I recently started attending services at a local Episcopal church and it’s stirred up a lot of questions. (Questions are at the bottom of the post)

I was raised in the Catholic Church. I received all of the sacraments of initiation, and was a fervent believer in the teachings of the church. I went to Catholic school and a Catholic University. I was a hardcore catholic going to mass weekly, regular confession, and practicing daily devotions. For a while I floated in the traditionalist camp but eventually moved away from that school of thought. I made a detailed academic study of my faith, I have read Augustine, Aquinas, and the other church fathers. I have read the works of modern scholars as well. I felt secure and confident in my beliefs.

Then in college things changed, I came out of the closet. I knew well the church’s teaching of chastity for LGBTQ people and I was willing to accept it. I always considered myself a bit asexual so chastity wasn’t a huge pill to swallow. But the real kicker came when I went to a priest for help and guidance. He affirmed the teaching of chastity and offered an explanation for why I felt the way I did. According to him I developed a poor relationship with my father so therefore I developed an attraction to men to fulfill the need for a strong paternal relationship. Here’s the thing I have a great relationship with my father. He worked a lot when I was young but both of my parents did. Our relationship isn’t strained it’s very loving and caring. So, I concluded that the premise proposed by the priest clearly is wrong than the conclusion is false too. That simple logical proof caused a great deal of turmoil.

Soon I began to question other aspects of my beliefs. I’m an academic historian so luckily I have available to me a great plethora of sources and I began to read the writings of the Protestant Reformers. I started with Luther and then Calvin, Zwingli, and lastly Cranmer. I found myself disagreeing with some of the Catholic Churches morality teachings and soon I questioned the central tenant of Catholicism, transubstantiation. I thought about it and I agreed with the objections raised by Luther and the other reformers. Though I didn’t really agree with Luther’s consubstantiation theology. I found myself agreeing with Cranmer’s teaching of the spiritual presence. I’m curious, was this something other converts struggled with too?

After that other things just fell away. I stopped going to confession because I felt it was pointless, since I no longer believed in it as the means to forgive sins. I still believe in sin though. Things that were apparently mortal sins seemed so ridiculous, sometimes almost laughable. Not to mention we make a confession in the beginning of mass so why doesn’t that suffice as the means to forgive sins. I also struggled wit the biblical justification for confession as well. I never really felt clean after confession, there was this notion of dread the week after week I’d be back. It was a crutch that made me feel awful all the time. When I stopped going I felt a lot better. Furthermore, the devotions like the rosary, the little office, and divine mercy chaplet no long had the same impact they once did. Lastly, I slowly stopped attending mass. I went when I was home with my parents but somehow the attendance felt cold. Like I was no longer welcome, like I was being looked down on, not by God but by the people around me. I attended all the Easter services last year at a very traditional Church and I found myself sitting there listening to the homily disagreeing with almost everything the man said. After that I was done, I went to one or two more masses but it wasn’t the same. I once found great comfort in the mass, now all I felt was guilt and shame. No more I said to myself.

Some more context, I’m affiliated with a historical society that tells the story of a small worker village that was built as part of an iron furnace complex. In the village there is an Episcopal Chapel, consecrated in the 1830s and still an active parish. We had an event in the village and the rector of the parish offered to conduct a traditional service according to the 1789 Book of Common Prayer. I attended the service and I was amazed. When I entered the chapel I was welcomed by people like I was their long lost friend. Something completely foreign to me in my experiences as a Catholic. I’m used to the come in sit quietly and wait for mass to start. The energy before the service was electric. The service itself was amazing. Seeing the service that was originally used in the Chapel once again being used was awesome. As a historian I really appreciated the historical service.

After the service the priest and I were talking and she invited me back. I was hesitant to return. A few weeks later she told me she was leaving the parish after 20 years. Two Sundays ago was her final service. So I said I would go. This service was according to the current Book of Common Prayer, Rite II. Again I received the same warm welcome. I felt at home, the service was very similar to the mass I grew up with. I left feeling great, the same feeling I had at mass years ago. Last Sunday, I went back this time the service was Rite I and again I really enjoyed it. Through my work with the historical society I got to know both the old rector and the other part time priest pretty well. As I was leaving the service last Sunday the part-time priest said to me, “Two Sunday’s in a row I’ve seen you. What would your Catholic brothers think.” I responded, “Shh don’t tell them.” And then he said, “Well if you want to talk about Episcopalianism I love talking about it.” I said, “Maybe,” we exchanged other pleasantries and I moved on.

