Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Church of England faithful left to fend for themselves

Members of the congregation at St Michael and All Angels parish church in Croydon, south London, don’t ask for much. A decent sermon, perhaps a few rousing hymns; clean pews; a tidy garden at the back; someone to help with Sunday school. 

But this month, they need something rather more important: a new vicar, to replace the one who converted to Catholicism and took 69 of his flock with him to a church up the road.

A “Parish priest: vacant” sign now stands outside the towering red-brick church behind West Croydon train station. Seven weeks ago, it housed 100 parishioners and a vicar who had served there for 16 years.

Today, St Michael’s has less than half its original congregation, after the Rev Donald Minchew quit his post and was received into the Catholic faith at St Mary’s, 500 yards away.

This extraordinary leap of faith was prompted by the Rev Minchew’s decision to join the Ordinariate, a structure within the Roman Catholic Church that allows Anglicans to enter into full communion while retaining some of their C of E heritage.

The practice started last January, when three former Anglican bishops were ordained as Catholic priests, following a decree from Pope Benedict XVI to heal division between the faiths. Since then, dissatisfaction with aspects of Anglican doctrine – including the Church’s attitude towards homosexuality and its willingness to consider female bishops – has led hundreds to take up the offer of conversion.
The Rev Minchew’s reasons for leaving St Michael’s were rooted in his doubts about the Anglican faith. “In the Church of England, you don’t know what the Church believes from one synod to the next,” he said. “I think there is great comfort in the Catholic church: you know what you believe and what the Church teaches.”

But what of those he left behind?

St Michael’s is one of many Anglican parishes for which the Ordinariate has meant empty pews, an interregnum and a gaping hole in church life for the congregation.
On a rainy day nearly two months after the Rev Minchew’s final service at St Michael’s, the church is eerily quiet. A trickle of passers-by enters through the heavy wooden doors that lead off a side street bustling with shoppers.

Inside, stained-glass windows and thick stone walls mute the noise from traffic. A single candle, lit under the nave by the altar, flickers as wind blows through the draughty building.
“We’ve had the heating off for a few days so it’s freezing in here,” says an apologetic Michael Thompson, the church warden.

“It’ll take a while to warm up because there aren’t many people to keep the heat in.” Mr Thompson, who was appointed after his predecessor followed the vicar out of St Michael’s, was initially reluctant to talk about the parish’s loss. Now, ready to discuss the future of his church, there are a few things he wants to set straight.

“Reports about the number of people who left don’t tally with what we’ve seen,” he says. “Last Sunday, we had no choir, but there were still 63 in the congregation. On Easter Sunday, we had 112. Certainly, attendance is down but only by a small margin. We are careful not to assume that absent parishioners have moved to St Mary’s – they may just be on a long holiday.”

Holidays aside, St Michael’s lost many parishioners to the Ordinariate, including a church warden, two deputies and the parish administrator.

They decided to convert after the Rev Minchew announced his departure last November, without – Mr Thompson insists – discussing it with other church members.

“He asked everyone to come to our main mass at 11am on Advent Sunday, when he announced it from the pulpit. I think one or two saw it coming, but others were surprised.”

Since their vicar left, the parishioners have strived to make church life as normal as possible.

Visiting clergy, including a retired vicar from Lewisham, have led Sunday mass, while members of the congregation have filled vacant roles on the parish council.

“The two aims were to maintain the services and keep the church open during the day, both of which we’ve done,” says Mr Thompson. “It’s miraculous what you can achieve when everybody comes together.”

The move from St Michael’s to the Ordinariate was the largest from a single church so far, but not unusual. Despite condemnation from Anglican opponents – Dr Giles Fraser, former canon chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral, described it as “predatory”– the Ordinariate has proven effective.

Statistics released by the Catholic Church in February show a membership of around 1,200, including a “second wave” of 250 conversions at Easter, the traditional time for entering the faith.

In Britain, Ordinariate groups exist in just over half the 22 dioceses in England and Wales, and the practice has garnered support in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Up to 70 former members of the Anglican clergy have been – or are waiting to be – ordained into the faith. Some Church of England sceptics worry that when the General Synod debates the issue of consecrating female bishops in July, a vote in favour may encourage further moves to the Catholic faith.

St Barnabas church in Tunbridge Wells had a similar experience to St Michael’s just over 13 months ago.

Last March, Father Ed Tomlinson became one of the first Anglican priests to join the Ordinariate, moving to a Catholic church in the nearby village of Pembury. Almost 60 members of the congregation converted with him, leaving the small parish devastated by their loss.

“It was horrific,” recalls St Barnabas church warden Christine Avery. “A lot of people felt hurt and betrayed. We still see those who left but it’s not the same. Now, I suppose people are getting used to it and trying to look to the future, but we still don’t have a vicar.”

The Venerable Granville Gibson, acting pastor at St James the Great in Darlington, says many parishioners felt the same way when their vicar, Father Ian Grieves, converted to Catholicism in February.

The congregation was sliced in half when 55 members joined him, leaving “a feeling of dismay, hurt and anxiety” for many.

“Some people weren’t happy with the move,” he says. “They felt that what would be left behind wouldn’t be viable as a parish.”

Against the odds, both St Barnabas and St James have managed to sustain church life since their vicars joined the Ordinariate.

“At the beginning, we had no church council, so the remaining congregation met over coffee after Sunday mass to make decisions,” says Mr Gibson. “Leadership has begun to emerge. People are discovering talents they never knew they had. Groups turn up to polish the candlesticks and do the gardening. From a difficult beginning, it’s been wonderful.”

So what hope for St Michael’s?

For now, Mr Thompson says parishioners are trying to put the move to the Ordinariate out of their minds.

“It sounds harsh, but our focus is on the life and work of St Michael’s. We wish them well and they have our blessing, but it’s in the past now. Hopefully, we will have a new vicar by next Easter and that will help move things forward for those who stayed.”

Just around the corner stands St Mary’s Catholic church, its grey slate roof visible between the spires of St Michael’s. In June, the Rev Minchew will be ordained there as a priest, taking charge of a congregation of about 2,000 people. As they set about rebuilding their place of worship, does the proximity of the two churches make life difficult for his former parishioners?

“It means we’re more likely to bump into him on the street,” admits Mr Thompson. “But that’s no bad thing – I’m sure any of us would be very friendly if we did. Father Donald was a lively character and when he left it was very quiet around here. He’s welcome to pop in for a cup of coffee or a service any time he likes.”

He smiles.

“Irrespective of what has happened, we do miss him being around.”