Thursday, October 12, 2006


St. Andrew's Anglican Church, Tinley Park, Illinois

A Reformed Episcopal Parish

Per the request of at least one reader, here is some information about the parish I serve in as a curate, St. Andrew's Anglican Church.

St. Andrew's is a traditional Anglican parish south of Chicago, with Morning Prayer and the Holy Eucharist celebrated every Sunday at 9:30 and 10:30 AM, respectively.

In June of 2006 the parish hosted the 100th Synod of the Diocese of Mid-America; this Synod saw the gathering of all of the bishops of the Diocese as well as the current Presiding Bishop and a former Presiding Bishop and rector of the parish, the Right Reverend Franklin Sellers. The Synod Eucharist was celebrated according to the 1928 rite included in the 2006 Book of Common Prayer of the Reformed Episcopal Church.


The parish church contains many beautiful stained glass windows, including several Tiffany windows, the original Holy Table used by Bishop Cheney, and a beautiful brass eagle lectern from the late 1800s . If you are in the Chicagoland area you are sincerely invited to join us for the Eucharist. As a retired Episcopal priest who is now a member of the parish has commented several times: "It is like the church I remember from my youth."

Erratum: Fr. Brad of St. Timothy alerted me to the fact that the Synod was indeed not in August (August was when I received the Diocese news letter that contained the group photo of bishops above). Here's some additional info on the Synod from The Crozier Connection, the Newsletter of the Diocese of Mid-America:

"The 100th Synod of the Diocese of Mid-America was held June 15-16, in Chicago (Tinley Park), Illinois. Chicago was the original See of the Diocese when it was first established under The Rt. Rev. Charles Edward Cheney in the late1800's. Delivering the sermon at the Synod Eucharist was The Rt. Rev. Franklin Sellers, retired Bishop of this Diocese and past Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church.[In the picture L to R: Bp. Morse, Presiding Bp. Riches, Bp. Sellers (retired), Bp. Grote, Bp. Sutton, & Bp. Fincke.] "

5 comments:

Arturo Vasquez said...

Father,

Could you e-mail me privately so I can ask you some questions. My e-mail address is on my blog on my Profile page.

Thank you,

Arturo

Rev. Dr. Hassert said...

Arturo,

I've sent you an e-mail; please let me know if it is not received.

AC+

Arturo Vasquez said...

Yes, I will e-mail you soon.

Rev. Dr. Hassert said...

Matthew,

If you look at the website for St. Matthias, the cathedral for the diocese (a few links below), the gathered bishops all wear the cope and miter. For the Synod the dress specified was the traditional rochet and chimere--I think it is partially preference and what is decided for the occasion.

When our bishop, Bp. Grote, attended and preached at the APA Synod he wore a cope and miter. When I was in the ACA what the bishop (Abp. Falk) wore to a parish seemed to depend on the style of the parish, for some he would wear the cope and miter and at others he would wear the rochet and chimere. I think the same general rule applies in the REC, so, in some pictures from around the diocese you'll see Bp. Grote in a cope or chasuble and in others a rochet and chimere. However, I think those two sets of vestments are the only two options, at least in our diocese.

As to why our parish refers to the church interior (nave and sanctuary) as a "chapel" I can't say for sure. I think it is just a peculiarity of the parish.

Rev. Dr. Hassert said...

Fr. Brad,

I may be wrong; let me check and correct.

DH+