VESTRY OF ST. JAMES'S ANGLICAN CHURCH, JAMES ISLAND, ASKS RECTOR TO RESIGN

On July 5, 2023, the vestry of St. James's Anglican Church, on James Island, Charleston, asked the rector, the Rev. Toby Larson to resign. Larson started as rector on June 12, 2022. Apparently, Larson refused to leave.

St. James' Anglican is the separatist element that left St. James's Episcopal Church on James Island in the schism. They remained in occupation of the old property until 2022 when the state supreme court ordered the return of St. James's to the Episcopal diocese. 

Bishop Chip Edgar, of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, has appointed the Rev. Tim Surrat to serve as priest-in-residence of St. James's Anglican starting on 1 August.

On today, 30 July, the Rev. Jim Lewis, Canon to the Ordinary, read a letter from Edgar to the congregation of St. James's Anglican. One may find today's service on YouTube. Lewis appears at minutes 45-50. Lewis said the vestry's action triggered Canon XXVIII of the ADSC Constitution and Canons. Find this HERE , pages 17-18. 

Edgar has placed Larson on paid leave for the duration of the "inquiry process" which may take several weeks. In the end, the bishop will decide whether Larson remains as rector or is terminated.

Kendall Harmon  has called the situation "messy and painful" whatever that means. He gave no explanation. If a vestry asks for resignation and the rector refuses, well, we get the idea of an unpleasant tug-of-war.

What we know about this matter now raises far more questions than it answers. All that is being publicly revealed is the list of facts above. We know the vestry voted to terminate Larson. Larson is still officially there and drawing salary. Since he has been rector for only a year (June 12, 2022), the issues must have boiled up quickly to separate the vestry from the rector. The issues causing this "mess" are being concealed in the parish and diocesan office.

What caused the crisis at St. James's? That is the question of the day. I have nothing more to add. If I get more information on this, I will share it with you.

Christians of good will everywhere should wish the best for this congregation. The people of St. James's Anglican made some wrong choices in the past but these were not from malevolent motives. They were trying to do what they thought was the best. I do not question their motives. I think every one should join in prayer that healing comes to a group of Christians now beset by turmoil. As the membership figures for the Anglican diocese show, schism may not produce the rosy outcome the perpetrators led the people to believe.  

 

A TWENTY-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

We are approaching the twentieth anniversary of one of the most important events in the history of the Episcopal Church, the church's affirmation of its first openly gay bishop. On August 5, 2003, the House of Bishops, meeting in the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, voted 62 in favor, 43 against, and 2 abstain, to approve of the Rev. Gene Robinson as the next bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire. For better or for worse, this was a major turning point in the life of the Episcopal Church. It finally resolved the issue of the interface between the church and homosexuality, a problem at issue since at least 1976. The decision was an unqualified embrace of open and partnered homosexuals as equal and empowered participants in the life of the church. Although it was not the first Christian denomination to do this, TEC's stand in 2003 was powerful far beyond its limited domain. It also caused a crisis within many Episcopal dioceses, at least the most socially conservative ones, particularly ones given to strong evangelical or anglo-catholic identity. What has changed in the twenty years since?

On homosexuality, the Episcopal Church has gone all in on equality and inclusion of gays in the church. Five more openly gay bishops have been consecrated in the Episcopal Church. General Conventions went on to elaborate on gay rights by devising a liturgy for the blessing of same-sex unions and then by adopting same-sex marriage in the church. No diocese is now allowed to ban same-sex weddings. Episcopal churches around the country now participate in and promote pro-homosexual demonstrations, as pride marches. By now, the Episcopal Church is well known in American society as a "gay-friendly" denomination. This has attracted a number of high-profile homosexuals from more conservative churches to TEC. It has also caused some conservative Episcopalians to head for the exits.

