Question for Episcopalians...

[kris10ep]

Over the past couple of years I have become very frustrated with the Catholic church and really stopped practicing all together.

I've been thinking about it a lot lately and am considering the Episcopal church.

What are the differences in the Episcopal faith than in the Catholic church? I know they are very similar, just wondering what some the differences were.

[Celebration]

1. I'll try

No pope, women can be priests, not specifically anti-abortion, diversity of politics (depends on what part of the country you are in)--will allow other Christians communion. The services are kind of similar.

[sazemisery]

2. Episcopal church

You will find many familiar rites and rituals in the Episcopal church. The Rite II service in our prayer book is what is seen in most Catholic churches today. When choosing a parish note that there are some very charismatic and some very traditionalistic. I was raised Catholic but was disillusioned in the '70's by the treatment of women by the Church. My husband was Episcopalian so I converted. Here is a link to the Book of Common Prayer.

http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/bcp.htm#1979

My parish welcomed everyone equally and it was a wonderful experience.

I might also note that there is a lot of controversy over the ordination of a gay bishop and talk of a split. The Anglican Church of England (the Church from whence American Episcopal Church sprang) is not happy and all Bishop ordinations in USA have been put on hold until the matter is settled.

http://www.washblade.com/2005/3-25/news/religion/ribs.cfm

[DrRang]

3. A lot depends on the congregation . .

After basically 25 years of not wanting to have anything to do with organized religion, we started going to a wonderful Episcopal church. My husband was raised a Catholic, I was raised a Methodist. As far as ritual goes, our current church is somewhere in the middle.
It has three services on Sunday morning, starting with a contemplative prayer service, then a service using contemporary music and going light on ritual, processional, etc. Then at 11:00 there's the more formal "high church" service. You can pretty much choose the form that speaks most powerfully to you personally.

Also, the overall structure is different. The U.S. Episcopal church is part of the world-wide Anglican Communion (unless it gets booted for promoting equal rights for GLBT members). The head of the Anglican Communion is the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Rowan Williams. However, individual churches are not subject to the Archibishop in the same way that all Catholic congregations are ultimately subject to the Pope. It's more like, well, Canadians and Australians have pictures of the Queen in public buildings, but the Queen and Parliament don't rule Canada or Australia.

But again, each congregation is different. Our clergy is much in the tradition of Thomas Merton's beliefs, who once wrote ( in more elegant language) that mystery is always a part of faith, but that God does not require us to believe stupid, nonsensical, vicious stuff.

[Loki]

4. Even in Texas

Being in the heart of Bush country, my husband (Catholic) and I (Episcopalian) found a breath of fresh air in our church. It's moderately liberal, even for this area, and even my Jesuit taught husband feels very comfortably there. Almost all Episcopal churches celebrate communion on a weekly basis and everyone who is baptized can receive communion, regardless of whether you belong to that church or not. Everyone is welcome. We have been going through many changes recently because of the uproar created by the ordination of Bishop Gene Robinson, who is gay, but, even this is not much different than what was experienced when they decided to ordain women to the priesthood. Please visit the website of the church : http://www.episcopalchurch.org/index_flash.htm. They have a seekers and visitors section that might have some answers to the questions you have. I hope this helps you find a new home for your faith.

[kris10ep]

5. Thank you so much....

You've given me a great start to exploring new options. Thanks for the wonderful help!!!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. I'd like to put in a plug for the Episcopal Church as well

I was brought up Lutheran (a preacher's kid no less) but as I grew older and ended up not marrying, I found the Lutherans to be too focused on the "mom, dad, two children and a dog" model of family and therefore unintentionally unfriendly to single people. Most churches had a youth group, a couples' club, and a senior citizens' group, period. As "none of the above," I didn't fit in.

The Episcopal church is one of the most gay-friendly denominations, and even though I'm straight, the large number of gay and lesbian members prevents the typical parish from becoming too focused on a 1950s vision of life.

Another thing I like is the dignity of the worship service. You don't find the "put on a Las Vegas stage show for Jesus" stuff that you find in a lot of the more free-form churches.

The Episcopalians are also unfussy about one's specific beliefs. No one is going to condemn you to hell or kick you out because you don't subscribe chapter and verse to the 39 Articles of Faith.

[JerseygirlCT]

7. Another cradle Roman Catholic who is now Episcopalian

you'll find the liturgy very similar (maybe even a bit more old-fashioned... depends on how old you are!) As others have said, open communion (all baptised persons are welcomed), and lots of welcome for divergent ideas.

There probably isn't an orthodoxy that someone doesn't believe -- no one is required to take anything at face value, and questioning and thoughtfulness are encouraged. (We've been told: doubt is not the opposite of faith -- doubt is the leading edge of faith).

Women are ordained. (This was the biggie for me). I've had 4 priests at my parish, half are women. My current rector is a woman. It's wonderful.

Episcopalians CAN be a bit reticent. I think it's a hold-over from their English heritage. I'd urge you not to take that as coldness, if you should encounter that. We're not the screaming and swaying, emotional types, by and large (although we have those too!).

And I'd bet, if you looked closely at a great number of people in the pews on any given Sunday, you'd find plenty of other former Catholics -- you would not be alone!

(Oh, and from my experience... Episcopalians like to eat, and drink coffee. Expect a coffe hour sometime before or after the service! And lots of pot lucks, if you like!)

Give it a try. My guess is that you'll feel quite comfortable!