I have now been back in MD for well over one month, serving as rector of St. Alban's parish in Joppa, MD. This is the parish where I was ordained, so there are lots of friends here. Additionally it is in the region where I was reared, so it is something of a "homecoming" being here. My priorities in the church are youth, music, preaching, and missions - essentially in that order. Having been around the block a bit as a priest and churchman for so many years now I think that our continuing Anglican parishes are weakest in these areas. The youth are my main priority. It is heartbreaking to see so many pictures of youth who once attended the church and who, though they live in the area, no longer attend - not even for Christmas or Easter. Our continuing Anglican churches specialize in this failure so it seems. The strangest thing about it is that it doesn't seem to bother anyone - either on a parish or institutional level. Why do so many kids grow up in our churches and
American paintings in oil, egg tempera, and watercolor