unaware, in recent months; the Roman Catholic Bishop of Fort Worth, Texas has been embroiled in legal wrangling with the Carmelite Sisters of Arlington, Texas,  over purported accusations of broken vows.   The aforementioned Bishop has leveled allegations that the mother superior of the Carmel violated her vows of Chastity and the sixth commandment (thou shalt not commit adultery) with a priest.  A very serious accusation it would be, and one that should be handled seriously; if not for one simple fact in the case: the entirety of the case leveled against this poor, sick nun, is based on the one-sided accusations of the Bishop's own diocesan vicar.  He claims that the Reverend Mother told him (outside of confession, else he would NEVER spread it, yeah right) on multiple occasions that she had violated the vow and even on one occasion thought she might be pregnant; despite the recording of their examination of her revealing that the pr...

Over the past 4 or 5 years, I have sat back from my chapel porch and watched the world go by; as it is wont to do.  I have watched flowers grow, the trees in my garden sprout new branches and fruit, the grapes in my small vineyard grow and produce their first batch of wine.  I have also watched other things around the churchyard which have needed intervention- weeds which needed pulling, peeling paint which needed re-touching, stains on chapel carpeting which needed cleaning.  There has been much that has gone on here, though most of it only noticeable to my own eye as the one who is caretaker of it.  In this, I feel a connection with the eternal Father: who watches over the whole of creation like the great gardener and caretaker of the universe which He is, and I begin to understand the problems of this world through an empathetic place with our Lord. Our world today demands ever-increasing progress: Progress for "rights", progress for technology, progress for moral...

We preach Grace when we have offended. We preach repentance when we have sinned. We preach forgiveness when we have erred. We preach salvation when we have strayed. We preach acceptance when we have excluded others. We preach the Love of God while keeping it from others. We preach the truth of the Gospels while we hide it from the world. We preach the presence of Christ while denying others to it. We preach many things in our lives as Christians, as Priests, as Ministers; but do we do so honestly? The truth is nothing; unless it can change both the recipient, as well as he who carries it. -The Practical Parson