David Murphy, the group administrator for the Ordinariate Support Group for Expats in Europe, has written with a request for assistance:

We are in the process of commencing an occasional series of posts on “Examples of Anglican Patrimony in the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham”. Many critics of the UK Ordinariate have suggested that because most of the Ordinariate groups, missions and parishes do not celebrate a typically Anglican Use Eucharist but rather use the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite there is in fact very little Anglican Patrimony that the Ordinariate is bringing into the wider Church. In our series we should like to show that this is not the case — our aim is to a demonstrate with as many concrete examples as possible how the various groups and religious communities have chosen to maintain important elements of our Anglicanness and in so doing have already had an enriching influence on the Church.

Our series has begun with a video of bellringing from St. Agatha’s in Portsmouth, an activity and a sound which are almost emblematic for the C of E. We should like to continue with liturgical and musical patrimony (from the way of celebrating the Mass, the various non-eucharistic services — Evensong, Lessons and Carols, Advent Processions, etc. — via hymnsinging, anthems, Anglican Chant to robed choirs and pipe organs), Anglican church decor (hanging pyxes, embroidered hassocks, flags and banners, candlesticks, palls and altar frontals), vestments and liturgical dress (surplices, scarves and hoods at Evensong, copes, appareled albs), organization (churchwardens, welcomers, clergy wives and families, shared responsibility), pastoral practices (e.g. activities focussed not so much on Catholics but all residents of the community), spirituality (Anglican non-biblical readings, a more ecumenical view of sainthood including the commemoration of Anglican luminaries, etc.) and probably many more elements which I have not even thought of.

We should be thrilled if you could find the time to review your way of doing things and describe it to us. If you could pick one or more aspects on which you could write an article (short, medium or longer) preferably with photos or videos, that would be superb.

Please take this request seriously, as we believe it is important for us to talk about our distinctiveness and of course to reflect on it ourselves and share best practice. If the response is good, we hope to be able to put together a collection of articles, maybe in the form of a brochure which all can take advantage of.

We look forward to lots of replies, from pastors and also from group members, as soon as possible. Let’s get everybody writing.

If you can help, please email your experiences to David Murphy at davidmurphy@gmx.de.