A conservative backlash arose within the Episcopal Church as a direct result of the church's policies for homosexuals. Having failed utterly to stop the progressive reforms for gays, some conservatives individually bolted TEC. Of the 109 or so dioceses of the Church, a dozen were in a coalition to oppose the pro-gay movement. Of this dozen, five went on to vote to leave TEC (2006-2012). South Carolina was the fifth and last to do this. In 2012, the leadership of the diocese of SC led the majority of the clergy and laity out of the Episcopal Church, the diocese, and the Anglican Communion. They went on to form a new church and to join a new non-Anglican Communion denomination, one that, in the wake of Robinson, had been established on social conservatism, e.g., homophobia and misogyny.

How did the defections affect the membership figures of the Episcopal Church? All along, the reactionaries have asserted that the "liberal" policies of the Episcopal Church were causing falling membership. Is this true? Is the decline in membership of TEC directly attributable to its pro-homosexual policies?

Membership in the Episcopal Church reached its height in 1967, at a bit more than 3.6m. The last statistics, in 2021, show 1,678,157 members, a fall of more than 50% since 1967. In other words, Episcopal Church membership is half as large now as it was a half-century ago. The struggle over gays in the church began in earnest in 1990, well more than two decades after TEC began its membership slide. Thus, we can rule out the issue of homosexuality as the prime cause of the membership decline.

However, the post-Robinson individual and group defections certainly had some impact on TEC membership. In 2003, TEC listed 2,433,340 baptized members. In the last figures, of 2021, the church cited 1,678,157, a fall of 31%. Thus, is less than two decades, TEC lost nearly a third of its members. What caused this decline is a good question.

The vast majority of individual dioceses lost members, some more than the 31% of the whole church and some less. In the five dioceses in which the majority left TEC, the declines were, of course, drastic, none more than South Carolina which fell from 29,988 members in 2003 to 7,254 in 2021. This was a loss of 76%. 

In some conservative dioceses where the leadership and majority remained with the Episcopal Church there were also major declines. The state of Florida has the fastest population growth in the U.S. Yet, its dioceses are seeing the reverse. The Diocese of Central Florida fell from 37,088 members in 2003 to 23,664 in 2021, a drop of 36%. One has only to look on YouTube at a Mass from St. Luke's Cathedral in Orlando to see the empty pews, ones that were often full when I attended there in the 1960's. The Diocese of Florida declined from 32,674 in 2003 to 23,075 in 2021, a drop of 29%. Check a YouTube service at St. Peter's Anglican (ACNA) Cathedral in Tallahassee to see where the crowds are. (St. John's, of Tallahassee, had a major split in 2004.)

St. Peter's Anglican Cathedral, Tallahassee.

There is no doubt that many dioceses of the Episcopal Church have seen significant membership losses to the reactionary "Anglican" denominations. However, on the whole the figures do not indicate mass movement from TEC to ACNA. According to Wikipedia, ACNA has a 2022 membership of 124,999 (down from 134,593 in 2017). From 2003 to 2021, the membership drop in TEC was 755,183. This means that the vast majority of people who left TEC did not go to ACNA. It was only a small fraction. They left the TEC membership rolls for other reasons such as death, movement to other denominations, or simply dropping out of organized religion. We do not know because there are no detailed statistical studies of membership movements. What we do know for a fact is that most people who dropped off the TEC rolls did not move to ACNA churches.

In conclusion, the decline in the membership of the Episcopal Church has been going on a long time, over a half-century. This may be attributed to a number of reasons but we have no studies that quantify the possible factors. They could be items such as low birth rate, low retention, low evangelism, and changing social and cultural habits. Since 2003, conservative defections from TEC have been highly visible in some local places but relatively insignificant in the overall decline of church membership. The decline in TEC numbers since the Robinson matter of 2003 is not primarily in migration from TEC to an "Anglican" separatist church. The vast majority of people who left TEC after 2003 did not join splinter "Anglican" churches.  

