Ordination
At 7:00pm on Friday, January 25, 2008 at St. Bartholomew's Anglican Church, Steven Maas was ordained a deacon by Bishop Paul Hewett (Diocese of the Holy Cross).  Click here to see photos from Deacon Steve's ordination.
 

by Alicia Geromel  (May, 2006)

May is the merriest month of all the year, as the old song says, and the people of St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church had good reason to be merry on the sixth of May this year.  For on that Saturday evening, after a rousing high mass, and a delightful dinner, they burned the mortgage on their property.  For six years, the people of ‘St. Bart’s’ had given spaghetti dinners and held raffles, gathered pennies, held bazaars, and, above all, made special pledges to raise the money to buy back their building from the Diocese of Eastern Michigan. 

This was the second time that St. Bartholomew’s of Swartz Creek, Michigan had paid for its building.  The first time was in paying back the Barth Trust, administered by St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, after they had actually built the original building (and, later, an addition).  Then why did they have to buy their own building again?  Thanks to Corporate Sole, a provision of Episcopal canon which goes back to 1973, an Episcopal congregation does not own its own property.  No matter who buys and pays for it, the diocese where that church is located has the title. 

One would think that the parishioners of St. Bartholomew’s would have been both angry and discouraged by the burden of having to pay for their building all over again.  Not a bit of it!  They were happy to be able to leave the diocese on any terms, and delighted to have a chance to retain their own property.  After all, they had been told six years ago that if they remained Episcopalians, they could not withhold obedience to the doctrines and canons of the Episcopal Church, even if those doctrines or canons came into conflict with Scripture.  Furthermore, they had been invited to leave by the Standing Committee of the diocese, which apparently thought such a threat would cow them into submission. On the contrary, they were only too happy to oblige. 

In addition, on this Saturday in May, after six years of hard work, these former-Episcopalians were full of gratitude.  They have the distinction of being the only FIFNA parish in the nation which has been able to leave the Episcopal Church and retain its building and grounds.  All around them are congregations who have been forced to leave without anything and are now meeting in borrowed buildings.  Then again, there are other congregations who remain uneasily within the Episcopal ‘fold’, miserably aware that, had they the legal right to their buildings, they would have been gone a long time ago. 

‘Non Nobis Domine’ is known as the song of the Knights Templar, crusading knights who maintained ‘hospitals’, resting places or inns for pilgrims, along the route to the Holy Land.  The words are ‘Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam’.  (Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Thy name be the glory.)  It was sung, fitting enough, along with the Te Deum, after the Battle of Agincourt in Shakespeare’s Henry V, for Good King Harry believed that it was none other than God Himself who had given the weary, ill and battered English army of 2000, victory over a superior French force of ten times that number.  Yes, we were taught in school that the mighty English longbow took pride of place, but that is not what Henry thought. 

‘Non Nobis Domine’ was sung in a round by St. Bartholomew’s choir before the gospel was read and Fr. Gene Geromel made it the centerpiece of his sermon.  Despite the hard work and dedication of a small, devout congregation, he said, despite the help and support of many generous friends, the true hero of the day was Christ, who had opened the way for them to leave an apostate diocese and had given them, a low- to middle-class congregation of slender means, the strength to accomplish the daunting task of raising $345,000  (including interest).  He quoted Henry’s words, as penned by Shakespeare,  “Come, go we in procession to the village; and be it death proclaimed through our host to boast of this, or take that praise from God which is his only.”

Fr. Geromel also observed that he did not entirely understand why this small congregation of fifty pledging units had been given such grace or what God intends that they should do with this gift, but reminded the people that God does, indeed, have a plan for them and that it is their job to try to discern what that is.

Over a hundred and forty people, visiting priests, friends of the parish, infants, children, adults and elderly, some of whom had been present when the parish was first formed, were present and received communion.  After the reading of the ‘last Gospel’ the first chapter of John, regularly said after mass at St. Bart’s for the protection of our troops and the safety of our nation, the assembly repaired to the parish hall for Fr. Geromel’s chicken cacciatore and Italian salad, along with goodies and a cake baked in the shape of the church.

Many quips were exchanged that the roof of the edible church had stayed on better than the actual roof, which, during the month of March, had been partially ripped away by three straight days of fifty-mile-an-hour wind gusts.  This means another fund-raising task ahead for these sturdy Anglicans, but the prospect did not dim their high spirits whatsoever.  They seemed secure in the knowledge that God would crown their efforts with success so long as they are faithful. 

After the burning of the mortgage, Old Hundredth was sung with gusto to acknowledge God’s hand in this happy day.  The people of St. Bartholomew’s also took advantage of this joyous event to honor Fr. Geromel for his 32 years in the priesthood and his 22 years of service to this congregation.  There was much laughter and many tears ‘which are the very wine of blessedness’ (Tolkien, not Shakespeare).  At sunset, a solitary purple balloon, one of the many which decorated the tables at dinner, soared into the still, blue sky over a gold and green landscape, let loose by the hand of a child.

(Alicia Geromel is the wife of Fr. Gene Geromel.)