The 2025 Parcohial Report has just come out and I wonder what people think of the data/trends. One thing I would like to note is a significant increase in attendance in domestic dioceses (around 9,000 more than 2024). The reason overall Attendance is down is because the Diocese of Haiti (One of the largest dioceses) did not report any data.

At first, I thought this was a chimere, a garment worn by many or most Episcopal/Anglican bishops as part of choir dress. But the person in question is not a bishop.

In my journey to Jesus class yesterday, my priest mentioned that the image of hell that many people have ie burning lake of eternal fire, has a lot to do with Dante and church leaders than how the Bible actually describes it. She mentioned that the Bible doesn’t actually describe as much about hell as most people assume. One explanation she offered was that some believe Sheol is more of a place of nothingness and disconnection from God than a pit of fire. What is the general way that hell is described by most Episcopalians?

I was raised Roman Catholic, and when I came out, I discerned that I no longer felt comfortable being Catholic. After a year of discerning and church hopping, I left and became Episcopalian. I have been Episcopalian for five years now. I’ve also been in the discernment process for Holy Orders for about two years.

Recently, at my grandpa’s bedside, we decided to have all his sacraments given to him in the Catholic Church. It was a beautiful moment to witness. Since then, some thoughts, questions, and prayers have come up for me. One big thought has been: “Why do the sacraments in the Catholic Church seem fuller or more whole than those in the Episcopal Church?” I want to be clear that I am not trying to say that the Episcopal Church is less than or anything like that at all.

For me, even though I am gay, and the reason I left Catholicism was because of the lack of inclusion of women and LGBTQ persons, I still love the Catholic Church’s approach to liturgy, sacraments, the saints, and Marian devotions. I consider myself Anglo-Catholic as an Episcopalian.

I mentioned all this to my priest mentor, who gently encouraged me to sit with this question: “How might Anglican sacramental theology be a part of creating that space of openness and inclusion that isn’t found in the Catholic Church?”

As I am slowly approaching possible postulant interviews, I am a little worried about coming across as too Roman Catholic or being perceived as wanting to “masquerade as a priest.” Several friends and clergy who know me very well know that I am certainly not trying to make the Episcopal Church Catholic or anything like that.

My priest mentor suggested I read some books to help further cement and grow my understanding of Anglican sacramental theology and Anglican history. He gave me a copy of Mark Chapman’s Anglicanism: A Very Short Introduction, which I am reading now and enjoying as I learn about Anglicanism.

Does anyone have any more suggestions for books, podcasts, or resources that could help me cement a solid Anglican understanding, so that—while still Anglo-Catholic—I can be a little more aware of and connected to the Anglican/Episcopal tradition?

I’m sure the answer is somewhere in Scripture, but I figured I’d ask this specific subreddit since I’m currently an agnostic atheist who is trying to examine his beliefs and has been going to an episcopal church in my area that is very open and LGBT-affirming. Very nice people and all that.

But, would I have to do stuff like never have sex with a woman I’m not married to, even if we’re dating and love each other? Give up masturbation? Give up certain foods and drink? Switch my view from being pro-choice to pro-life?

I just want a clear idea of what I’m getting into. I know not all Christians and Episcopalians are alike, but I’m asking in the general sense.

Hello all, I am a member of the Episcopal Church of the Philippines. I am thankful for this subreddit, for the insights of many different, thoughtful yet equally spiritual sisters and brothers from afar. I have recently been studying the use of the Anglican Rosary and developing a prayer and devotion habit with its aid. Recently work has been very taxing and has sapped so much of the spirit, so I turned to the wisdom of the Rosary, both the Dominican one and ours. After reading the books by M Gurri and JL Estes and learning from the samples writted by different redditors, I tried writing a version specific to my context. The 3 Cruciform beads are based on the mind, body, and spirit of the physician, and the Week beads list down relevant verses to the Cruciform (one may notice that there are a variety of translations; many were committed to memory during childhood at my KJV-only school and church, one of the few good and lasting legacies from that time of my life). I'm happy that our BCP has prayers for the health professions, but it's undeniable that there is a paucity of these, even in prayer books from other traditions. I hope that more may be written by physicians, nurses, midwives, PTs, phlebotomists, nutritionists, etc from our tradition.