So I have several questions for the group. Have other converts had similar experiences? Should I reach out and speak to the priest? (I plan to attend the service this Sunday) Lastly, how did your families react to your conversation? I’m worried what my very catholic parents would think…

If you have read to this point thanks for bearing with me!

For years, I've used the Morning, Noon, Evening, and Bedtime Devotion skills via Amazon Alexa. It would read the corresponding Daily Devotion from the BCP. I enjoyed completing these devotions this way as it was nice to hear another voice and feel connected to other people using the skill.

A few weeks ago, they all stopped working. "Sorry, I'm having trouble accessing your [Morning/Noon/Evening/Bedtime] Devotion skill now" is what it says. I tried reporting the outages on the Alexa app but there hasn't been any response or fix.

Does anyone know who contributed these skills, like if it was some office at the Church? I would love if they could be fixed. Reading and even saying them alone isn't the same for me.

Do you get up to leave at the priest’s dismissal/benediction?

Does your entire congregation sit in silence and wait for the musician to finish playing?

How do you guys end service?

I would love to know where this comes from why it is in the music liturgy

I’m just curious to see people’s general opinions. My church used to rent its pews before it became taboo a few decades ago. Obviously this contradicts the spirit of the gospels, especially as Jesus condemns those who pay for the best seats at worship.

My church is now selling space for reserved pews at special events. I know this is not regular worship, but the argument is that those who are givers should get top seats.

I realised that pew rents were probably introduced for arguably sound reasons. It’s a way to raise money and regulars get their own seat seeing as they go frequently. That’s the argument I imagine. Of course, the New Testament rejects this custom. Pew Rents became dreaded and derided throughout Britain especially, but churches have subtle ways of reintroducing it.

Hey, guys.

New here.

Recently I've been very interested in the law and gospel approach to scripture, especially the way it's potrayed in some platforms like Mockinbird and by some TEC authors like Robert F. Capon. I noticed, though, that many TEC parishes that use this approach are not very LGBT friendly (anti marriage equality, for ex), which I perceived to be weird. Any thoughts about that? Any sources in which I could learn more about law and gospel from a lgbt friendly perspective? thanks.

This is a pipe dream of mine. But I'd really like to be a nun someday. I'm a broken mess though. And I'm working on my self. This months for that. Plus resting. My priest asked me to rest.

I talked with my priest of my dream for a religious community for trans women. But I honestly don't know how this would be possible. While there is a space that could be repurposed for a religious community/order. Such a project would take money I don't have.

The mission of helping address queer poverty and trans homelessness is the core goal.
Trying to offer beds to our marginalized siblings and food, showers clean clothes.

There is a large influx of my siblings in Minnesota and I want to create such a community or order here.

But finding other women with such love for God seems impossible. Secular Trans women I know are some of the least pious people around, most are atheist due to religious truama. Some are God forbid pagan. But they are still my sisters even if they hate me.

Many of my sisters are stuck in sex work to survive. Addicted to drugs or in recovery. Poor with housing instability. Neurodiverse, mentally ill. They deal with so much pain and struggle.

But I also know there are many who love God. They are all loved by God. I know we have his perpetual promise in Isaiah 56.

But this dream to be a person and people's of love to heal that rift the church has created. Seems a fools errand.

I've met other women. Who are trans who are episcopal but I doubt they wish to become religious sisters.

I already have a passion for helping homeless trans women. I offer my shower and washing machines. I have offered my bed before. But due to stipulations with my roomate I can't do that anymore. I love cooking for my friends and people I know need some support.

I love giving out resources to others and directing them to places for social welfare.

But I can't even keep my room clean to save my life. Without the help of others.

There is a priory locally that is dispersed. Plus it's not the same idea as what I need to do. An order by and for trans women would be a dream. Our community only trusts one another generally. To do this work we must be the ones doing it.

I did get my priests blessing to figure this out and they said it was an amazing idea.

But I'm so poor without the help of others such a project would be impossible.

I'm no scholar, or seminarian. Im just a trans woman who loves God. I did talk to the leader of the local priory and I did take a class about benedictine spirituality from her.

I've already taken steps to be more involved in my church. I worry I will eventually over whelm myself. Due to my disabilities and mental health. I'm an acolyte. I help out with the alter guild sometimes.

But I was told by my priest. That have an incredible gift of focusing on the here and now and helping others in that way. Being there for them. I guess I do? If she says so.

