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| Or weekday service ofc |
In order to explore my vocation and my religion more thoroughly I've been visiting churches that aren't in the same style as my own to get a feel for different types of worship. I'm going to make a series of posts about what I find, but first I thought I'd give a feel for the style of church I've grown up with.
As I've stated before, I tend towards Anglo-Catholicism, also known as high church. 'What on earth is that?' I hear you cry! Well the easy way of understanding it is we're the ones who like the bells and smells. If you walk into a church and can smell incense, the service is referred to. As mass, you see 6 candles and a crucifix on the high altar and there's a serving party wearing vestments (robes) then you have come to an Anglo-Catholic church.
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| A typical view on a Sunday (though you are more likely to see green than red, red is only for specific masses) |
The main thing about churches down the Anglo-Catholic tradition is the focus on the eucharist. When we bless the bread and the wine then Jesus is truly present within church. This is the mystery of faith. Due to this belief the eucharistic prayer is the most reverent part of our service.
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| The body and blood of Christ |
The church service as a whole is very traditional with hymns, prayers, even some Latin thrown in from time to time!
For me it isn't confusing or disconcerting as I have grown up in the tradition, however I can see how the rituals and wording could be offputting to those new to the faith and/or younger people who have not grown up with it.
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| If you attend an Anglo-Catholic mass you'll usually use one of these. |
With this in mind, I want to see what other churches offer, particularly those that are more evangelical as they seem to be more successful in growing as communities. What I'd ultimately like to do is take aspects that work and apply them together - maintaining the reverence of the eucharist but making it more accessible to the young as well as the old.
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