 

EPISCOPAL CHURCH DENIES CONSENT TO BISHOP-ELECT OF FLORIDA

The Episcopal Church has denied consent to the Diocese of Florida's choice of the Rev. Charlie Holt as its next bishop. A majority of both the bishops and the diocesan standing committees voted against consent. To be accepted as a bishop in the Episcopal Church, he would have had to receive a majority of both the bishops and the standing committees. Holt carried neither. Denial of consent means Holt cannot now become bishop of Florida. 

Rejection of a diocesan choice for bishop is a rare but not unknown occurrence in the history of the Episcopal Church. It happens only when a consensus of church people believe there is compelling reason to deny the episcopacy to a duly elected diocesan choice. This is not something to be taken lightly. In this case there seemed to be serious questions about Holt's commitment to the policies of equality and inclusion in the life of the church, particularly for homosexuals.

I have two observations on this. In the first place, the vote shows a firm commitment of the Episcopal Church to defend, indeed enhance, the policies of equality and inclusion that long evolved in the church. Human rights for all was not a passing fancy. 

In the second place, I can only wonder if this vote is not a delayed reaction to the consents given to Mark Lawrence, who was also elected twice by a diocesan convention, in 2007. Enough wavering bishops and committees gave Lawrence the benefit of the doubt about his loyalty to the Church to put him over the 50% mark. No doubt, many who voted "yes" lived to regret this. Four years into his episcopacy Bishop Lawrence led the majority of the clergy and laity of the diocese of South Carolina out of the Episcopal Church and eventually into the reactionary shadow Episcopal Church, the anti-human rights Anglican Church in North America. Perhaps Holt is paying the price for this. We can only know when the bishops and committees tell us why they voted the way they did. So far, the diocese of South Carolina has not revealed how its bishop and committee voted. And, so far, the Episcopal Church has not revealed the individual votes of the bishops and committees.

Find the ENS article about this HERE .

The present bishop of Florida, John Howard, lost no time in blasting "secular politics" for the failure to gain consents. Read his rather ungracious letter HERE .

 

MEMBERSHIP TRENDS IN ADSC CHURCHES,

2011-2022

In my last blog piece, I surveyed membership trends in the whole Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, in the decade after the schism of 2012. The statistics show significant, and unrelenting, decline in virtually every membership metric published by the diocese. ADSC lost a third of its active members in the decade after the break. 

What about the individual local churches in the Anglican diocese? What are the membership trends in the fifty or so parishes and missions associated with the ADSC? How many of them are showing gains, and how many declines?

Let us consider the reported "Communicant" (active members) numbers in the last whole year before the schism, 2011. Then, we will look at the listed statistics of 2014, well after movements in the schism had died down. Finally, we will compare the numbers before the schism with the latest reported figures, of the year 2022. That way, we can see the overall effect, in the decade, on membership in the local church as a result of the schism, as well as trends after the schism occurred.

ST. HELENA'S, Beaufort

2011-1,737   2014-964   2022-1,096

2011-2022:   -641 (-37%)

CHURCH OF THE CROSS, Bluffton

2011-1,701   2014-1,520   2022-1,731

2011-2022:   +30 (+2%)

ST. LUKE'S, Hilton Head

2011-951   2014-664   2022-277

2011-2022:   -647 (-71%)

HOLY TRINITY, Grahamville

2011-98   2014-91   2022-139

2011-2022:   +41 (+42%)

ST. JUDE'S, Walterboro

2011-200   2014-220   2019-229 (no report after)

2011-2019:   +29 (+15%)

ST. LUKE AND ST. PAUL, Charleston

2011-305   2014-256   2020-200 (no report after)

2011-2022:   -105 (-33%)

ST. JOHN'S CHAPEL, Charleston

2011-39   2014-30   2022-10

2011-2022:  -29 (-74%)

ST. MICHAEL'S, Charleston

2011-1,847   2014-1,015   2022-747

2011-2022:   -1,100 (-60%)

ST. PHILIP'S, Charleston

2011-2,677   2014-2,135   2022-1,249

2011-2022:   -1,428 (-53%)

