I entered the church via a door opened by the Southern Baptists about 57 years ago. I moved into conventional Bible Church ministries in college, went on to seminary, and ministered in virtual-baptist churches for the next decade. At the time of a trans-Atlantic move back to the States, I was struggling pretty hard with my Anabaptist heritage, having stumbled onto the doctrine of the Real Presence while preaching through 1 Corinthians. After the dust settled a couple of years later, I landed in a main-line Episcopal church as an Episcopal layman, in which I recovered a lot of spiritual growth that had been retarded in the Anabaptist climes. My wife and I ministered as Sunday school teachers for junior and senior high students for the next 14 years, and I delivered the homily during worship during Lent and Advent for the last nine yhears we were there. When ECUSA's determined apostasy forced us to step away, I contacted three continuing bodies to see if any of them would take me on as a candidate for Holy Orders. One did, and five families founded St. Athanasius Anglican Church here in Waxahachie ten years ago. We keep on keepin' on! This part of Texas is not a hotbed of orthodox Anglican Christianity. Most folks confuse us for Romans (our liturgy is "higher" than the local Roman liturgy!), and Protestants -- including the local Protestant clergy -- just can't figure out what's so Protestant about us. Pity that! I love theology and rarely find Anglicans who can discuss it with any competence. On a lark, after my Sunday nap, I plugged "Anglican theology forums" and this place was at the top. We'll see!
"What continuing Anglican body did you join?" Our parish joined the United Anglican Church, a small jurisdiction formed by the merger of three older continuing jurisdictions. The fact that they did that is one reason I found them attractive. Also, most of their clergy came to Anglican Christianity from outside it, rather than as refugees from the Episcopal Church. So, receiving ordination in that jurisdiction came with some "homely" feelings which I've always been grateful for. Our jurisdiction, like most of the continuers (perhaps not all, but many) are dying off and drying up. We have a deacon, however, who is pursuing a priesthood formation, and Lord willing he will be ordained before the end of the year. b+
Welcome Father Bill. I recently came to Anglicanism from Orthodoxy, having been raised a Baptist. It's great to have you here.