I receive a lot of praise from others for my good works and I think it's nonsense. I am just being my self. I'm tarnished.

I personally try to minister to my trans sisters and brothers at church. But sometimes I come on to strong and cause others to go astray.

So I hope someday I can achieve my dream. But for now I feel like I'm only playing pretend.

You know, it occurred to me last Sunday that I've been going to the Episcopal Church my whole life, and Eucharistic prayer B has been the most common form I've heard throughout my life, but I've never really chewed on this particular phrase much.

Full sentence:

In the fullness of time, put all things in subjection under your Christ, and bring us to that heavenly country where with ____ and all your saints we may enter the everlasting heritage of your sons and daughters, through Jesus Christ our Lord, the firstborn of all creation, the head of the Church, and the author of salvation.

So I love this prayer, it's rich and glorious and such a great way to express our hope. But the specific phrasing of 'under your Christ' feels a bit alien to me. Your Christ. I mean, yes, addressing the father, Jesus is His son. And I can see a bit of scriptural parallel to things like 1 Corinthians 15:27.

Curious if anyone has any insight on this. Why "your Christ" and not just "Christ"?

Other than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, what stories can you think of that prominently feature Advent? Not just Christmas stories, but stories that specifically prominently feature Advent as a part of the story.

My wife, daughter, and I attended the sung Advent Eucharist at Westinster Abbey yesterday. We arrived early and were actually seated in the choir loft. Just an transcendent experience in a timeless place.

Color us giddy.

Maybe I live in a building near friends but often I hear in my head fragments from our sung Eucharist service of course I sing. Right now I am alone, my partner is staying with a friend. It always leaves me feeling connected and grateful

It was the first day of December, the first day of Advent, the first Sunday of Advent, the first day for the new priest, and the first day for the old church building to be reopened since it was prepared.

It was a day of many firsts and I really loved it. It was also my first time partaking of the Eucharist since I’ve been going to an Orthodox Church and I’m not a baptized member of that denomination.

I talked to a lot of people, got to chat with the priest, and talked to a priest-to-be about seminary, heresies (Arianism, docetism, and nestorianism), as well as the Gnostic writings. It was very fun

I’m definitely going back :)

Tim sits down with Bishop Denise to explore her personal thoughts and reflections on Advent. Together, we delve into the meaning of this sacred season, her hopes for this Advent and the coming year, and how the themes of anticipation, preparation, and hope resonate in today's world.

https://youtu.be/8PhKLCMmdxs

Hi everyone,

I started attending Mass at an Episcopal Church a few months ago, after a decade of agnosticism in my teenage years/early adulthood (which was largely a result of the traumas I experienced as a queer kid attending a Roman Catholic school from K-8). The past year or so I have slowly realized I do believe in and love God (and honestly, have this whole time, but was left without the vocabulary or support to understand that). I fell into TEC due to their openness to LGBTQ people (I’m trans), and it has already become what feels like home to me. I adore the beautiful complexity of the liturgy at my Anglo-Catholic parish. I have also felt more at home as I’ve been reading about various socialist movements that have connections with Anglicanism—along with reading the Gospels for the first genuine time as an adult, I see an increasingly clear path where my faith and my political beliefs/actions can support each other and grow, intertwined.

Anyway, I feel ready to settle in here. But I still am wrestling with certain things theologically—although I admire Jesus, sometimes I really don’t understand what it means for him to be the Messiah. Some days I am at peace with that mystery, but some days it really troubles me. I have questions I don’t know how to even ask about salvation, about sin, about all sorts of things. I know anyone can just talk to a priest, and I think that’s what I want to do, but I feel a bit awkward or embarrassed asking. Growing up in the RCC I never talked to a priest outside of Confession (which was mandatory), and my parents certainly never did other than briefly chatting after Mass or at a school function. It feels very unfamiliar to me to talk to a priest, or anyone, for spiritual guidance. Do I just email our rector and ask for a time to talk? Is there anything specific I should mention when I reach out? What should I expect of our meeting—will he be expecting me to have a list of questions ready, or can I just show up and see where our conversation goes, with some general things I want to discuss? Am I taking time away from parishioners or tasks who need the priest’s attention more than I do?

Sorry that this was a bit longer than it needs to be, and that a lot of these questions feel silly. I get uncomfortable in social situations pretty quickly when I don’t know what to expect, so I guess I’m just nervous and am looking for some reassurance. I think it also brings up some fears from being a kid and just being terrified of priests and the Church in general, and not wanting to be a burden. I’m working on pushing through fears of asking for help and not knowing things, and this feels like a big step.