CHRIST CHURCH, Mt. Pleasant

2011-935   2014-775   2022-283

2011-2022:   -652 (-70%)

HOLY CROSS, Sullivans Island

2011-25,40   2014-1,000   2022-716

2011-2022:   -1,824 (-72%)

HOLY TRINITY, Charleston

2011-96   2014-96   2022-78 

2011-2022:   -18 (-19%)

OLD ST. ANDREW'S, Charleston

2011-962   2014-509   2022-388

2011-2022:   -574 (-60%)

ST. ANDREW'S MISSION, Charleston

2011-38   2014-49   2022-38

2011-2022:   same

ST. JAMES, Charleston

2011-612   2014-500   2022-450

2011-2022:   -162 (-26%)

GOOD SHEPHERD, Charleston

2011-302   2014-256   2022-100

2011-2022:   -202 (67%)

TRINITY, Edisto

2011-183   2014-145   2022-122

2011-2022:   --61 (-33%)

OUR SAVIOUR, Johns Island

2011-195   2014-200   2022-227

2011-2022:   +32 (+16%)

ST. JOHN'S, Charleston

2011-566   2014-620   2022-220

2011-2022:   -346 (-61%)

ST. PAUL'S, Summerville

2011-773   2014-750   2022-270

2011-2022:   -503 (-65%)

CHRIST/ST. PAUL'S, Yonges Island

2011-330   2014-245   2022-216

2011-2022:   -114 (-35%)

ST. PAUL'S, Bennettsville

2011-61   2022-20

2011-2022:   -41 (-67%)

ST. DAVID'S, Cheraw

2011-113   2014-106   2022-44

2011-2022:   -69 (-61%)

ST. MATTHEW'S, Darlington

2011-139   2014-141   2022-130

2011-2022:   -9 (-6%)

ST. BARNABAS, Dillon

2011-47   2014-39   2022-35

2011-2022:   -12 (-26%)

ALL SAINTS, Florence

2011-144   2014-160   2022-159

2011-2022:   +15 (+10%)

ST. JOHN'S, Florence

2011-453   2014-395   2022-356

2011-2022:   -97 (-21%)

ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S, Hartsville

2011-160   2014-125   2022-70

2011-2022:   -90 (-56%)

ADVENT, Marion

2011-27   2014-22   2022-16

2011-2022:   -11 (-41%)

HOLY COMFORTER, Sumter

2011-525   2014-246   2022-220

2011-2022:   -305 (-58%)

HOLY CROSS, Stateburg

2011-177   2014-81   2022-96

2011-2022:   -81 (-46%)

ST. PAUL'S, Conway

2011-270   2014-212   2022-219

2011-2022:   -51 (-19%)

PRINCE GEORGE WINYAH, Georgetown

2011-450   2014-625   2022-484

2011-2022:   +34 (+8%)

TRINITY, Myrtle Beach

2011-595   2014-388   2022-160

2011-2022:   -435 (-73%)

RESURRECTION, Surfside

2011-282   2014-360   2022-116

2011-2022:   -166 (-59%)

HOLY APOSTLES, Barnwell

2011-91   2014-95   2022-68

2011-2022:   -23 (-25%)

EPIPHANY, Eutawville

2011-75   2014-100   2022-37

2011-2022:   -38 (-51%)

ST. MATTHEW'S, Fort Motte

2011-71   2014-86   2022-101

2011-2022:   +30 (+42%)

REDEEMER, Orangeburg

2011-265   2014-173   2022-179

2011-2022:   -86 (-32%)

ST. PAUL'S, Orangeburg

2011-19   2014-19   2022-13

2011-2022:   -6 (-32%)

REDEEMER, Pineville

2011-82   2014-74   2022-50

2011-2022:   -32 (-39%)

TRINITY, Pinopolis

2011-184   2014-166   2022-110

2011-2022:   -74 (-40%)

ST. MATTHIAS, Summerton

2011-128   2014-141   2022-80

2011-2022:   -48 (-38%)

SUMMARY

---From 2011 to 2022, 33 local churches of ADSC lost active membership. 16 of those lost more than 50% of their active membership.

