Author Archives: Scott Anderson

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About Scott Anderson

Formerly an Anglican priest (ordained 1975) received into the Catholic Church in February 2012, and ordained to the Diaconate on 27th July 2013. I took early retirement, and divide my time between London and northern France. I am deeply committed to the Ordinariate as a gift of the Holy Spirit in the search for unity. Like many Ordinariate members I feel a personal gratitude to Pope Emeritus Benedict, together with loyalty to our Holy Father, Pope Francis. My blog tries to make a small contribution to the growth of the Ordinariate by asking questions (and proposing some answers) about the 'Anglican Patrimony'. I have always been fascinated by the whole issue of growth and decline, and therefore concerned for appropriate means of evangelisation in western Europe. I believe that the Holy Spirit is constantly renewing the People of God and that we must be open to him. On Saturday 19th October 2013, I was ordained to the Priesthood at Most Precious Blood, Borough, by the Most Revd Peter Smith, Archbishop of Southwark, for the service of the Ordinariate of our Lady of Walsingham. I continued to serve the Ordinariate group and Parish at Most Precious Blood until the end of 2014. Subsequently, I helped in the care of the Ordinariate Groups at Hemel Hempstead and Croydon, and in the Archdiocese of Southwark, until the beginning of September 2015. With the agreement of my Ordinary, , the Bishop of Amiens appointed me Administrator of the Parish of Notre Dame des Etangs (Pont Remy) in Picardie, France. After nine years as parish priest, with wonderful and supportive parishioners, I decided that the time had come to retire and return to the UK. A nasty accident four years ago and contracting COVID has left me physically rather feeble! I shall be ever grateful for the years in France, a wonderful ending to the years of parish ministry. So here I am back in the UK, taking a long rest, setting up home, coping with all the new Safeguarding procedures - and wondering what next.

The Mission of the Church is our Mission

Posted on 24/10/2013 by Scott Anderson

Since lay people, like all Christ’s faithful, are deputed to the apostolate by baptism and confirmation, they are bound by the general obligation and they have the right, whether as individuals or in associations, to strive so that the divine … Continue reading →

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Ordination

Posted on 19/10/2013 by Scott Anderson

Please pray for ANTHONY WATKINS & SCOTT ANDERSON to be ordained to the priesthood today, October 19th 2013 by the Archbishop of Southwark, the Most Revd Peter Smith at the Church of the Most Precious Blood, Borough for the service … Continue reading →

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When words are used to hide the truth (3)

Posted on 15/10/2013 by Scott Anderson

                  The Crown Prosecution Service has decided not to pursue charges against two doctors who agreed to perform abortions on the grounds of the gender of an unborn child. Lord Steel who … Continue reading →

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“We do not presume…”

Posted on 12/10/2013 by Scott Anderson

Over the years as an Anglican  I waited for the publication of each new round of services. I took part in anguished discussions with fellow Anglo-Catholics as to how to make the best of these new rites. I read (and occasionally … Continue reading →

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Anglo-Catholic humour

Posted on 24/09/2013 by Scott Anderson

  Soon after my aunt introduced me to Anglo-Catholicism she showed me its humour. I remember gales of laughter coming from her bedroom as she sat up reading ‘The Towers of Trebizond’ by Rose McCaulay. The book begins with the immortal … Continue reading →

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When words are used to hide the truth (continued)

Posted on 24/09/2013 by Scott Anderson

In August I wrote a post suggesting that the use of language to hide rather than to communicate was growing. This morning’s ‘Today’ programme on Radio reinforces my point. Without a trace of irony, the presenter Evan Davis introduced an … Continue reading →

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The Parish Mass – a distinctively Anglican contribution

Posted on 06/09/2013 by Scott Anderson

The annual trip to London was much looked forward to by us teenage servers. It was organised by the Guild of the Servants of the Sanctuary, and involved servers, wives, children and several clergy piling into a coach and heading … Continue reading →

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The renewal of the laity – an opportunity lost and found

Posted on 21/08/2013 by Scott Anderson

In  the late 1960’s, early 70’s, Renewal in the Holy Spirit arrived among us in the UK.  It had come from the United States, and not from the Pentecostals (and certainly not from the liberals) but from Anglo-Catholic Episcopalians.  For … Continue reading →

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Why didn’t they ask Evans?

Posted on 18/08/2013 by Scott Anderson

During this past year  I have re-read much of my collection of the detective fiction of P D James, Ruth Rendell – and of course, Agatha Christie, from whom I borrow the title  of this post. In this first year of a … Continue reading →

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When words are used to hide the truth

Posted on 08/08/2013 by Scott Anderson

Somebody remarked recently that we talk more and more and communicate less and less. The saying of Jesus, “Let your yes be yes and your no be no” (Matthew 5:37) seems forgotten in the torrent of words which people use. Earlier … Continue reading →

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