Coming Home? Or Not.

Greetings on a cloudy Wednesday from the City of Sheffield, where we are now in our second week of residence. Until today the weather has been gorgeous (a little too hot for me, but Jennifer was loving it). The city has some curious similarities with Pittsburgh - a now departed steel industry that has given way to various high tech enterprises (of which Jennifer's employer is one), a gritty working-class culture, friendly and helpful inhabitants - but it is obviously not identical. For one thing, there is a tram system that - unlike Pittsburgh's T - actually serves most of the city neighborhoods. If all goes well, come Friday we will have a rented house in Norfolk Park, about fifteen minutes from the railway station and the tram and about twenty-five minutes from Jennifer's workplace. 

On Pentecost we worshiped at the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, a handsome pro-cathedral with an excellent choir and a sizable staff. I met on Monday with a worthy Canon to discuss where I might be of most use (since Bishop Steven had suggested we worship there until we had a residence) and got the distinct impression he was a little worried lest my ACNA fundamentalism disturb the present modus vivendi! Interestingly, as far as he was concerned, ACNA was no longer part of the Anglican Communion, but beyond pointing out why they consider themselves so to be, I didn't belabor the point. He did observe that most churches in Sheffield - whether Evangelical, Catholic or Liberal - had a fairly clear identity, except for the Cathedral itself, which strove to uphold a more generic via media. I suspect that we may go and at least try out St. Matthew's, Carver Street, which is currently under one of the flying bishops. It will be a change to get some genuinely catholic liturgy again.

Doubtless there will be more posted here once we get settled. It's very strange to be back in the UK after twenty years, as strange for me as it is for Jennifer. There must be more of the Ishmaelite in me than I imagined.