The closet Anglican Church to me is about an hour away. I also have a toddler. If I joined that church I know that I could not make it every Sunday even though I would try. Also do they frown upon doing inter denominational Bible Studies?
Fair questions, indeed. It might depend on the parish itself, but I do know people who attend a parish once or twice a month and are certainly considered members in good standing. As for interdenominational Bible studies, if you are talking about something like Precept or Bible Study Fellowship, I would think that would be fine.
More along the lines of I am a member of a young adults group that is at my current Methodist Church. Most of my friends are in it and it meets on Wednesdays. You don't hav eto be a member of the church but almost all of us are currently at the Methodist Church or I should say all of us are. The disarray in the Methodist Church though has me looking at the Anglican Church of North America.
I personally wouldn't have a problem with attending such a group as well as an Anglican parish, particularly if the young adults group is located closer to you. There is something to be said for having fellowship in your immediate area.
I agree with what others are saying about the Bible Study. An hour drive can be a long time. Ever thought about asking your parish if they'd be willing to sponsor a new mission parish in your area, closer to you ?
I feel quite guilty at present. I am aware that it is my own insecurities and I hope with time I can get over it. However, for me, I cannot bring myself to go to Church unless I have a minimum of £2-£5. This means I have missed Church quite a few times over the last 6 months. I realize how silly this is and I hope as I grow I will be able to overcome this feeling. Of course, people set up standing orders and give monthly to the Church, nobody would be any the wiser shall I not give on every occasion I attend. It's also unlikely anyone would judge me, my silly insecurities is all it is. I hope as I grow in my journey with being a Christian I can outgrow some of the silly ways of thinking I seem to have accrued. A year into my journey and I'm still trying to establish the correct etiquette's etc. I read the UCB Word for Today and listen to UCB1 and UCB2, this is very much like my Church also. Anne Henderson has a wonderful show from 5am-8am GMT. We pray every half hour to an hour together and she plays some wonderful worship songs. There have been discussions on the UCB shows before from presenters RE not being able to attend Church. Perhaps because of an illness of requirements to care for somebody or distance also. What is important, I feel, is that we get our nourishment from God in some form or other. Daily devotionals, my bible, TBN and my Radio provide the sources I need to remain close to God, especially if I fail to go to Church. Despite everything, I always read my Bible every single day without fail. I owe this much to God at the very least and it benefits me in so many ways. I have never felt any happiness like it since I found God. To conclude, IMO, if you cannot attend or it cause too much of a strain on yourself or those around you, do not let not attending Church bother you too much. We can stay close to God in many other ways. Perhaps further down the line your circumstances may change, perhaps then Church attendance could be a thing. Best wishes to you. S
Currently I almost never miss. That is probably why it would bother me so much. My current church though is about 10 minutes down the road and has two services it offers though
My apologies, I misread the post. I see you do actually attend Church but were referencing the possibility of attending another Church and circumstances involved with that.
I am not sure why you want to go to an Anglican church. Obviously, it is none of my business and you do not have to say why. You state you are a Methodist and go to a Methodist church. I simply do not understand this Protestant thing of going to churches of various denominations rather than to one's own. I see no reason why you would not be graciously received at an Anglican church. Problems may arise as to whether they would be happy for you to receive Communion. As you are not an Anglican I do not see why you are concerned with what they think about your Bible studies. They would not prohibit you from going to church for that.
I can think of no reason why the church would frown on interdenominational studies. Especially with an ACNA church, it would be quite welcoming as it is seeing a lot of people fleeing from other denominations at this time. (In fact, I know that a serious concern among the clergy I speak with is catechizing all of the influx. I got to be a part of that tabletop conversation as a member of the laity at the Anglican Conference in Birmingham, AL last September.) My concern is more the hour drive with a toddler. Let's be honest, the clock starts ticking the minute you do ANYTHING with one that young. I speak as a parent of a 10, 9, and 5 year old. Does the church have any sort of child care? I know kids in worship are always welcome, but I seriously turn my thoughts to your child's emotional/mental state after an hour drive, and your ability to be a part of worship therein.
I do agree with this and wanted to say similar but in these days of political correctness gone mad I was reluctant.
Shaun, I would say "to heck with etiquette and expectations of others; it will do me good to be in church, so I'm going to church!" And I tend to care about what others think of me, too. But seriously, no one probably notices, let alone cares, whether you pop something into the offering plate or not. Certainly they don't seem to in my parish. No judgementalism about that. But I understand. As Henry David Thoreau wrote, "Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion."
Our ACNA parish states right on its website: "At the Holy Eucharist, all baptized Christians, regardless of denomination, who have “self examined and are in love and charity with their neighbor,” are welcome to partake." This was a strong signal to me that I would be welcome at the church, when I contemplated attending there for the first time. (There's nothing like being excluded by a 'closed communion' to make me feel unwelcome at a church; it's like they're saying, "We won't take your word that you are a believer; first you must jump through our hoops.") As to why one would attend a different denomination.... how can one discover a better denomination if he doesn't feel free to attend there and learn for himself? It worked for me. BTW, as for the hour-long drive with a toddler, plenty of kids doze off during a car ride and wake up refreshed.
I think you misunderstand my intentions here. I came here to learn about Anglicanism. I also in my first post here said I was looking at joining an ANCA church because I am looking at leaving the Methodist Church because of the whole gay marriage issue and other such non sense. For now the traditional side won but I don't think that will hold for ever.
Anyone can cherry-pick a quote out of context. It does not really contribute to the discussion in any valid way.
You are taking this entirely out of its appropriate context. Taking Holy Communion is not all about whether you believe but it is also a sign that you are in communion with the people you receive with. I do know many Anglican churches have a very open policy in giving Holy Communion. I think it is too open in many places. It also depends whether you believe that the Communion is really Christ present in which case far more respect ought to be shown to Communion.