Catholic attending Episcopal Funeral Service

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Hello Everyone!

I’m Roman Catholic that came into the faith this past Easter. That being said, someone that I knew recently passed away. She was an Episcopalian. I’m guessing it is okay to go to her visitation and funeral and pay my respects, but I was curious as to what I should look out for or avoid doing. If anyone can offer some advice on this, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
You can attend and should be able to take part in everything except communion.

Do not receive their communion.
 
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Attend the funeral of your friend and pay respect. The forst thing that comes to mind is they beleive in some sort of Presence of Christ in their Communion, right? You should not receive communion at the Episcopal Church.

Edit: of course we believe in the true body and blood. Just if you partake of their Communion that is the same as saying you agree with the teaching of their church.
 
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I agree with the preceding posters. There is no problem about going at all–but you shouldn’t go to Protestant communion.
 
And, while maintaining due diligence, as suggested, it might ease your mind to know that there might not be a offering of the Eucharist, at all. The last three Anglican funeral services I attended were not memorial/requiem Masses, but the Order for the Burial of the Dead, from (in my case) the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.
 
GKMotley said:
And, while maintaining due diligence, as suggested, it might ease your mind to know that there might not be a offering of the Eucharist, at all. The last three Anglican funeral services I attended were not memorial/requiem Masses, but the Order for the Burial of the Dead, from (in my case) the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.
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I was thinking the same thing. I’ve never attended an Anglican funeral that had Communion as part of it.
 
I attended a memorial at a Lutheran Church for my niece. Such warmth I’ve never experienced before. They had snacks afterwards.
 
@phil19034
I’m a Roman Catholic and have been all my life and so my family, I’m 13. But attend a Protestant school and don’t know much details about Catholicism. Why shouldn’t you take communion from them?
phil19034 said:
Do not receive their communion.
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Wow. I am a convert from the Episcopal Church. My Dad was an Episcopal Priest. We had communion, and I partook. I guess I need to include that fact in my next communion. I guess it was not mortal, as I didn’t know any better, it was such a terrible time. This was in early March of this year almost nine weeks ago.
 
I am sorry for your loss. There is no moral issue with attending the service or participating in the public prayers. Since it is an Episcopalian service, the pastor will likely invite all in attendance to receive communion. As a Catholic, however, you should refrain, as we have incompatible beliefs regarding communion.
 
I’m sorry I do not understand most of what you said, its my second language and I don’t understand words like clergy, etc.

Edit: Nevermind I translated it. And thank you I now understand.
 
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I am Episcopalian and I can’t think of the last funeral I attended that was NOT a Eucharist. In my circle, it’s pretty standard unless the person who died was not an active member of the church. Also, the priest usually invites all to partake of Communion (Open Table as it is commonly known by), or to come to the altar to receive a blessing. Or to sit quietly in your pew. I think most clergy want to make visitors feel welcomed and comfortable.

Most of the funerals I attend in Episcopal churches do have a reception afterwards. Again, we want people to feel welcomed.
 
Yeah, I attended a funeral at a Presbyterian USA Church a few years back and they too had a reception after in their hall.

It seems like Catholic funerals typically have the receptions at the home of a loved one or at a catering hall, and rarely in the Church.

Though, for Catholic parishes with the space to host a reception, I think they should start offering it. They can easily offer a cheaper alternative to a catering hall.

God Bless
 
phil19034 said:
It seems like Catholic funerals typically have the receptions at the home of a loved one or at a catering hall, and rarely in the Church.
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Perhaps non-RCC churches are more used to hospitality (with food) after services, so this is a natural extension of that ministry. It’s how we care for each other in times of joy and grief.
 
ComplineSanFran said:
Perhaps non-RCC churches are more used to hospitality (with food) after services, so this is a natural extension of that ministry. It’s how we care for each other in times of joy and grief.
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They have more food after services because they are typically smaller than Catholic parishes. For example, I just saw figures a few minutes ago that say there are only 1.8 Million members for the TEC in the United States.

Smaller Catholic parishes often have social events too. There is a small Parish by me that has coffee and donuts after the first Sunday of each month.

When I was a kid, my Parish had donuts and coffee after each mass in the cafeteria (though we rarely attended because we typically went to brunch with my grandmother after mass on Sundays).

I think the real reasons Catholic Churches typically don’t host the reception a after funeral are:
  1. because Parish culture takes a while to change unless a clergyman forces a change.
  2. Many older Catholic Churches don’t have space large enough for a reception.
  3. And the ones that do, don’t think about it because everyone they knew growing up hosted the funeral reception in the home - like how the Jewish people do. After all, many ancient Catholic customers from the Jews. Having a funeral reception in your own home is one of them.
  4. The idea of using a catering hall is a relatively modern innovation that hasn’t caught on with all Catholics yet
God Bless
 
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