---From 2011 to 2022, 6 local churches gained members.

---From 2014 to 2022, 31 local churches lost active members.

---From 2014 to 2022, 8 churches gained members.

CONCLUSIONS

---The  majority of ADSC local churches lost members as a result of the schism.

---The majority of ADSC local churches continued to lose members steadily well after the schism occurred.

---Most of the large parishes of ADSC saw severe membership declines. St. Philip's and St. Michael's, the two large downtown parishes in Charleston, each lost more than half of their active members in the decade after the schism.

---St. Philip's, of Charleston, was the largest parish of the pre-schism diocese. It lost 53% of its membership between 2011 and 2022. Of all the parishes of the old diocese, Grace Church Cathedral, in the Episcopal diocese, is now the largest in membership. In the ADSC, Church of the Cross, in Bluffton, is now the largest parish.

---The empirical data give us only the facts. They do not provide any explanation of the reasons for the clear and relentless decline of both the Anglican diocese and the majority of its local churches.

---In terms of numbers for both the diocese and the local churches, one may conclude that the schism has been a failure.

---The trend in membership in the vast majority of churches on SDSC is relentlessly downward.

---If these trends continue unabated, both the diocese and most local churches will soon face an existential crisis.

 

A DECADE OF SCHISM; 

A DECADE OF DECLINE IN THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina was formed in 2012 at the moment when the majority of the clergy and laity of the historic Diocese of South Carolina left the Episcopal Church, the Diocese of South Carolina and the Anglican Communion and set up a new Christian denomination. The remaining minority stayed with the Church and the Communion and continued on as the historic Diocese of South Carolina. We now have a decade of membership STATISTICS published by the ADSC. What do they tell us about the membership trends in the ADSC since the schism? 

The three most useful sets of figures for parish life are "Baptized Membership," "Communicants," and "Average Sunday Attendance." The first counts every baptized person with any association with the parish. It is not indicative of the actual life of the church since most baptized members do not attend or participate in church regularly (note the difference below between Baptized Members and Average Sunday Attendance). "Communicants" is the more reliable metric since it counts all the people who take Communion at least once a year (making them "active"). "Average Sunday Attendance" counts the average number of people attending church on any given Sunday of the year. Even though it would include people who were just visiting, it is still a useful measure of the vitality of a parish.

Here are the ADSC's figures for each of the ten years since the schism of 2012:

BAPTIZED MEMBERS

2013 - 23,181

2014 - 22,953

2015 - 22,149

2016 - 21,953

2017 - 20,602

2018 - 20,763

2019 - 20,195

2020 - 19,597

2021 - 19,712

2022 - 18,130

Thus, in the decade of 2013-2022, ADSC lost 5,051 baptized members, or a drop of 22%.

COMMUNICANTS

2013 - 17,798

2014 - 16,361

2015 - 15,556

2016 - 14,694

2017 - 13,291

2018 - 12,126

2019 - 11,457

2020 - 11,337

2021 - 12,651

2022 - 11,673

Thus, in the decade, ADSC lost 6,125 communicants, or 34%. In other words, ADSC has lost a third of its active members since the schism.

AVERAGE SUNDAY ATTENDANCE

2013 - 9,292

2014 - 9,325

2015 - 9,085

2016 - 9,014

2017 - 8,905

2018 - 8,875

2019 - 8,980

2020 - 8,215 (Jan.-Mar. only)

2021 - 5,379

2022 - 8,353

So, in the ten years of 2013-2022, ADSC's ASA declined 989, or 10%.

OBSERVATIONS on these statistics.

---Churches began shutting down in March of 2020 in the COVID pandemic. Most reopened after several months but worshipers were slow to return to the Sunday services. It was only in 2023 that most church attendance and programs began to return generally to where they were before the pandemic. Some have not reached there yet. Thus, any quantification of parish life in 2020, 2021, and 2022 should be considered lightly.

