I hear that. My husband grew up Southern Baptist and has a difficult time with the various aspects of a liturgical church. He actually finds the history of the liturgy to be interesting purely from a historical point of view but fails to find it important spiritually. Hard to appreciate it if you don’t go!So I now gather. Where I grew up, though, Southern Baptist was “high church.”
No worries; I follow your meaning. Well, I occasionally visit a Catholic church when I’m by myself and I’m able, but mine & my wife’s “compromise church” (non-denominational Protestant) doesn’t celebrate anything except Christmas and Easter Sunday–it has that much in common with every other non-Catholic church I’ve been in. I’m afraid they don’t have any “liturgy,” and would consider having anything resembling one to be Pharasaical, if not outright apostate. They have communion a couple of times a year, but not on any particular schedule, and it’s deemed to be explicitly, 100% symbolic and non-essential. If not for a certain amount of stubborn curiosity and independent study, I’d never have heard of anything called “Ash Wednesday,” a liturgy," or a “Christian calendar.”Wow, this is interesting. Do you have set readings and prayers, etc? Is the communion closer to our Real Presence? You celebrate Ash Wednesday - what about the rest of the liturgical calendar?
More importantly, where does your church gets its liturgical ideas from - Catholic/other Christian liturgy magazines, Catholic/other Christian Missal/Lectionary/Liturgy Books, textbooks? This is interesting to me as I normally find Baptist a bit insular (sorry if I have used the wrong word here).
I see you live in the Charleston area and did a quick google search of churches who advertise Ash Wednesday services among Protestants. Predictably Lutheran and Episcopal/ Anglican churches all seem to have a Eucharist and distribution of ashes and I found a Methodist church offering the same.No worries; I follow your meaning. Well, I occasionally visit a Catholic church when I’m by myself and I’m able, but mine & my wife’s “compromise church” (non-denominational Protestant) doesn’t celebrate anything except Christmas and Easter Sunday–it has that much in common with every other non-Catholic church I’ve been in. I’m afraid they don’t have any “liturgy,” and would consider having anything resembling one to be Pharasaical, if not outright apostate. They have communion a couple of times a year, but not on any particular schedule, and it’s deemed to be explicitly, 100% symbolic and non-essential. If not for a certain amount of stubborn curiosity and independent study, I’d never have heard of anything called “Ash Wednesday,” a liturgy," or a “Christian calendar.”
I know how odd that must sound to cradle Catholics, but not many of them ever seem to understand how much the norm it is in many parts of the world, and how Catholicism looks to someone reared to consider it the default version of Christianity. It results in a lot of talking past one another.
Not exactly. Many of the Episcopal Churches are still the Diocese of SC, per the currently governing court decision on what folks may call themselves in the lower part of SC. But they are not in TEC.I see you live in the Charleston area and did a quick google search of churches who advertise Ash Wednesday services among Protestants. Predictably Lutheran and Episcopal/ Anglican churches all seem to have a Eucharist and distribution of ashes and I found a Methodist church offering the same.
BTW, there seem to be many really beautiful churches in your area. Quick aside, many of the Episcopal churches are now Anglican.
I should know better, by now, not to make blanket statements about Episcopalians/ Anglicans. I noticed a fair number of Episcopal parishes in Charleston referring to themselves as Anglican and wondered if the entire diocese left TEC. Thanks for clarifying the distinctions.Not exactly. Many of the Episcopal Churches are still the Diocese of SC, per the currently governing court decision on what folks may call themselves in the lower part of SC. But they are not in TEC.
Others are still in TEC, but are not the Episcopal Diocese of SC. They are calling themselves the Episcopal Church in South Carolina.Whenever the governing court is watching them.
Time will tell what happens next, and certainly they are generically Anglican, as are Episcopalians, generally. But they are not formally Anglicans, in the sense the Continuum is. Hard to say what to call them.
Brave, anyway.
By parish and head count, roughly 2/3s+ (IIRC) went with the Diocese out of TEC. Corporately, the Diocese left. And the courts, in general, are agreeing.I should know better, by now, not to make blanket statements about Episcopalians/ Anglicans. I noticed a fair number of Episcopal parishes in Charleston referring to themselves as Anglican and wondered if the entire diocese left TEC. Thanks for clarifying the distinctions.
