Hi I just joined this forum on December 21, and wanted to introduce myself. I am currently a member of the Southern Baptist denomination and have been so for 24 years. Lately, though I have been prayerfully questioning whether at this point in my life the church, both the Baptist faith as a whole and the church that I attend in general is where I spiritually belong at this point in my life. I have been praying about this for several months and recently resigned from all obligations (committees, councils, teaching obligations etc) at the church I am a member of in order to spend more time finding out where I spiritually belong. That said, I had been looking at churches near my home and while checking out their web pages I was drawn to the one for the Episcopal church near my home. I had looked into this church a few years ago, but at that time the reverend was a kindly older gentleman from, I believe Nairobi or a country near there, and I had a hard time understanding him. I felt like if I could not understand what the Lord was saying through him what good was it going to do me to attend services there. Well, this church has a new minister and I have recently contacted her. We met at a local coffee shop a few weeks ago and she answered my questions and cleared up some misconceptions I had about the Episcopalian and Anglican churches. In all I came away from our visit feeling as if this maybe the church the Lord is leading me to. I will begin attending services there in January to if this truly is the right place for me to be at this point in my life. If, after attending for several months and of course praying for the Lord's direction, I clearly sense that this is where I belong. I will be asking to be enrolled in the next confirmation class that will be held in the spring and then take the next steps to becoming a member. In the meantime, I will be visiting this forum often, reading posts, asking questions, and learning more about the faith as well as hopefully making new friends.
Welcome ... I have known many Baptists who have traversed the Canterbury Trail, may you be blessed in your search
Welcome, Laura. I too joined this forum recently and it has really enlightened me, I hope you find your answers here.
Laura, I am an Episcopalian. Depending on where you are, parishes can be rather liberal or moderately conservative as I am sure you have no doubt discovered already. My grandmother was a devout southern baptist and brought me with her to every Wednesday night service up until I was 16. There will be noticeable differences and less noticeable ones too. Where baptists are confessional, Episcopalians tend to be catholic and creedal. There will be ritual, liturgy, sacraments, infant baptism and a recognition of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Depending on the parish you attend, people nay bow, kneel, genuflect, and cross themselves. Here's a couple of books I recommend for people exploring the TEC. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0819...6_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=episcopal+church https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0819...mon+prayer&dpPl=1&dpID=41n4G3LuQ4L&ref=plSrch Also, I invite you to work through the Book of Common Prayer: http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/formatted_1979.htm ...And the Articles of Religion: http://anglicansonline.org/basics/thirty-nine_articles.html Good luck and God bless!
Good Evening Laura. Like you I was a Southern Baptist. My grandfather a minister for 60 years. Like him I was a Baptist minister prior to being ordained into the Anglican Communion. I found in my transition from Baptist to Anglican it was helpful to ask the same question to various people. Even those with which you may disagree. I would also caution you, not every who says they are Anglican are Anglican. Like St Paul's say not all Israel is Israel. Some Episcopal Seminaries do not turn out Godly ministers. And far too many seminaries play loose with scripture and theology. I second what Lowly Layman has said. Read. And as you are doing pray, pray and pray. Anglican and Baptist theology is similar in a few way, but very foreign in many others. In addition to the suggested books, I suggest a wider scope of Anglicans thought and theology to read. Within the States are many Anglican Jurisdictions that are not part of the TEC. Don't just read the 1979 Book of Common Prayers. Outside the Episcopal Church it is not used. Also within the Episcopal Church some parishes still use The 1928 Book of Common Prayer, though their numbers are decreasing a more and more politically liberal leaders are abandoning it. Read the 2005 Reformed Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer or the 1928 Book of Common Prayers. And stay away from the Book of Common Worship. That book is one of the worse books I have ever read, almost a bad as the message bible translation. Always remember this lex orandi lex credendi. Meaning the law of prayer and the law of belief. Put simply: the way we worship what we believe. Here are some books you can get on Amazon or google and get from any online book store. Neither Orthodoxy Nor a Formulary, The Shape and Content of the 1979 Prayer Book of the Episcopal Church by Louis R Tasrsitano and Peter Toon. Both were Anglican priest's and theologian/thinkers. One was TEC and the other Church of England. The Anglican Way by Thomas McKenize. Father McKenzie in the minister of a growing Anglican Church in Tennessee. The majority of his congregation are former evangelicals, mostly Baptists. This book was written for them and others to explain Anglicanism. I think this book developed out of his catechism classes. Signed, Sealed and Delivered, A Study of Holy Baptism by the Rt. Rev. Ray R Sutton. Bishop Sutton is a convert from the Presbyterian faith and is now the Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church. This is an easy easy on the Anglican Belief of Baptism. This book help me understand baptism in a biblical light. Anglican Catholic Faith and Practice by the Most Reverend mark Haverland. Arch Bishop Haverland's work is another book of catechism lessons covering many if not all aspect of Anglicanism. Simply reading the 39 Articles may not help. I would suggest reading a book that explains in detail each article. Something like Brown's "The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion. This is a very large tome, read it in seminary and in the Bishop's classes. If you are not a reader, or a seminary student, you may want to find another book on the 39 Articles. Read anything you can by C.S. Lewis. He wrote the Narnia books and you may have read them or watch the movies. He was an atheist who convert. He wrote many books on Anglican thought and theology in everyday language. He will help you get into an Anglican frame of mind. I could give you more information, but I will stop. I do tend to pile on the information. That is my personality and I forget not everyone spends every free second reading. Two last things. 1) Ask your questions here. We will be happy to share our insight and answer your questions. 2) Remember, liturgy and worship is about God. God alone. We go to Mass, Communion etc to worship. Not to have feeling validated or to feel good. I'll end with a quote: “I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” ― C.S. Lewis We are here to help. If I can be of any particular help start a thread or pm me. May God Bless you on your journey. Fr. Mark
Thank you for the information you and Lowly Layman have been a big help with book suggestions and I appreciate that.
Laura, I completely agree with all Fr. Mark has said. He is a wonderful resource. I hope you have the opportunity to discuss your journey with him in more depth. I also agree with Fr. Mark that the the 1928 prayer book is a much better choice if you can find a parish that uses it. For my personal devotions, I rely solely on the 1928 BCP. I use the following websites for daily prayer: http://commonprayer.org http://m.cradleofprayer.org Maybe these will be a help to you as well.
Hi Laura, As a Southern Baptist, one of the biggest shifts in thought you may find yourself grappling with is the Anglican understanding of sacraments and how it differs from the Baptist idea of ordinances. The video below is from an Anglican priest (REC not TEC) who is a former Baptist explaining very effectively the Anglican teaching on Sacraments. It's long but full of great info. God's blessings!
Welcome, Laura. I, too, come from a Southern Baptist background, and have enrolled in confirmation classes at my local Anglican Church. So glad to have you here, and God bless you!