---Nevertheless, these figures show clear and definite trends of decline in the decade and relentless yearly falling, with a few exceptions.

---ADSC had the most serious decline in numbers of active members, down a third in the decade, falling from 17,798 to 11,673. We can only speculate on the reasons why so many active parishioners fled from the ADSC parishes.

---There is a big difference between the numbers of Baptized Members and Communicants. In 2022, a third of the baptized members did not take Communion once in the year. The ratio in 2013, at the start of the decade, was less than a third in difference between Baptized and Communicant (23,181 to 17,798). This suggests a trend in which baptized members of ADSC are becoming less engaged in their parishes.

---If there is a bright light in these dismal numbers, it is in Sunday attendance. It fell only 10% in the decade, from 9,292 ASA to 8,353 ASA. This may indicate that numbers of visitors made up some of the membership and communicant losses although it was not enough to counterbalance the declines. On any given Sunday, there are now significantly fewer people in the pews of the typical ADSC parish as compared to a decade ago.

---What does the future hold for ADSC? One can only wonder considering the rather precipitous drop in this diocese in the first decade of its existence. An institution that loses a third of its membership in just ten years is an institution in trouble. What about attracting new people? A church founded on discrimination against homosexuals and women will scarcely be attractive to the majority of the people, even in conservative South Carolina. It is highly doubtful that young South Carolinians will be flocking to this new church. Indeed, the immediate problem in ADSC is in retaining members rather than attracting new ones.

---What the future holds for ADSC, only God knows. What we know here and now is the quantified participation in ADSC in the decade since the schism. The trends should set off alarm bells among the leadership of the ADSC. Perhaps their little experiment in rebellion was not such a good idea after all. At least it raises questions about whether this was God's will. 

---It is highly ironic that before the schism, the diocesan leaders made a major appeal to the faithful that leaving TEC would lead to church growth. Bishop Lawrence said repeatedly before the schism that the Episcopal Church was a comatose patient on life support, implying that "orthodox" religion would lead to vigorous new life in churches. This could only come after separation from the dying patient. Well, in lower South Carolina, anyway, the Episcopal Church is far from dead and instead it is the anti-Episcopal camp that is now sick and bleeding profusely. If the ADSC does not turn around its crashing membership trends, it faces a very bleak future indeed.    

A VIEW FROM EIGHTY

Today is my eightieth birthday. Eighty is always a milestone in the lives of the people fortunate enough to see it. It certainly is in mine. My overwhelming feeling today is gratitude for a long and full life, to God the great force of life in the universe, and all the countless people who helped me along the way to be the person I am today. My thanksgiving today knows no bounds.

My first thought, of course, is for my dear mother. After all, it was just the two of us involved in this a long time ago. She died several years ago, but she is always with me, and just as much today as ever. 

Actually, at birth I was a great disappointment to both of my parents. After two boys (4 years and 2 years ahead), my father longed for a daughter. My mother prayed for a girl too, so she would be through with childbirth. Her first two births had been exceedingly difficult and dangerous. She had survived, but just barely. She wanted nothing more than to be through with giving birth. She wept off and on for the nine months, and then cried for a year afterwards as she realized she was not through. She was so out of it when I was born she gave the doctor the wrong name for the birth certificate. Years later I had to go through an official name change. In time, all she could remember about my birth was the cold watermelon she enjoyed at the (unairconditioned) Pensacola Maternity Hospital (I have always loved watermelon). I was the fifth generation native Floridian, my ancestors on my mother's side having moved from South Carolina to north Florida around 1830, years before Florida was a state.

Fortunately, longevity runs in my family. Both of my parents lived into their mid-90's (no dementia). The people on my mother's side routinely live past 90. Her grandfather lived to be at least 99. If I live into my 90's, it will be thanks to the good genes from my ancestors, not to anything I did to deserve it.

