One of my favorite Bible verses is the 23rd Psalm, “The LORD is my shepherd, ….” It is a source of great comfort when I am low and reassurance when I am feeling uncertain.
I have always found the image of Jesus as the “Good Shepherd” to be so warm and loving, gently guiding his sheep from pasture to pasture in search of safety and sustenance. Today I got a much different glimpse of those who profess to follow in His footsteps view the role.
An article in this morning’s Daily Progress, the Charlottesville, VA paper, reported that Bishop Francis X DiLorenzo (Bishop of the Diocese of Richmond, VA) has told the Church of the Holy Apostles, a blended Roman Catholic/Episcopal parish located in Virginia Beach, that they can no longer worship together as they have for the past thirty years. That’s right, they’ve been sharing the Word of God together and then separating for denominational specific rites of the Eucharist for thirty years!
Following a study begun last November, they are being told that allowing Catholics and non-Catholics to participate in a combined communion liturgy violated Roman Catholic norms. I know the Church moves slowly, but this is a bit extreme.
As long as I can remember the Holy Apostles community has been a haven for inter-faith couples wishing to worship together and share community with each other. Through my years in Virginia Beach, I’ve known several families who attended Holy Apostles because it offered a bridge between the different faith traditions which are so incredibly close in many, many ways. Now they must find a way to separate but maintain their community; a challenging concept wouldn’t you agree?
In his statement, Bishop DiLorenzo stated, “As the shepherd of the Diocese of Richmond, it is my prayerful desire that this ecumenical community at Holy Apostles continues and flourishes.” From my perspective, he seems less of a shepherd and more of a sheep dog nipping at the heels of that community. It seems to me that a real shepherd would have let this unique community alone, to flourish as it has in the past. It is a small parish, with a rather plain facade. Most folks driving up Lynnhaven Parkway probably don’t even know what a remarkable place it is, or sadly, was.
If you’d like more information on the vision the community of Holy Apostles was founded upon, you can visit their website: http://www.ha-arc.com/bhistory.html.
Postscript:
This week’s issue of The Catholic Virginian stated that the investigation into the practices of The Church of the Holy Apostles was prompted by a letter written to the Papal Nuncio for the US by a man from New York who read about the parish in a magazine. Sadly, there do seem to be some “well-meaning” Catholics who deem it their duty to report any kind of what they consider to be irregularities to Church officials. In our previous parish, we had visitors who wrote the Bishop concerning all kinds of things ranging from the lack of kneelers in our church to the recipe of the communion bread. After wrestling with the options available to me, I have decided to pray for these people, that they will learn to see beyond rules and regulations and see the face of God instead.