A few days ago, I finally finished The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, which made for another delightful read from the works of Charles Dickens. His decentralized plot line was unusual and enjoyable. While the theme of aging and the transition from the autumn to the winter of a life was evident, many of the events were practically unrelated and irrelevant, allowing the reader to enjoy them without having to guess how they will tie in later... and creating more surprise if they do. Besides the two usual strengths of Dickens' writings- well-executed verbosity and sympathetic characters- The Pickwick Papers is especially interesting because of the role of the Pickwick Club itself.. The papers to which the narrator attributes his information are communications from the Corresponding Society of the Pickwick Club to its home base, the former being composed of three of Mr. Pickwick's closest friends and associates. The idea of the Club itself is to die for- if anyone has heard of a cooler idea than a club devoted to the genius and accomplishments of one person, to aiding him in his journeys, and celebrating his insights, please tell me about it!

Can you imagine my joy when I learned that there are real Pickwick Clubs?! A Google search turned up the Philadelphia Pickwick Club, which seems legit and to still be operating, and gives all applicants a Pickwickian name to use at luncheons. In the role of the Benevolent Clergyman from Dingley Dell, they even have a real Philadelphia Catholic priest, Father Joe Howarth, as the Pickwickian Spiritual Guide!! And right up my alley, they wear special Club neckties. The downside, besides that it is in Philadelphia, is the $190 annual membership price and the $125 joining fee. Now, I don't know about you, but I haven't got that much dough to spare. Not that it would just be pocketed by the Club: despite the fake names and preference for the Queen's English, the Philadelphia Pickwick Club supports a real charity. In true Dickensian spirit, they selected St. Vincent Orphanage in Philadelphia for 2008. Maybe next I should read Oliver Twist.

The anomaly of the whole thing is that, while the original Club in The Pickwick Papers was filled with observant Anglicans, and the inventor of the whole idea eventually became a Unitarian, the Philadelphia Pickwick Club is characteristically Catholic. While it is true that this fortunate and unexpected affiliation must stem from the dispositions of the quixotics and jokesters that formed the Club, it is also a sign of the times for the Church of England. With the recent decision to ordain women bishops, those Anglicans who actually care about orthodoxy and following the example of Christ look ready to bolt. As the C of E inevitably sinks under the pressures of theological innovation and rejection of the natural roles of men and women, the good souls in her pews are just realizing Rome has been right the whole time. According to the first source in this paragraph, a grand total of 1,333 Anglican clergymen have threatened to leave because of the decision. Many of those not wholly disillusioned by this rejection of Scripture- without going into depth, Christ appointed twelve male apostles; even the most ardently Modernist interpreters only claim there were female deaconesses- by a body which was, once, fairly orthodox, will undoubtedly come home to the Church of Rome. I give them a hearty welcome.