Although I have been blessed with a long life and happy life, I have reached that inevitable stage of life when dark clouds form. And, sure enough, an ominous dark shadow has moved over my immediate family. Nevertheless, I am resolved that this ugliness will not blot out the light of the sun. I refuse to be vanquished by the dark. So, to counteract the ugly shadows of life, I am resolved to summon up in my mind all of the most beautiful memories I have. The beauty of times past will overcome the ugliness of the moment.

Beauty, of course, is in the eye of the beholder. So, this has to be a very personal view of beauty. I would divide beauty into two categories, natural and human-made.

As for natural beauty, I would say the first has to be the birth of my children (twin girls) and granddaughter. On one hand, something pressed into place for nine months looks, well, a bit distressed, to say the least. But, to a parent and grandparent, nothing could ever be as beautiful as this new life. Here are some other outstanding examples of the nature beauty I have experienced:

---The Grand Canyon

I have been to the Canyon twice. Both times, I was in speechless awe. It is the most amazing physical phenomenon I have seen. Two-dimensional pictures do not do justice. The Canyon is ten miles across and filled with fantastic land formations. This is the earth at its most dazzling and, I think, beautiful display. The Indians believed this was the center of spiritual life of the universe. I tend to agree.

---Moonlight on Pensacola Bay. I grew up a stone's throw from the Bay, in the neighborhood called Sanders Beach. I have seen that beautiful bay thousands of times in all conditions. However, there was one special view of the Bay that took my breath away. I had not seen the Bay as beautiful before--nor since. In 1964, I was taking the Gulf Wind, the L&N streamliner train from Pensacola back to college in Tallahassee. It left at 12:30 a.m. Leaving the station, the train traveled along the edge of the Bay before it rounded a curve to follow the edge of East Bay and then went over a long trestle toward Milton. In the dark and quiet coach, I pressed my nose to the big window to watch the stars and the moon dance on the rippling waters. It was like sparkling diamonds. I watched with unblinking eye until the bays disappeared from sight. Then I dozed into peaceful sleep and the next thing I knew the conductor was calling, "Tallahassee." Every time I go back to Pensacola I recall the beautiful diamonds sparkling on the bay on that enchanted night so long ago.

---The Milky Way. On a night flight from New York to Paris (1975 as I recall), when the plane reached its cruising altitude of thirty-something thousand feet, the Milky Way filled the clear sky. I had never seen such before--or since. The great wheel was dazzling with its countless stars. I pressed my face, transfixed to the glass. I gazed for hours at that most awesome beauty. I felt so small, yet so honored to be a part of it all.

---My garden in springtime. After I retired, I developed a botanical garden on the adjacent vacant building lot. Always a joy, the garden is at its best in late winter/spring. I never fail to be awed by the incredible beauty of the plants. I have hundreds of them.

---Mt. Shasta. After I retired, I took up two big hobbies I had always loved but never had had much time for, gardening and the train. I have been fascinated by trains for as long as I can remember. After I retired, I began traveling all the routes that Amtrak offered across the west. Once I was on the Coast Starlight, from Los Angeles to Seattle. As I awoke in the morning, I opened the curtains at my window to find Mount Shasta, California, filling the scene. It was breath-taking. I sat transfixed as I drank my coffee then hurried down to the dining car to claim another window as I could stare at the mountain while enjoying my pancakes. I have seen lots of mountains, but I do not think I have seen one as beautiful as Mt. Shasta with the sun rising beyond it.

Now for the human-made works of beauty I have enjoyed:

---In 1970, when I was a poor graduate student, my wife and I were in London at Christmas. For Christmas Eve, we went to midnight mass at Westminster Abbey assuming we could catch the subway back to our lodgings. We got in the second row of the north transept with a perfect view of everything. It was spectacular. While the service was going along, I looked up at the clear glass windows and saw snow coming down. After dismisal, we Floridians went out into a winter wonderland. However, there was no public transportation, nor taxi cabs. In fact there were very few cars, and people, on the streets. We had no choice but to walk the two miles back to our room, near Harrod's. It was like walking through a Christmas card. We arrived home at 2:30 a.m. too filled with joy to settle down. It is still our most memorable Christmas.