I ask for advice on how to improve this prayer and I pray that this may help our spiritual kins in a similar situation. Maraming salamat po!

Hello! I am trying to learn more about how Christianity came to be in the British isles and Scotland before the formalization of the Anglican Church as was known to be from Henry the 8th till now.

Would love to know if it came from Celtic Christianity and or from the desert Mothers and Fathers?

Thanks!

Looking for baptism book recommendations for a pre-k child, grade school age child, and adult. Different books for each age group. Thanks and God Bless!

Highly recommend today’s episode! And this podcast in general.

Apologies to non iPhone users for this Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-spiritual-life-with-fr-james-martin-s-j/id1819566062?i=1000796063914

Hi y'all,

I am part of an Evangelical denomination in San Diego California. I am considering joining TEC for a few reasons:

• I have been studying Patristics since grad school, and have slowly realized that my own denomination has little/no interest in reforming its theology or practices in light of that, even at the local level (including simply abiding by the creeds).
• I am always advocating for immigration rights (especially as things with ICE have continued to escalate) as well as against many of the actions taken by our nation's president. My denomination's leadership has been silent or in favor of ICE and the president's actions.
• I don't know where I stand on issues of human sexuality and gender. I continue to do research and have conversations about it. But my denomination has made recent choices to put anyone who questions our traditionalist ethic on trial.

I have attended Episcopal churches before, but not on this side of the nation. I know that there are some that are very Progressive. I don't know if I would self identify as a Progressive on issues surrounding human sexuality and gender, but I'm willing to be in a denomination that allows those views, so long as there is mutual respect and some basic adherence to the creeds.

That being said, do you all know whether I would fit well in Southern California TEC?

So I know the big picture. Obviously church polity was a big matter of political dispute in the British Isles in the 17th century. In Scotland, the Reformed Presbyterians won and the Anglican Episcopalians became a tiny minority. Samuel Seabury was consecrated by these Scottish Episcopalians, and the rest is history.

I feel like this story doesn’t explain one thing though. Why exactly is the form of church government so important as for us to be named after it? Why was it that to some people the most important factor for joining a church was whether it operated as congregationalist, presbyterian, or episcopal?

My strict Catholic friend had to arrive before a certain section in the Mass or her attendance didn't "count" and she had to go again. Episcopalians don't have a rule like that, do they?

So I’m an agnostic atheist and have been since my teenage years. No, I’m not that guy who thinks all religious people at large are delusional or anything stupid like that. That’s just not me and never has been. I’ve just never been convinced of the existence of God, plain and simple, point blank period.

But I’m also someone who’s had depression and thoughts of “checking out early” follow me most of my adult life too, mainly because I’ve never been in a relationship, never had friends and generally have pretty low self worth. So I guess I’m looking to Christianity as a source of hope that I can internalize and feel alive and hopeful.

So why Episcopalianism/Anglicanism? Well, I think it just suits me more than other denominations. I like the traditional liturgy like you have in Catholicism, but Catholicism is just too strict for me and wants me to change so much about myself I just can’t. Like having a vasectomy and saying I should repent for having it since I am denying myself the openness to having children, as a catholic priest might say. Or thinking people of the same sex shouldn’t be happily married. That just isn’t me. Maybe I’m just “too woke” for Catholicism or Orthodoxy, but I digress.

I like the Episcopal services and have gone to a church near me but fell away from it when I stopped trying to find belief, and am back searching again. The people there are really nice and cool. But I just don’t know how to convince myself to believe. I just can’t in my mind make that connection and just believe like you do. So, any suggestions?

