A Deviation from Couch Church

Well, we deviated from our couch church last Sunday. I feel as though we've tried so many different churches in our town. I didn't think there was much left to try. But after a recommendation of a friend, we tried the church that she attends.

We went to the local Anglican church. Now let me say that a year ago, I would've said that I'd never consider attending a "catholic" church and going to mass. However, last Sunday off we went to the Anglican church. Yes, they are catholic, but not in the sense that immediately comes to my mind. I think some things that immediately come to mind have more to do with Roman Catholicism. Anglicans are not Roman Catholics. No, they do not pray to Mary or believe that she is someone holy and to be idolized. This would be a deal breaker for me as I would consider that to fall under idolatry. They do not believe in purgatory.

Their beliefs are based on the Nicene Creed, Apostle's Creed, and Athanasian Creed. It goes without saying that the scriptures of the Holy Bible are of course also what the Anglican church bases its belief on. But I figure I should add that in case anyone is in doubt of that fact.

Coming from an evangelical Protestant background and baptist for many years, it is very much a switch to attend a service that is overflowing with liturgy. I will say that on first attendance, there seemed to be a simplicity to be found by focusing on liturgy. There wasn't the usual concern on whether or not the praise band was "together" when they played that last number, if the song they were playing was modern enough, how much of a pastor's opinion was inserted into the sermon, and various other things that tend to draw my mind away from why I'm there. Please don't misinterpret me as saying that it is this way for all people. I'm sure that it's not. God wired us all differently and I believe that part of finding a church, aside from congruence of beliefs, soundness of doctrine, and all the more serious aspects, is finding a "fit". A fit for one person will not be a fit for someone else.

The liturgy in the service really focuses very much on God and his holiness and on what Christ did for us. I felt that over and over again in the service we were led back to the simplicity of the gospel message. It is this message that is at the heart of my faith as a christian.

I will say that there was one part of the mass that caused me to lose focus a bit. Luckily, I had read up a bit on it so I didn't fall to the floor in shock. That would've been quite the site. "Oh, that Protestant girl is down for the count!" Anyways, they share the communion chalice. Yes...everyone drinks from the same cup. Those who know me well know that this certainly would be an ultimately huge act of faith for me to drink after another. So, the first mass I just watched. I will say that they wipe the cup after each person. Yes, I was watching for those details and admittedly not much focused on God and Christ at that point. It's said that there's little risk of infection due to the alcohol content of the wine, the properties of the silver in the chalice, and so forth. I don't know - once again, this will be a big step for me. Or I may just be pushing everyone out of the way so that I can be first and not have to worry about this!

Anyways, back to my more serious thoughts. T and I both enjoyed the liturgical approach on first attendance. And we were both very surprised by that fact. We're not ready to jump up and down and join the church yet. These things take time. And we have definitely learned as a family not to rush into a church decision. However we are excited to begin attending their "Inquirers" class starting this Wednesday evening. That'll be a great place to learn about the Anglican faith and get our questions answered.

Boo enjoyed the nursery as several of his friends were there. So that was nice. We always take the nursery into account in any church decision. Being parents it's important to us to have a safe option for our child.

So it was nice to get off the couch for a change. And the service starts at 10:00am, so that's good timing for us. We really have wanted somewhere to attend other than our couch church. But we're the type of people that do not attend church merely for the sake of attending and doing the "right" thing. We must be true to ourselves and will not attend somewhere that doesn't fit. To me, this would be inauthentic. I'd rather have church on the couch than be anything less than genuine!

So I guess we'll see where this leads us!