Monday ISM Net Round Up

The AIHM Annual Chapter and Retreat in Philadelphia.

There was a good bit of Independent Sacramental Movement news over the last week or so.

The Augustinians of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of the Independent Catholic Christian Church held their Annual Chapter and Retreat in Philadelphia.

The AIHM Facebook page also reposted an excellent reflection on St. Clare of Montefalco, whose feast is August 17 and Fr. Joseph Augustine wrote a moving editorial titled Mourning with the Sikh Community. and Finding Grace in Ordinary Time offered some very good advice on using Facebook to strengthen rather than strain relationships.

At Rumney Marsh Ruminations, Bishop David has a piece on reimagining ISM communities titled The Challenge of Thinking Differently.  Here's an excerpt:

The biggest problem seems to be—in my opinion at least—that we attract “hurting folks” who immediately want to remake our community into the image and likeness of the parish/community they just left.

We are trying to form something different—we are not trying to reinvent the wheel—we are trying to replace the wheel with something that may work better.   Alas, it is hard for many to grasp the meaning of that...

In the mainstream media, the Ogden Standard Examiner carried a long story on the recent synod of the North American Old Catholic Church.  Here's a quote from one of the attendees to give you a feel for the piece:

Our parishioners are folks on the margins, folks who have never found their home in other settings,” said Dexheimer Trujillo, who was raised in a “very establishment, Episcopalian” environment. “We are small but have created a marvelous mosaic. We are a very human group of people whose lives are changed by Christ. It is a beautiful encounter.

The Washington Blade carried a story on The Unique Parish of D.C.'s St. Damien of Molokai and, on the other end of the ISM spectrum, the UK's Catholic Herald reported on the Society of Pop Leo XIII's desire to be reunited with the Roman Catholic Church.

Also from the more traditional end of the spectrum in the UK, the Old Catholic Church of the Latin Rite launched Caritas et Traditio, its own news portal.