Hello! I read Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren and loved it. I am looking for more books about liturgy and/or liturgical living. Episcopalian or Anglican point of view would be great but not totally required. Thanks all!

How do you all respond when people from extremely fundamental traditions say that say that we are twisting scripture by being affirming of queer people?

I’m curious if there’s anything like sanctification in the Catholic Church, or Theosis in Orthodoxy in TEC or the wider Anglican Communion? Can I be a communing member in good standing in a TEC parish and practice a path like the one laid out in an Introduction to the Devout Life or the Philokalia? Does TEC or the wider Anglican communion have an equivalent to these?

ETA: Not sure why I put the bit asking rather you can be a communing member in good standing and pursue sanctification in the question. Obviously you can

I've used an Anglican rosary a few times, but it's been years and even back then I only really did one prayer with it. What's the best overview of the rosary, with some general background as well as a broad range of prayers?

The additional questions, specifically:

- “Will you strive to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation, and respect, sustain and renew the life of the Earth?”

- “Will you cherish the wondrous works of God, and protect [or protect and restore] the beauty and integrity of all creation?”

Last week I mentioned in a comment that my parish uses these as a way for those who donate online (most of us, in this day and age) to still physically participate in the offertory. My rector is a huge believer in the power of physical action to shape our inward thoughts, and I think he's really on to something!

There was a bit of interest in my comment so I promised to take a picture this week, and despite my severe ADHD I actually remembered to do it haha. They're not hugely ornate or anything, but I love grabbing one on the way in and dropping it in the basket - my kids do, too. The Lord has a hilarious way of making me eat my words, so this week there was actually a sizeable amount of cash in the basket; but most weeks these greatly outnumber any cash or checks.

Ignore my wonky index finger, I cut off the tip in a woodworking accident years ago :p. Hopefully this cool idea can spread to other places where it makes sense!

Hi All,

I joined an Episcopal congregation in August, having attended the Catholic church for years. Due to my sexuality (I'm a gay man), I did not make any attempt at trying to be a part of the Catholic community; I didn't want to rock the boat or draw any attention to myself, I figured that I was in it solely for the eucharist. Some external factors pushed me to come over to the Episcopalians, but once I was in a church where I could fully be myself, I realized that I wanted and needed that aspect of Christianity, the community of it.

In my new parish, I am trying to be an active participant. My kids are in Sunday school or the nursery, I have volunteered for various things, brought food to the potluck, signed up to host the coffee hour. I have not yet signed up for things like lectoring or ushering, but that is coming.

This is maybe more of a question for a "how to win friends and influence people" subreddit, but - as an introvert, what I'm doing is exhausting to me, and I constantly question the interactions I have with others, along the lines of "Was that awkward? I think I was awkward. Am I smiling too much," etc.

I know the standard advice is “don’t rush it” and “let it happen naturally,” and I believe that. But it’s harder here for one big reason: the congregation skews quite a bit older. I’m in my 40s, and I’d guess the average age is somewhere around 65–70. I’m not always sure how to connect, or whether I’m coming across the way I mean to.

For those of you who’ve joined a parish as an adult (especially fellow introverts, or anyone who’s been the “young one” in an older congregation): how did you go from showing up to actually feeling at home? How did you learn to relax and enjoy the people around you? How do you naturally become a part of the parish?

Thanks in advance, and God bless!

It was a Liturgy of the Word, seems as if the priest for this church covers multiple in the area. There was a lay minister who led the service. It was very nice and welcoming, I am coming from a Roman Catholic upbringing.

My initial observations were it seemed very quick, the lack of communion did throw me off today. But apparently it’s normal ? (When the priest isn’t available)

I plan on going back for a Eucharist service in two weeks, next week I’m going to another church that’s roughly the same distance away from me to see how their parish is!

Feel super welcomed for sure and it’s very exciting; my girlfriend who’s has not been a big church goer said she felt more relaxed there than any of the other services we have attended.

Pray for us as we are on this journey!