Hi everyone! After decades as a Baptist minister & studying branches of Protestantism, Catholicism, and Orthodoxy, I am gravitating towards Anglicanism. I appreciate Anglican worship and its unique understanding of scripture and tradition. I have been using the Book of Common Prayer in my personal and family devotions for a few years. I lean high church, however, I have very little experience in Anglican Church culture itself and really do not know what to expect. I look forward to fellowship with y'all on the Canterbury Trail!
Hi and welcome Ben. Maybe the things about Anglicans which are likely to most be different from Baptist ways of doing discipleship of Jesus will be our habit of 'dressing up', 'processing around the church, and even outside sometimes, following someone carrying a little man on a pole', 'baptising even tiny babies' (surprisingly, we do have our Biblical reasons for doing this), and sometimes ringing bells and swinging handbags which are on fire and filling the church with smelly smoke. Most of our other odd habits should be fairly easily explained to any sensible, God loving, Baptist. Some things we do though, even WE don't all know why we do them. We just do them because others before us did. .
Welcome. Trying to find your place in Anglicanism? Pick a pew, any pew. We'll make room for ya! Have you located a local Anglican church yet? If not, we can steer you to an online church finder website or two.
I know there are a few parishes of the Anglican Province in America (APA) in Western North Carolina. Bishop Chandler Jones presides over the APA. For me, the Anglican Catholic Church and the Anglican Province in America are what drew me to Anglo-Catholic ways. I am lucky to be situated within less than 20-miles of each. One parish of the Anglican Catholic Church is in Gainesville GA and the closest in the APA is in Alto GA. I am about midway between the two where I reside. They in are communion with each other. If I remember correctly, there are two or three in NC at the Western end. There is a locator on the APA website. God bless you in your endeavor to learn and worship.
Here is the page for the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina: https://www.diocesewnc.org/ One would think there should be plenty of parishes to choose from within a reasonable driving distance for most areas.
The Orthodox Anglican Church has missions in Hendersonville and Monroe. There are parishes in Bryson City and Landis. Resurrection Landis is the home parish of Bishop Joshua Gilliam. https://www.orthodoxanglican.us/
Hi There! I don't think the ACNA has much in Western NC, but the UECNA (39 Articles, Classical Anglican) may have some churches in that area. https://unitedepiscopal.org/churches/
I would issue a caution: the UECNA received a number of parishes in Western NC that were part of a Reformed network. These are staffed by clergy who've been credentialed by Bp. Robinson but do not necessarily represent any school of Anglicanism. So you'll want to carefully read their blurb to see if they are using the Book of Common Prayer or doing whatever it is they've always done.
The Bishop of the APA, Bishop Chandler Holder Jones, just posted that a parish had their church building consecrated in Brevard NC, which is very Western NC, on the TN border.https://mailchi.mp/anglicanprovince.org/the-comprovincial-newsletter