Thank you all. This sub has helped me with a lot of questions and given me a lot to think about in my journey, and I am very grateful for all of you. I hope everyone has a lovely first Sunday of Advent.

I like to pull out this article at this time of year to share with the group. I first wrote it about 25 years ago, but every few years I revise, correct, and clarify it as new sources become available. Feel free to message me directly if you want to reprint it somewhere.

​

Advent is a mysterious time in our liturgical calendar; while the secular world is busily gearing up for Christmas with a month of carols and holiday decorations, the church carefully keeps Christmas at arm’s length, observing a reflective and often austere period of four weeks before the glorious day. What is Advent all about? Where did it come from? And most importantly, why is the third candle on the Advent wreath pink?

The word “advent” comes from a Latin word meaning “to come to,” which gives us a hint about the theme of Advent: reflecting on and preparing for the coming of Christ. Christians have observed the Advent season since the 4th century — about the same time that the birth of Jesus began to be celebrated on December 25th in the Western church (after previously being observed variously in January, April, and May). As Christmas grew to become the second most important celebration after Easter, it also acquired its own version of Lent. Known by the 6th century as "St. Martin's Lent" from its start date on St. Martin's Day, November 11, Advent was originally a season of fasting, mirroring the six weeks of Lent which precede the celebration of Easter. By the 9th century, the length of Advent was reduced to four weeks in many countries, and by the 12th century, the requirements of fasting were dropped, leaving us with essentially the Advent season we observe today.

The liturgy of Advent reflects its Lent-like origins; while we do continue singing Alleluias, the “Gloria in excelsis” (Glory to God in the highest) is omitted, to return on Christmas Eve with the singing of the angels. The readings for Advent become more challenging, focusing on endings and visions of new beginnings, images of Jesus coming to us as a man in history and a judge at the end of history. Traditionally, the altar and the priest are dressed in violet, just as during Lent.

But wait, you say — in our parish everything is decked in blue for Advent! That’s true, and this puzzle takes a little unraveling. The association of particular colors with seasons (violet for Lent, red for Pentecost, green after Pentecost, etc.) is a relatively new invention in the history of church; that is, it didn’t come about until the 12th century. Before that, ancient and medieval art portrays a garish rainbow of different colors for vestments, and in the early church, priests wore ordinary clothes of the time (which looked a lot like the special clothes they wear today).

Even after special colors began to be used for different liturgical seasons, the color chosen for a given day wasn’t firmly fixed, or consistent from place to place. In England, for example, each of the great cathedrals had its own sets of colors. The “Sarum Blue” that many Episcopal churches use at Advent is a reference to Salisbury Cathedral in England, whose liturgical practices in medieval times (when it was called Sarum) set the pattern for churches throughout the country. However, “Sarum Blue” may actually be a misnomer. A modern study of Sarum practices published by Salisbury Cathedral notes that medieval Salisbury used brown, gray, or violet for Advent and Lent. The use of blue may have been popularized by a well-known 19th century English liturgical guide, The Parson’s Handbook, in which the author, a strong advocate for the revival of the Sarum liturgical practices, argues that there is “ample authority” for blue in Advent, but cites no sources for that claim. In fact, the most thorough exploration of the question from the same period concludes that "the colour for Advent at Sarum remains unknown." Still, many Episcopal churches looking back to their English roots in the mid-20th century adopted this so-called “Sarum Usage,” typically using blue vestments for all four of the Sundays of Advent.

Which brings us, in a roundabout way, to the Advent wreath. Unlike Christmas, Lent, and Easter, Advent has inspired very few non-liturgical practices and traditions, the Advent wreath being a notable exception. In English history we find churches decorated with candles on wooden frames wrapped in greens and hung from the ceiling as early as 1540, but for the time-keeping Advent wreath as we know it, we have to look to Germany. In 1839, Johann Heinrich Wichern, head of a Hamburg mission school called the Rauhe Haus, was looking for a way to redirect the childrens’ constant questions about when Christmas was going to come. He laid out a wooden cartweel and inserted four large white candles spaced among twenty small red candles, and each day in Advent the children at the school would light an additional candle, red on weekdays and white on Sundays. In 1860 the wheel was further decorated with a wreath of greens, and by the end of the 19th century American writers were describing this quaint German “tradition” as an “Advent wreath.”

