Poly, that’s baaaaaaad!! 
Q. How many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb?
A. Two: one to call the electrician, and another to mix the martinis. 
Can’t you Americans go back to using the term Anglican? I can’t pronounce Episcopalian without sounding like “a pissed up alien”.
I don’t think there is anything against having fun as an Anglican, except that fun during a religious service is strictly forbidden.
Blakeyes quote of Eddie Izzard is perfect for CofE
Cake or Death!
Not to be confused with the Church of Christ folks who are “the Frozen Chosen.”
Being baptized a Methodist, having spent 5 years in an Episcopalian school, and currently attending a Presbyterian church, I must ask if “fun during a religious service” is permissable in any denomination. In Presbyterian church you get grape juice instead of wine for Communion.
Well those there Gospel singing lot seem to have fun. And then there are them guys who put there hands in snake cages that must be good for a laugh when they get bitten. But in the Anglican church I believe it is against the rules to even sing in key, and they don’t noramlly allow pets like snakes or whatever.
It’s “Illegal Alien” by Genesis.
As an Episcopalian who was born into a conservative Lutheran family, I have the following to say:
How many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb?
Change? Why change? My grandmother gave the church that lightbulb!(Sorry, RTFirefly, just couldn’t resist another one!)
As for why we aren’t called Anglicans, that term refers more specifically to the Church of England. Both groups are part of the world wide Anglican Communion, a grouping of nationally based churches with a common heritage from the C of E.
If my understanding is correct, the Church of England is also considered an episcopal church (small e). The Episcopal Church is the name used in the USA. The Church of England is the name used in er…well, England. Both are Anglican.
I think that the word episcopal has something to do with bishops. Would that make the United Methodist Church an episcopal church?
I believe that the Rev. Robinson and his wife actually had a divorce ceremony in which they released each other from their marriage vows and then took Communion together.
Baker, that is the funniest light bulb joke I have heard in a long time!
I’m a Presbyterian, and when in Scotland, I attend the Church of Scotland, which is the same thing. In the US, we don’t attach nationalistic names to our denominations. Here in the south, however, we do allow the Southern Baptists to run everything.
I went to college with a girl from Vermont who’d attended an Anglican prep school taught by Anglican nuns. First time I’d heard of such a being.
I know people talk about “high” Episcopal and “low” Episcopal churches, and my partner, who’s Methodist but went to an Episcopal boarding school, says the differences are “pretty major”. Can someone add to that little factoid?
To oversimplify, any Episcopal or Anglican church in which the rituals and decor strike you as Catholic is a “high” church. The churches in which the decor is starker and the rituals less elaborate is a “low” church.
Remember, when Henry VIII broke with Rome, it wasn’t over doctrine so much as it was over who was in charge. Initially, the rituals, doctrines and rules of the Church of England didn’t change much from those of the Catholic Church. All that really changed was the titular head of the Church: it used to be the Pope, and now it was the king of England.
Of course, there were people in the Church of England who wanted much greater reforms than that. Most notable among these were the Calvinists, who fell into two categories: the Separatists (who thought the Church of England was too tainted by Catholicism, and had to be abandoned) and the “Puritans” (those who wanted to stay in the Church of England and erase its undesirable Catholic elements from within).
The Anglican churches run by Puritans (the so-called “low churchmen”) de-emphasized things like Communion, and preferred austere churches (stained glass and ornate decor struck them as “too Catholic”). Those run by traditionalists continued to use ornate decor and to adhere to the old-time Catholic theology.
Thanks, astorian, that’s very interesting. My daughter was a bridesmaid in an Episcopal wedding where the service was called a “mass.” The clergyman was a “priest.” So that was a high church?
The low church has worship service instead of mass? Clergy instead of priests? How about communion – does the high church believe, with Catholics, it becomes the actual body of Christ? (Is that transubstantiation?)
Sounds like my partner’s right about the differences. Sounds like two different denominations. Say I want to attend an Episcopal church, but know I won’t feel comfortable in a high church. How can I tell the difference?
On a light note: this thread is great fun!
On a serious note in answer to October’s question: Yes, Gene Robinson is divorced. He and his wife split up amicably as he came out, and both took care of the children between them. He did not break his vows during the marriage AFAIK, and I heard the two of them performed a bit of a rite releasing eachother from their marriage commitments. Two years later he met his current husband. and they’ve been together 13 years IIRC.
Today’s sermon is taken from a magazine I found. Lipstick colors this season are frosted pink, with nail colors to match …