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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I've read this phrase multiple times, not just on DCUM, but elsewhere as well.  I'm a practicing Catholic and for the first time this weekend attended an Episcopal service while visiting friends in another city.

It was almost nothing like a typical Catholic Mass.  It started with 20min of praise music led by the worship leader and his band, followed by multiple readings and a long sermon from a guy who introduced himself by first name as the "visiting leader" since their pastor was out of town.  Communion, and then another 10min or so of praise music.  Some of the church goers were sort of dancing to the music, raising their arms in the air while they sang.

People were chatting in back, and they were handing out cups of coffee and water as you arrived that you were welcome to take with you to your seat.

I'm not judging at all, I was just very surprised since based on things I've read I'd expected something much more ritual-based.  Is this normal, and I'd just misunderstood, or is this unusual for an Episcopal church?[/quote]

OP, I would bet money that you stumbled on a very holy spirit-focused Episcopal church, or an Episcopal breakaway called Anglican.  (Wait, is betting a sin?  Maybe I shouldn't bet? ;) ) The last time I went to Church of the Apostles (in Fairfax), it was much as you describe the service you went to.

The US Episcopal Church's more holy spirit-based movement is often more Bible based/evangelical as well.  Many churches that are one or the other or both have recently split from their dioceses and are calling themselves Anglican (a word that normally describes the Church of England and affiliated churches all over the world, for example in former British colonies, but even in parts of Latin America).  The Anglican church is alive and growing in Northern Virginia: Truro, The Falls Church, and many recent church plants.

Worship style is one thing and theology is another.  In the Episcopal and Anglican churches, the two don't always go together in ways that people expect.  At Truro, as a Catholic you would find the liturgy very familiar, you might know some of the hymns, holy communion would seem very similar. Many of the congregants would be pro-life, similar to many Catholic churches.  At Church of the Apostles, the theology might be similar, but they worship with a band and parishioners raise their arms during prayer and speak in tongues during the service.

In contrast, go to a more "liberal" Episcopal church in DC and you could find a woman priest, maybe a homosexual priest, a congregation with a great range of opinions on theology, people who fit the typical profile of a Democrat and are not conservative on social issues, and the church may even issue an invitation to unbelievers to take the bread and the wine at communion.  All this would be done the context of a ritual/liturgy-based service and some of the most traditional organ-based music you could find in this city.

Like the PPs have said, there is a great range in what you will find.  Many Episcopalians are proud of that, and believe that the range accurately reflects the diversity of God's church as a community of believers.

By the way, the Roman Catholic church is apparently accepting married priests defecting from both the Episcopal and Anglican church in the US.  In some cases, entire parishes are converting.  [/quote]

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