Hello, This is my first post to the forum. I've been a lurker for sometime and have decided to step out and join! I'm currently on a spiritual journey to learn more about myself and about Christ. I started attending TEC parish 6 months ago, but have visited an ACNA church as well. I have also visited Orthodox churches as well, but have felt an outsider due to the ethnic makeup. While I have enjoyed my time at TEC, I am concerned with the issues it currently faces. It seems overwhelming to try and make sense of it. I would consider myself high-church and have come to know Christ through the Eucharist. I did not grow up in the church, so I'm facing a mountain of information to sort through. I have a lot of questions still and look forward to learning from everyone.
Hello and welcome! I've been here all of, what, a week maybe and it's been a blessing. I pray it is for you, too.
Welcome aboard Ide! May God richly bless your time here. Im a TECer too (though not very happy with the current state of things). I hope we can inspire you to keep on the Anglican path my friend. If you havent already read it, may I recommend CS Lewis' Mere Christianity. it was by far the best resource as i returned to my faith as an adult.
Till We Have Faces is the one I think that has to be read after Mere Christianity -- or wait maybe I just mean everything Lewis...
Thank you for the book recommendation! I will have to check out C.S. Lewis. Thank you, Lowly Layman, for the encouragement. I'll admit that I am struggling to make my way on the Christian path. This stems from leaving my current faith tradition which I have been deeply involved for some time. But, I've felt a healing and a calling from God that I can't ignore anymore. It is a challenging but exciting time. The current church I'm with has fantastic priests whose preaching is excellent. I've not run into many issues facing TEC here, it's been fairly traditional. However, I do feel a little out of place by wanting to follow some Anglo Catholic traditions which do not seem to fit in. It's hard as a newcomer to navigate all the intricacies of a tradition and still make a place for myself.
I really think that for Christians of this century -- well, and non-Christians -- that if you want to understand Anglicanism you have to read C. S. Lewis. That's a staggering thought.
I would say check out Jewel's Apology for the Church of England. Lewis doesn't give a moral impetus for why Anglicanism is a separate communion (not very strongly at least). Bishop Jewel explain why.
Thank you for the book recommendation, Spherelink! That sounds like it will be a helpful book. After I saw the suggestions for Lewis' book, I went to the library to grab a copy (I had seen maybe 3 versions there before) and they were all checked out! Maybe other people were reading this thread too