It's not always an evil plot

In a thank you letter sent to donors, Fr. Eric Bergman of the St Thomas More Society of Scranton, and newly of the Anglican Ordinariate, writes:

The (Anglican) Ordinariate has been able to acquire insurance, paving the way for my appointment as pastor of St Thomas More Parish... 

This is a reminder to us, if one is needed, that there are many tasks that lie ahead and many will not be completed easily.  We'll face bumps, detours, and outright failures.  And no one will be at fault.

Just because there has been a bump in the road -- or even a mountain -- doesn't mean that there is a nefarious plot to undermine the Anglican Ordinariates.  Yes, there are some who are outright opposed and are working against the Ordinariates.  There are others who are lukewarm at best and their neglect or laziness will lead to failures.  

Then there are good people, working hard, and they too will meet with failure.  It happens.  We live in an imperfect world. Every failure is not proof of hostile intentions.

In this case, the good people succeeded.  The insurance was purchased, and Fr. Bergman is now an Ordinariate priest.  I am sure that in other cases insurance complications or some similar seemingly mundane task has thwarted progress.  I hope and pray that such problems will be few in number. Further I pledge to assume that failures are the cause of good people not succeeding. I will not act on rumors or speculation that failure means that so-and-so is deliberately undermining the Ordinariates.

St. Thomas More Anglican Use Parish joins American Ordinariate

St. Thomas More

St. Thomas More is an Anglican Use parish in Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., lead by Father Eric Bergman. The parish was Episcopalian until several years ago when it left the Episcopal Church and left behind the building that the parish had built and maintained over generations.  

Their minister Eric Bergman became a Catholic priest and their parish became an Anglican Use parish, and further becoming a leading parish of Anglican Use especially on the East Coast. They have hosted an Anglican Use Society Conference and Fr. Bergman has traveled far and wide pastoring to interested Catholics, Anglicans and others.  

They recently officially joined the American Anglican Ordinariate and purchased their own building, a nearby closed Catholic Church where the Venerable Mother Maria Kaupas began her American ministry.  

Here is how the Ordinariate announced the news:

May 9, 2012: American Ordinariate Gets Its First Priest

Fr. Eric Bergman of Scranton Joins Ordinariate; Church Purchased for New Parish

The new U.S. ordinariate for Anglican groups entering the Catholic Church achieved a milestone on May 8, 2012 when Reverend Eric Bergman became its first priest.... 

The group will become St. Thomas More Parish at St. Joseph Church and will be located at the former St. Joseph property in Scranton’s Providence neighborhood starting in late August. The ordinariate purchased the property from the Diocese of Scranton for $254,000, with $200,000 of that amount raised by the St. Thomas More community during a three-week period this spring.... 

St. Joseph was established as a Lithuanian-language parish in 1895 and is a former home of Venerable Maria Kaupas, foundress of the Sisters of St. Casimir, who was a housekeeper at the parish in the late 19th century. A miracle attributed to her intercession is before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints that, if approved, will lead to her beatification. The parish property includes a church, parish hall, rectory, convent, school, parking lot and four garages.

Also in the above press release says this:

Approximately 60 current or former Anglican priests are preparing to be ordained Catholic priests for the ordinariate, with 30 ordinations expected in the next few months....

Here is the news from St. Thomas More in their own words from an email:

Dear Members and Friends,

St. Joseph's, their new home

We are writing to deliver the exciting news that Fr. Eric Bergman is now  a Priest of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, and yesterday our congregation purchased the St. Joseph's property free and clear.  Here is some important information you'll need to know:

LOCATION: For the remainder of the spring and summer our worship and ministries will continue to be based at St. Clare Church and Rectory.  However, please begin using our new location's mailing address immediately for U.S. mail, which will be retrieved there daily:

St. Thomas More Catholic Parish

116 Theodore Street

Scranton, PA 18508

NEW WEBSITE: We have a new website, www.stmscranton.org.  Some of the content is still a work in progress which will be completed in the coming weeks, but the site is fully functional and already contains a good deal of informative content.

NEW EMAIL ADDRESSES: Our email addresses now conclude with our new domain name, stmscranton.org.  Our old stthomasmoresociety.org domain name will eventually be phased out, so please do start using our new addresses...

SAME PHONE NUMBER: The office phone will remain the same: 570-343-0634

Thank you so much for you faithful support, and please watch for a mailing soon regarding how you can help us reinvigorate our new property as a vibrant center of Catholic worship, teaching, ministry, and evangelization.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Eric Bergman, Pastor

Paul Campbell, Administrator & Music Director

Press release from the Ordinariate: http://usordinariate.org/ord_news_Scranton.html