People dress in what makes them comfortable. If you want to dress up, then do dress up. Different Episcopal churches have different levels of fancy. Some are very high church, some medium and some lower church. The church I attended in Grand Rapids, St. Mark's is high church. The one I attend now is lower. But on the holy days, they burn incense and do the more fancy things. Every Episcopal church I have attended uses the processional and recessional and offers communion on your knees at the communion rail. If you are baptized, you can take communion at the Episcopal church. Cross your right palm over your left to receive the bread or host. You can save it to dip in the wine or you can eat it and sip wine from the chalice. Hold the chalice at the bottom. They will hold the chalice, but you can help.
First time ever - I attended my first Catholic Mass tonight...
by ziddina 69 Replies latest jw experiences
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FlyingHighNow
Also, if you don't wish to take communion, cross your palms over your chest and then ask the priest for a blessing if you want one. The blessings are very moving.
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FlyingHighNow
Our priest is an opera singer who sang with Placido Domingo. He is very universalist in his views. He is very cool with my grandson who has decided he is an atheist. Our church understands we are all on our separate journeys, spiritually and there is no one right way to God.
Our church is not high church. This is my church. That is Father Jim playing the guitar and leading the service. This is much less formal than say St. Mark's, but you will still find it higher than your everyday Catholic mass.
http://www.youtube.com/user/HolyTrinityWyoming#p/u/39/7r9177fZ-zg
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dgp
do people show up in "street" clothes for such a service, or do they wear their "Suday" best?? (Just so I won't look too out-of-place, since I'll be showing up by myself...)
Among the Catholics, in poorer areas or countries, people wear whatever they can. This should be obvious, but, if you compare with the Jehovah's witnesses, you'll find that wearing what the witnesses wear can be a heavy burden on the people. Requiring that you wear something special IS indeed a rigid and inflexible demand.
That said, some people do make an effort to wear their "Sunday" clothes. And some priests do frown on your arriving in informal clothes, or showing a bit too much flesh.
Dressing up can actually be frowned upon. Like you want to show off.
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FlyingHighNow
In the Episcopal church, they don't care what you wear. Just be comfortable. The priests won't frown on you. It's very live and let live.
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ziddina
Fascinating...
And so many wonderful replies!!
I wonder what will happen when I attend another type of church...
I intend [as I stated earlier] to attend several different churches, then go back to a Kingdom Hall for comparison...
More to come...
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ziddina
[and back to my replies, post by post, to all the lovely people who have responded!]
White Dove, thanks for your comments!!
Egg and I are talking about visiting the Catholic Church here. We've visited before and liked the ceremony. I could read a lot of what they said because they use song books and another book to read out of.
Heh! I didn't try; the only thing that this Catholic Church had to read, was the song book - and I was too busy looking around, absorbing all the stimuli of this new experience to poke my nose into their song book!! [very unusual of me - I am normally quite a bookworm!]
We want to attend a Latin service to see what it's like.
Ooooh! Me too! Me too! I'm not sure that I can find one, and from what FlyingHighNow has told me, I think that an Episcopalian service might be the next best thing...
I relate the saints they have with the different gods and goddesses of paganism.
Heh! Me too; though I am a bit sorrowful that the original "pagan" or 'heathen' religions have largely disappeared...
Each one represents a facet of life and something to work on.
Yeah, I think I can see that... Though, to be perfectly honest, that whole 'martyrdom' thing that the Catholic Church espoused during the Dark Ages, gives me the chills!! It was as if there was some bizarre contest to see which 'saint' had had the most arrows stuck into him/her, or the most skin flayed off, or was burned the most slowly, and so on...
And, they have such beautiful buildings.
Girl, I hear you!!! Especially when compared to those squat, ugly little Kingdom halls...
Zid
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LV101
Zid --- great post and look forward to more from your church visits.
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ziddina
Hi, DGP!! [waves...!]
OH!! Hi, LV101!! [waves at him, too...!] Thanks!! I think it'll be a fun - er, many fun - experiences!!
'Scuse me, please...
I'm replying to the replies - hopefully in sequence... (I sure wish there was a cross-eyed "smiley"...)
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ziddina
Hi again, DGP!! Very interesting points that you make!!
From a former devout Catholic, Episcopalian = Light Catholic.
Hah! Love it!! Fortuately for me, I was a 'lite' JW - made it easier to get the heck outta there!!
Catholics can go from the cultic, like the Opus Dei, to the very modern. I do not believe in the religion anymore, but it can be a very good social experience.
OOOOOH!! Opus Dei!! I'll have to look up some info on them; I kinda thought that they were a fictional group created just for "The DaVinci Code" - interesting to learn that they're real...
I may add that in the developing world the churches are not necessarily nice buildings. The poorer the community, the poorer the building. Except, of course, if you happen to attend mass in an old church, where the decoration can indeed be magnificent.
I seriously will have to look around this area again. So far, I've just looked at churches within easy driving distance - say, 3 - 10 miles. But this area has some old Spanish areas; not like Santa Fe, you understand, but I suspect that there are some lovely old churches within the city limits. So far, the only ones I've seen are 'suburbia' churches - fairly new and quite bland - though better than a Kingdom Hall... That six-sided Catholic Church had character, even tho it was modern in the extreme.
That said, some people do make an effort to wear their "Sunday" clothes. And some priests do frown on your arriving in informal clothes, or showing a bit too much flesh.
Dressing up can actually be frowned upon. Like you want to show off.
Hah, yes, striking a hopefully happy balance...
I tend to overdress; plus, I'm a bit hefty right now - too many sweets have plunked on the pounds. I'll pretty much have to wear whatever fits me...
I do have one other question, though - in Catholic churches where they don't have those lovely and convenient 'kneeling' pads attached to the pews, can one bring their own kneeling pad???
Thanks!! Zid