The Anglican Tradition in the Catholic Church Conference Nov. 15-16 was an extraordinary time of worship, excellent talks and great fellowship.

Kudos to Christopher Mahon and his conference committee for the great job they did in managing everything from amazing music, beautiful prayerful liturgies, the conference booklets, speakers, to the great food.

Thanks to Bishop Steven Lopes, David Warren, Fr. Derek Cross and Fr. Jack Barker for their most interesting talks at the conference. Thanks to Fr. Lee Kenyon who celebrated Mass and Mattins and Evensong. Thanks to organist Matthew Larkin and the excellent choir, and to Peter Mahon for all their hard work in the outstanding music. Thanks to Cardinal Thomas Collins for his hospitality in letting us celebrate our liturgies in his magnificent cathedral. And thanks to the cathedral’s sacristan who helped with all the details that made it wonderful.

We will have a lot more on this conference, the talks, the liturgies in days to come. But first, here’s a link to the Ship of Fool’s Mystery Worshipper’s description of Votive Mass to the Holy Spirit in thanksgiving for Anglicanorum coetibus’ 10th anniversary at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica on Friday evening.

In a nutshell, what was the sermon about? ‘One Church, One Faith, One Lord.’ Ten years ago, the pastor was sitting in the rectory of St John’s Anglican Church in Calgary when the news of the promulgation of Anglicanorum Coetibus was announced. He leapt up and shouted at the top of his lungs to his wife upstairs, ‘He’s done it! He’s finally done it!’ The Monty Python movie Life of Brian asks the question, ‘What have the Romans ever done for us?’ They have given us Anglicanorum Coetibus, inviting us to enter into the full communion of Holy Mother Church, bringing our liturgical and pastoral traditions with us – and, in the case of St John’s in Calgary, bringing an entire former parish and building of the Anglican Church of Canada. They have given us ‘realized ecumenism.’ Which part of the service was like being in heaven? The music was heavenly, especially the descant by the choir on the closing hymn, ‘Love Divine, all loves excelling’ (Hyfrydol). -snip- What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost? There was no opportunity to hang around looking lost. The announcement of the reception with Toronto’s cardinal archbishop had been made, and within seconds of the final chord of the organ postlude, Jean Langlais’ glorious Te Deum, the lights were dimmed and everyone was heading to the reception hall next door. How would you describe the after-service coffee? This was an evening reception, and there was wine, sherry, gin and tonic, soft drinks, mixed nuts, chips and dip, and an hour or more of chatting with the bishop, the cardinal, and the members of the Ordinariate and other guests assembled from far and wide. How would you feel about making another visit (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)? 10 — While the cathedral was the venue for this celebration, it was organized by the Toronto Ordinariate community of St Thomas More, which I will be visiting on Sunday, and which would certainly be my parish if I were to move to Toronto. Look for my next report! Did the service make you feel glad to be a Christian? Yes. The patrimony that developed in England during the 450 years of separation, which has found its true home in communion with Rome, draws people into the worship of God with all the senses: the sight of the beauty of the building, the sound of the glorious music, the smell of the incense, and the taste and touch of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ Our Lord. What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days’ time ? At the reception afterwards, raising a glass of sherry in the words of Healy Willan: To our gracious Lady, Queen of Heaven, and our gracious Sovereign, Queen of Canada.