---Bok Tower. My first college teaching job was in Orlando, in 1966, B.D. (Before Disney). Gas was 25 cents a gallon. Roads were uncluttered. Soon on, we discovered Bok Tower, in Lake Wales, an hour's drive. It was love at first sight. Admission was 50 cents a car. We started the first of hundreds of visit to the Taj Mahal of America. Until a few years ago, we routinely took our winter vacations in Lake Wales in order to visit the tower. The combination of architecture, music, and the gardens was irresistible. Besides, in winter, one can load up on fresh oranges. If you want a serene paradise on earth, you should try Bok Tower.

---Fonteyn and Nureyev performing Swan Lake. I must confess I know next to nothing about dance, and almost as little about music, but I know great beauty when I see it. Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev dancing Swan Lake was the most beautiful stage performance I have ever seen. And, it all happened on a fluke. In, as I recall, 1972. a ballet tour stopped in Birmingham where the two were to star in Swan Lake. A group of us university people decided on a lark to go for a night out. From start to finish, I could not take my eyes off the stage. Gravity seemed irrelevant and lost in elegance, grace and beauty. Fonteyn, who was in her fifties, danced like a teenager, twirling on the tips of her toes as if it were the easiest thing in the world. There was a very athletic Nureyev throwing his partner up in the air as a graceful football player would toss about a rag doll. And, all of it to that most melodious music of Tchaikovsky. Not many years later, Fonteyn and Nurevey both retired, and died soon thereafter. I must be among the few people still alive who can say I saw the two greatest ballet stars (with the possible exceptions of Nijinsky and Pavlova) dance the greatest ballet of all time. I will never forget it. 

---Chartres Cathedral. My wife and I were fortunately enough to visit most of the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe. Our favorite was Chartres. It is the best combination of architecture, stained glass, and sculpture. We were even in Chartres one time when suddenly the organ boomed out and a wedding began. We stood transfixed to the side as the radiant bride floated down that grand central aisle on her father's arm and trailing a long train. It was all a vision of loveliness in that hallowed heaven on earth. The stained glass windows were our favorite parts. Chartres is most famous for "Chartres Blue," a shade made from peculiar local minerals. It is unduplicated in the world. There are three great rose windows and many side windows, almost all from the Middle Ages.

The North Rose Window was a gift of St. Louis and his mother, Blanche of Castile. Their coats of arms are on the sides of the rose.

---The Crown Jewels. The British crown jewels are housed on display in the Tower of London. This remains one of the favorite tourist spots in England, and for good reason. The various crowns and assorted regalia are kept in numerous glass cases set out for public viewing. Under the lights, the diamonds seem to strike sparks as one moves around them. This is certainly the greatest collection of fine gems available for public viewing in the world. Not to be missed.

---The Louvre Museum. What can I say? This is the greatest museum in the world. Nothing else comes close. It is much too vast to "see" in one visit. It has thousands upon thousands of works of art in miles of corridors. When I was there, it cost very little, or nothing, as entrance and so I visited countless times. Of course the most famous item is Mona Lisa. When I visited, this painting was easily available with no covering, and I got up close. Now, it is much more restricted. It is a rather small picture, but obviously very intriguing in its ingenious mysteries. Leonardo da Vinci was one of the great geniuses of history. All in all, the Louvre simply overwhelms the senses with beauty.

So, today I feel like the most fortunate person in the world. I have had a long and good life. I have been granted three score and ten and ten more. And while I cannot stop the inevitable shadows from creeping across my life, I can keep the light shining by recalling the great experiences of beauty I have been fortunate enough to claim. If God is in beauty, and I think God is, I have seen His/Her face time and again. Nothing can take that away. If I am given one more day, or one more decade, I will always have that.