Methodist Confirmation

  • Thread starter Thread starter Yeni76
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Tommy999 said:
A couple of Sundays later he joined the church on Palm Sunday. When he joined, his adult Sunday School class came up and stood by him in solidarity, which was nice to witness because he is kind of shy and was fearful of standing in front of our large congregation by himself while being introduced.
Click to expand...
How sweet of them! ❤️
 
Yeni,
Welcome to CAF.

I hope you find us interesting, and informative. I know I get lots of knowledge, frustration, encouragement, occasional humor and support here. Feel free to post questions, prayer requests, or answers here.
 
ltwin said:
The problem, as you point out, is for their to be a reunion the Methodist elders will have to be “re-ordained” by bishops in apostolic succession
Click to expand...
The term elder is confusing to me. I thought most Protestant denominations use this word to refer to laity sort of like trustees, some authority but only in this congregation. Below a pastor or minister, who is ordained, with authority anywhere.

When and why did Methodists in UK or US stop calling their clergy priests?
 
commenter said:
The term elder is confusing to me. I thought most Protestant denominations use this word to refer to laity sort of like trustees, some authority but only in this congregation. Below a pastor or minister, who is ordained, with authority anywhere.
Click to expand...
Baptists will sometimes have elders (often these are called deacons instead) that fit this description. They are laymen who are elected by the congregation to oversee it. However, pastors/ministers would be elders as well.

Presbyterians have what are called “ruling elders” that are elected from among the congregation to oversee it, while the pastors and other ministers are called “teaching elders” because they are ministers of the Word and sacrament.
commenter said:
When and why did Methodists in UK or US stop calling their clergy priests?
Click to expand...
“Elder” is a translation of the Greek word presbyteros, which is also where we get our English words “presbyter” and “priest”.

Therefore, they never stopped calling their clergy presbyteros, but they probably just thought elder/presbyter avoided unwanted connotations attached to the word “priest”. In the US, Methodists have always had deacons, presbyters and bishops. In the UK, they don’t have bishops because of Wesley’s understanding that presbyters and bishops are essentially the same office.

And as I understand it, “elder” is the United Methodist term but the British Methodists call them “presbyters”. Same difference.
 
Last edited:
Many view Methodists as “Catholic Lite.” Why settle for lite when you can be full bodied?

Come home to the Catholic Church founded by Jesus Himself and receive the fullness of Truth.
 
Yeni76 says, “I am home! Part of the reason I left the catholic church…all that praying to saints had to go …pray to Jesus and him alone! Only He answers prayers, not Mary, Saint Jude, or whomever else you pray to!”

Lily says, How long were you Catholic before you left and became a Methodist? Do they know of your obvious anger and hatred of the Catholic Church? What caused you feel this way?

My maternal grandmother was a lifelong Methodist. Many of my maternal relatives are Methodist. And I have met many Methodists who do not view Catholics the way you do.

You need to realize that we do not pray to Mary and the Saints the way we do to God. They are not God. Nor are they gods. We ask Mary and the Saints in Heaven to pray with us the same way we ask our friends and family to pray for and with us.

Also, as a former Catholic, I’m sure you remember the Rosary. Do you realize the “Hail Mary” and each of the Mysteries come from the Scripures? Try reading through them all and you will find that Mary is not the main focus as you may have been led to believe. Jesus is.

The Mysteries are highlights of His life and help us grow closer to Him. We are encouraged to read the Bible each day, to learn from its pages, to grow in wisdom and truth, to show compassion, to live in Christ and grow in Him.
 
Last edited:
Yes, Bear, Methodists and Episcopalians are considered “Catholic Lite,” according to the members of those churches that I’ve spoken to. (I’m in agreement with your grandfather and great-grandfather. That term makes me object too.)
 
Last edited:
I’ve heard the term used for Episcopalians. Other Protestants have told me that they consider Episcopalians nearly the same as Catholics and that has even been expressed on this forum.

News to me for Methodists, though.
 
Considering that Methodists are basically first cousins to the Anglicans, by derivation, it might make some, strained sense if they themselves made such a statement.

Never knew one who did so.

As to Anglicans, as we know, never can tell what such might say.
 
My wife was a former Methodist…when she went through RCIA to become Catholic she was amazed and disappointed that as a Protestant much of the anti-Catholic rhetoric she had been told was misguided…or just outright lies…she was actually more than a little dismayed by what she had NOT been taught…never knew about the early church fathers …what they believed…nothing about the history of the early “Catholic” church…of course she had many wonderful Christian friends in the Methodist church…like many Catholics will say…Protestants just don’t have the fullness of the faith…now she has daily Rosary…daily Divine Mercy…daily bible reading…daily Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus…weekly Eucharistic Adoration in the chapel…reading the lives of the saints…she’s perfectly content to be home in the Catholic church
 
lilypadrees said:
Yes, Bear, Methodists and Episcopalians are considered “Catholic Lite,” according to the members of those churches that I’ve spoken to. (I’m in agreement with your grandfather and great-grandfather. That term makes me object too.)
Click to expand...
At the very last Methodist communion service I attended as a member of the United Methodist Church, the minister made a point to say that some folks call that service the “Methodist Mass”.
 
Yeah I think there is some confusion there between Methodists and Anglicans (from which Methodists are descended. Anglicans are generally referred to as Catholic lite (I believe it was the late Robin Williams who often said as much about the religion).
 
Padres1969 said:
Anglicans are generally referred to as Catholic lite
Click to expand...
Indeed.

And my Anglican wife would be quite offended that you called her Catholic lite, while @GKMotley might take issue with being called Catholic lite.

We’re weird.
 
Yes we are. One of my favorite things about Anglicanism. Who wants to be “normal”…
 
I have to chime in here - I attended a methodist church for about a year with my then-boyfriend, now-husband. The assistant pastor stated that he did not like the Passion readings, nor opted to preach on the subject as he felt (his words) it was too heavy and a bit gorey. I was a bit gobsmacked about that, as that is the centerpiece of the Christianity. With no passion and resurrection, then Christianity would have died out before 100 AD.

Your mileage may be different, but i experienced deja Vu. The two pastors seemed to like to recycle the same sermons and it seemed like the readings chosen were very limited to very “safe” scripture. Now that particular church has drifted in other ways and is anything goes

I had been in an abusive marriage - my first husband divorced me. After a long recovery period, I met someone and assumed I could not remarry as I was misinformed (my fault) about the annulment process - thinking my ex would be given current info about me. We attended the church thinking maybe we could get married there.

The Methodist minister called it the “compromise church” that people end up at when they want a bit more church than the Unitarian Church but not as reflective or deep as the Catholic Church

I was glad I never joined and came back to the Catholic Church. The annulment process was not what I thought it would be - there was much care and kindness in the process. My husband went through RCIA as well.

I do think you should spend time talking to a priest, deacon or RCIA head - you may find your ideas about Mary worship unfounded. A lot of objections people toss at me are the crusades,etc and nothing currently relevant.

If you really feel you want to be a Methodist - that’s fine, but don’t be one over false information or the desire for “anything goes.”
 
I’m not lite anything.

Light-headed, sometimes.

Light in the darkness, maybe.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top