In Germany the Advent wreath spread (often in a simplified four-candle form) to Protestant households and churches in the late 1800s, and later among Catholics, but does not appear to have reached the United States until the early 20th century. The Advent wreath was largely a home devotion here until the 1950s, but still subject to commercialization: a florists’ trade journal from 1959 brags that 90% of the homes in Cincinnati have Advent wreaths due to excellent advertising and promotion by local florists. At this point the first advertising for church-scale wreaths also appears, and by the 1970s liturgical Advent wreaths were a common fixture in many churches. The names sometimes given to the individual Advent candles — Shepherds’ candle, Angels’ candle, etc — have no historical basis and tend to shift among the four weeks; the earliest mention I could find is in a Lutheran sermon collection from 1930.

So why is one of the four candles on the Advent wreath often pink? To answer that, we have to tie together all the strands we’ve seen so far. Remember that Advent started as a long fast, like Lent. For many centuries, the church observed the middle Sunday of Lent as a more festive Sunday, a sort of “breather” to help people make it the rest of the way through to Easter. The color of this Sunday (called “Laetare [Rejoice] Sunday”) was often rose — a lightening of the somber violet of the rest of the season. Advent’s original six week stretch inherited this break, which became known as “Gaudete Sunday” after the first word of the opening verse in the service (“Rejoice”), and also inherited the rose color for the day. When Advent was shortened to four weeks, Gaudete Sunday was shifted to the third Sunday, obscuring its function as a midseason break. Many churches still changed their vestments from violet to rose on that Sunday, however, making the traditional colors for the four Sundays of Advent: violet, violet, rose, violet.

Now, the Advent wreaths from Germany used only white candles for Sundays, and continue to do so today; it’s not clear when or by whom these were replaced by candles dyed to match the liturgical colors of Advent, but colored sets were being marketed for home use in the United States by the 1950s. Which is why the third candle is often pink (or rose), in celebration of Gaudete Sunday. The rest is history . . . almost.

In churches that adopted the Sarum Usage colors, the all-blue vestments of Advent no longer matched the colors of the candles, so some churches switched, appropriately, to four blue candles. Candle manufacturers, however, apparently not up on their liturgical history, started selling sets that were blue, blue, rose, blue, confusing the two traditions and further muddling the whole affair.

So what color should your Advent candles be? Ultimately, it doesn't really matter. Be historical, and make them white. Show your traditionalist colors and use violet and rose. Be a sturdy Anglican and go with all blue. Or mix them up; what's important is that the Advent wreath helps mark the days of our waiting and expectation until the Light of the World breaks upon our sight once again.

​

Partial list of sources:

Prosper Guéranger, The Liturgical Year, Vol 1, 1870 https://archive.org/details/V01TheLiturgicalYear/page/25

Percy Dearmer, The Parson's Handbook, 1899, p 114 https://books.google.com/books?id=Sp4SAAAAYAAJ

Transactions of the St. Paul's Ecclesiological Society, v. 1, 1881 https://archive.org/details/transactionsofst01stpa/page/104

Mary Jane Haemig, ‘The Origin and Spread of the Advent Wreath’ (Lutheran Quarterly, XIX (2005), pp. 332-343).

Ronald Hutton, Stations of the Sun, p 34 https://archive.org/details/stationsofsunhis0000hutt_w2i1/page/34

The School Journal, Volume 55, 1897 https://books.google.com/books?id=ov1KAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA698

Florists Exchange and Horticultural Trade World, Volume 133, 1959, p 23

The Concordia Pulpit, 1930, p 517 https://archive.org/details/concordiapulpit0034unse/page/516

​

And may all your altars and banners and vestments be colorful….and your Lectures bring the Gospel of Luke on the wings of the lectern’s back to the people.

Hello everyone! So I’ve been flirting with episcopalianism for some time now. For some background: I grew up Catholic, but my family was not very devout and much more spiritual rather than religious. However, I was sent to Sunday school, and by my teens I was solidly agnostic and definitely not catholic beyond being a “cultural catholic.” However, I have scrupulously/existential OCD. This has, for better or for worse, led me to a LOT of reading scripture, theological writings/critiques, existential philosophies, you name it, for the past 4 years. All this to say: hit me with whatever you got, be it personal testimony or high academia. For better or for worse, I’ve probably heard it all.

