| March 31, 2006
Dear Friends and Members of the St.
Thomas More Society,
Enclosed with this letter you will find two documents. I will discuss
first the calendar. Number one, please note that the time of the
Anglican Use Mass each week has been changed, beginning Easter Sunday.
With the assent of Msgr. Feldcamp the Board decided two weeks ago, at
the urging of Bishop Dougherty and after having consulted our
membership, to move the time of the Mass from 5PM to 1PM. We
know that this will be more convenient for many of our members, but we
anticipate that it will be better as well for the visitors who wish to
experience the beauty of the Anglican Use Sacred Liturgy. The 1PM time
also ties the Anglican Use Mass to the other Masses St. Clare offers on
Sunday, at 9AM and 11AM. With the start of the Easter season we take a
new initiative.
Two, Holy Week offers us the opportunity to continue our ‘field trips’
to other Catholic churches that use different rites than the ones with
which we are familiar. You will see on the calendar that we have
planned a visit on Holy Thursday at 7PM to St. Ann Maronite
Catholic Church, 1320 Price Street, in West Scranton. The Mass
celebrated there is Middle Eastern in origin, familiar to most as the
Rite of Lebanese Catholics. Please meet in front of St. Ann Church
at 6:30PM. On Good Friday we will visit the home parish of
Mrs. Robert Harris (Jule), and Mrs. William Harris (Charlotte), SS.
Cyril and Methodius Church, 135 River Avenue in Olyphant. The service
for Good Friday in this Ukrainian Rite Catholic Church begins at 3PM.
Jule and Char tell us that this particular liturgy is quite popular, so
we will meet in the SS. Cyril and Methodius Church at 2:30PM and
claim seats as soon as we get there. As always if you need
directions, call me.
Three, I will be leading a
retreat at St. Gabriel’s Monastery on Wednesday, April 12th.
This event is open to all who wish to attend, but the deadline to
register for it is April 5th. Registration is $20. Make the
check payable to St. Gregory’s Women’s Guild and send to Nancy Curra,
908 South Abington Road, Clarks Summit, PA 18411. For more information
you may call her at 586-9227. I have been asked to speak there about
conversion to Catholicism, and I will also offer a meditation on The
Catholic Church, Unity in Diversity, the Right Way.
We shall also pray the Rosary with a special intention for vocations to
the priesthood, and we will pray the Stations of the Cross, recalling
the steps Christ took on the way to Calvary. Lunch will be provided.
If you have the day free, please come.
Fourth, you will notice there is
no Mass listed on the calendar for the Easter Vigil. I encourage you to
come to St. Clare at 8PM to join in worshiping with our fellow
parishioners on the Feast of the Resurrection. You might have already
known that Mass is at 8PM that day, as all members of the Society who
are members of St. Clare are now on St. Clare’s mailing list. You
should have received your Easter mailing yesterday. Our members will
also soon begin receiving the Catholic Light, the newspaper of
the Diocese of Scranton. These changes are the fruit of our new
financial arrangement with our home parish. Retroactive to January 1,
the Society will annually contribute in the name of each of our member
families the same amount St. Clare receives on average from her other
500 contributing member families. You will not get envelopes from St.
Clare, but you can put your St. Thomas More envelopes in the basket at
any St. Clare Mass.
And now, the second document you received. I have included a
Registration Form for the 2006 Anglican Use Conference in the
hope that you will decide to attend, fill it out and send it to me. The
Conference Schedule is available on the website,
www.stthomasmoresociety.org, but please note an addition to the
attractive list of speakers. Fr. William Stetson will be here to
help us encourage more Episcopal clergymen to take the leap of faith I
have taken with you. He is very knowledgeable about the transition
process from Anglicanism to Catholicism, as he is the Secretary to The
Most Reverend John J. Myers, Archbishop of Newark and the Ecclesiastical
Delegate for the Pastoral Provision. If you want to know more about the
Pastoral Provision, Fr. Stetson is a good man to talk to. The whole
lineup will be featured in an article in the Catholic Light at
the beginning of May, so look for that. For now, though, please begin
to consider seriously coming to the Conference, both to learn more about
‘Conversion to Catholicism’, but also to offer yourself to our guests
who may not have yet made the journey home to Rome. Lastly, think
about whether you might be able to assist our guests. Some have
already asked for lodging, so that they can afford to come. Others will
need transportation. And we will need hands to prepare for, clean up
after, and serve everything to those who are coming to Scranton from
June 4th to June 6th. Call me if you can help in
any way.
Finally, Kristina and I would
like to thank you for your prayers and assistance of late. If you do
not already know, we are expecting our fourth child on or about October
28th. Kristina ran into some difficulties early on, and we
appealed to the Society members for help, so that she could follow her
doctor’s orders and preserve the health of our unborn child. A few of
you brought meals to us, and quite a few more came over to care for
Clara, Eric and Julia, so that I could fulfill my responsibilities as
the Director of the St. Thomas More Society. Even as I write my father
is here helping to occupy the children. All appears to be well now, but
we are taking nothing for granted, cautiously moving back up to speed.
When Kristina is so blessed as to carry this child to term, it will be
due in no small part to your prayers and the willingness of so many from
our community to make sacrifices on our behalf. By your love you will
have helped to bring a life into this world. Again, we thank you,
knowing whatever expression of gratitude we offer will pale in
comparison to the beauty of what you’ve done.
Yours in Christ,
Eric L. Bergman,Director
St. Thomas More Society of St. Clare |