Yes I had a couple as clients-patients from West Virginia who were Pentecostals though of the moon shine still and non-snake handling variety. They considered Southern Baptists as high church also. I have never been in the deep south or Appalachia but I guess for those folks Baptists are “high church” hard as it is to imagine.So I now gather. Where I grew up, though, Southern Baptist was “high church.”
Aah, I thought you were attending a ‘liturgical’ Baptist church, which would be a little unusual.No worries; I follow your meaning. Well, I occasionally visit a Catholic church when I’m by myself and I’m able, but mine & my wife’s “compromise church” (non-denominational Protestant) doesn’t celebrate anything except Christmas and Easter Sunday–it has that much in common with every other non-Catholic church I’ve been in. I’m afraid they don’t have any “liturgy,” and would consider having anything resembling one to be Pharasaical, if not outright apostate. They have communion a couple of times a year, but not on any particular schedule, and it’s deemed to be explicitly, 100% symbolic and non-essential. If not for a certain amount of stubborn curiosity and independent study, I’d never have heard of anything called “Ash Wednesday,” a liturgy," or a “Christian calendar.”
I know how odd that must sound to cradle Catholics, but not many of them ever seem to understand how much the norm it is in many parts of the world, and how Catholicism looks to someone reared to consider it the default version of Christianity. It results in a lot of talking past one another.
Maybe it is just relative. Maybe, for these Pentecostals (there are still hill-billies around?), having a symbolic communion service is high church. And different churches have different terminologies: eg., Evangelical Anglicans and Evangelical Lutherans are at opposite ends of the worship spectrum.Yes I had a couple as clients-patients from West Virginia who were Pentecostals though of the moon shine still and non-snake handling variety. They considered Southern Baptists as high church also. I have never been in the deep south or Appalachia but I guess for those folks Baptists are “high church” hard as it is to imagine.
Welcome, rrcommander. Do you observe anything for Lent then? Other than Christmas & Easter, is there any feasts that you celebrate? Is your Christmas & Easter services different from the normal Sunday service?I am a protestant member of this group. In the Assemblies of God there will be the usual Wednesday night (family night) activities.
Perhaps these liturgical Protestants are from the Moravian Church, especially in that part of Mid-Atlantic states/ Ohio Valley. Moravians follow a liturgy and, I believe they have apostolic succession.Yes I had a couple as clients-patients from West Virginia who were Pentecostals though of the moon shine still and non-snake handling variety. They considered Southern Baptists as high church also. I have never been in the deep south or Appalachia but I guess for those folks Baptists are “high church” hard as it is to imagine.
Thanks, EvangelCatholic! Have to admit, many of my observations about church options were recollections of the area near Atlanta where I’m from–it’s now part of the ATL suburbs, but was firmly rural back when I was a child. Growing up in Charleston would have been a considerably more catholic/Catholic experience!I see you live in the Charleston area and did a quick google search of churches who advertise Ash Wednesday services among Protestants. Predictably Lutheran and Episcopal/ Anglican churches all seem to have a Eucharist and distribution of ashes and I found a Methodist church offering the same.
BTW, there seem to be many really beautiful churches in your area. Quick aside, many of the Episcopal churches are now Anglican.
St. Michaels too? I hope not.I see you live in the Charleston area and did a quick google search of churches who advertise Ash Wednesday services among Protestants. Predictably Lutheran and Episcopal/ Anglican churches all seem to have a Eucharist and distribution of ashes and I found a Methodist church offering the same.
BTW, there seem to be many really beautiful churches in your area. Quick aside, many of the Episcopal churches are now Anglican.
St. Michael’s was one of the majority of parishes in the Diocese of SC who left when the Diocese corporately left TEC, following +Lawrence. But, as I posted above, what to call the Diocese of SC now is a good question. They might be called Anglican, generically, or by individual preferences of each parish, and they are certainly not part of TEC. But they have not joined any "Anglican " jurisdiction, formally.St. Michaels too? I hope not.
I had a friend in an Episcopal church who was raised the daughter of an Episcopal cleric in Charleston. They were very low church Protestant. She called priests ‘ministers’ and Mister instead of Father. She moved to an Anglo-Catholic parish in Texaass, and had a hard time with a lot of the High church practices and decorations in the church. She became quite upset when they added a small chapel with a big statue of Our Lord.