Episcopalianism seems like such a lovely, welcoming tradition. I especially appreciate how it encourages questioning/wrestling with faith a lot, as well as being a “big tent.” Ive attended a few services and spoken with some of the working members as well as clergy of my nearby church, and they were very very welcoming of me and my grapplings/interpretations. Hell, once I said something along the lines of “if Paul was wrong about the resurrection happening in his lifetime, what else could he be wrong about” and the priest of that nights service yelled “Exactly!!” Needless to say, very different from my catholic upbringing, in a way I really appreciated.

I am really at a loss with where I am now and where I should be going in my faith journey. On one hand, I feel this deep conviction of something “higher,” but on the other hand I can’t seem to being myself to buy the BCP, 39 articles, or the creeds. The biggest point of contention for me is the nature of Jesus, and of hell. Jesus is the savior, but of what? The punishment He’d give us by not believing. I don’t buy that, and I know a LOT of Episcopalians are more universalist. Still, Jesus is The Way, so to say.

I guess in my heart, I believe more of spirituality being a prism: each religion is a different color from a refracted pure light, but just as we cannot say green is more pure than red, it’s difficult for me to have faith that Christianity is more “correct” than, say, Buddhism. At the same time, there are definitely faiths I don’t believe at all can be correct, so I acknowledge my view is flawed too, but this is more a matter of faith than logic.

For some reason beyond logical explanation, I believe in God (or the universe, or the Father, or a higher power, or however you want to call it). I can certainly buy that Jesus is a savior from sin, if sin is “harm” that separates us from God, and his sacrifice on the cross is His way of becoming close to us. What I have a lot of trouble with is the idea that he is THE savior, THE messiah, and THE truth and way and light. That our salvation, whatever that word means, relies on this one man from this one culture recorded in texts that come from different perspectives and interpretations that were influenced by even MORE texts that come from even more different perspectives and interpretations that, oftentimes, contradict and argue with one another.

I apologize for the word vomit. I hope that I make at least a little sense. I read that all who knocked would be answered, but my knuckles have gone white. This lost sheep’s throat has gone sore from bleeding. Is the lost sheep bleating loud enough? Is she hiding? Can the shepherd hear her? Regardless, her throat is dry. Any advice on where to go from here would be greatly appreciated….

I'm trying to get a general consensus of what we call the thing we do on Sundays.

The churches in my area all say "Holy Eucharist" for their service, is that what most people call it? Or do most say "going to the church service?" Or "going to mass?"

View Poll

hello all , i am going to my first service tomorrow and want to know if there’s anything i should know or do

I am leading an ecumenical group following the daily readings of the RCL, and I noticed my first oddity: in our reading tomorrow, the RCL calls us to read Psalm 25: 1-10. But in the BCP, our lectionary in the TEC eliminates verse 10, which reads (as per the BCP): For your name’s sake, O Lord, forgive my sin, for it is great.

Any ideas as to why the verse is eliminated, or do you think it might simply be a typo in the BCP that no one ever caught? I find it theologically… odd to purposely eliminate a confession to sin.

Does the TEC have a formal position on Euthenasia?

I like hymns but I'm curious why TEC has singled out this one time period (1700s to late 1800s) to pick our music from? It seems like there would be good selections from earlier and later periods that could be added in.

Have you noticed that on bigger feasts they don't have the Gospel? I thought it was an omission the first time I caught it (All Saints' Day) but then they did it on Christ the King too. Is there some protocol behind this? About to listen to St. Andrew and wondering what I'll find.

My church offers advent calendars for all of us to have through the Christmas season. But I’m not really sure what to do. Can anyone help with what an advent is and what to do during the days? Thanks all!

My priest says as soon as the bishop can make it (new bishop, getting their ducks in a row), I'm getting confirmed.

My priest had me do private study as it was difficult for me to make classes due to disability. I've been reading up a storm and meeting with her periodically to discuss my progress.

Once confirmed, and once my baptismal covenant is renewed, I'm doing a formal confession to lay out all the awful and downright sleazy (and sometimes illegal) things I've done, especially in addiction. And with that, I start over, start fresh in Christ and move forward. Well, I've essentially already done that, but this makes it official.

Long live TEC. Long live the Church of England. God bless you all.

i am new and want to know if this is the right church for me. i know it is a very open church but i don’t know if confessing sins apart of what i believe. also what about the after-life do they believe in hell and if you sin you go to hell?

Hello all!

I'm a Priest in Michigan and have been given a grant to make some digital content. I'm considering doing a Hot-Ones style gauntlet interview for one of the videos. What questions would you like to have answered from a priest after they've consumed tens of thousands of extra scovilles?