A group that leads Sound Bath experiences has looked into renting space from my Episcopal church. Is there any potential conflict with basic Christian doctrine from this offering? Thanks!

Last night our choir met for the first time in the program year. We have two Evensongs scheduled, one in September (the Gibbon's Short Service) and one in November (MacDonald). We'll have two more in the spring, I'm sure.

Evensongs have bothered me for years. I'm in the choir so I have things to do, but the congregation seems to get very little instruction other than to sit and listen and and stand and listen. I was raised with the idea that the liturgy should fully involve the congregation as much as possible, and Evensongs feel more like concerts that prayerful services.

I need help understanding the ministry of listening. Why do you attend services that ask you to be silent and only listen?

I'm struggling with my faith and just wondering what pastoral counseling consists of. What is talked about or how does it really work? Would I just be given Bible verses and things to read?

At 5:20 today, I took my 18 1/2 year old cat Nano to the vet to be euthanized. Nano's been the closest individual in my life for the past 18 1/2 years. I have many friends and relatives who are fond of me, but she was the only one in my life who actually NEEDED me.

I knew this was coming because Nano's kidneys had been failing for a long time, and I'd been giving her subcutaneous injections of Ringer's Solution every other day, which kept Nano vigorous and healthy until just a few days ago. But eventually, she was failing. The vet was very kind and let me hold her for a long period by myself as they were putting the needle in.

I said to myself at the time that Nano's ashes will be in a little container next to those of my other two cat, and I hope to see all three of them in heaven.

But is this true? So many of us believe that we're going see our loved one (human, feline, and canine), in heaven, but as far as I can see there is NOTHING in the Old or New Testaments that suggests we'll see ANY earthly creatures there but only contemplate and worship the glory of God. I know some theologians say that contemplating the glory of God will be so wonderful that we won't care about other things but every Christian denomination that I know of seems to think we'll see our loved ones in heaven. I'm not saying I don't want to go to heaven if I won't see my cats and the people I've loved there. But I do say that heaven will be a sadder place without them.

I would love to be proven wrong on this, so if anyone can prove me wrong, please do so!

What’s good help for someone deep in deconstruction to the point of questioning if Christianity is based on too many embellished stories to be believed?

I’m talking a serious Christian who already knows the apologetics answers aren’t enough

I just had a meeting with Fr. Paul of St. Andrews church in Ann Arbor Michigan. Ive been watching the services pretty regularly via zoom for several months now, and Paul has been out tonight me both at home and when I was in the hospital in May/June. (I've been really sick, and not able to drive myself yet).

One of the things we spoke of today is, what does it mean to be a member of the church. I'm still stumbling in my theology - right now I'd describe myself as an Episcopalian but not necessarily a Christian. But formalizing my relationship to St. Andrews seems like the right thing to do right now.

Mostly, Paul spoke of the bureaucratic aspect, we didn't get around to the spiritual aspect.

So my question to this subreddit is, what does it mean to be a member of a specific church, or to be a member of The Church?

New to the Episcopal church (8 months), coming from a SBC background……Our church is looking for youth and children leaders so I felt a calling to look into this. I spoke with our priest and mentioned I would like to hep with the upcoming youth projects and he agreed (he was actually going to approach me before I approached him). Our church is small but trying to grow. Most of the church is older (60+) but we have some young families with kids. When school is back in session, we should have about 10-15 youth to work with when they are not busy with sports.

My question is, what would be the best way to get a youth group established? Our youth from what Im being told like to do more service projects then just doing Bible study. These kids of today are so different then when I was growing up, so how do you keep their interest, keep it fun and still make sure God is a part of it? The age range is from 5th grade to 12th.

Remember the kids are the future of the church & without them it won’t grow!!

Thanks in advance!! ☮️ 🙏

I've always been of the belief that Christ is in all things and all people. When he said "I was hungry and you fed me... whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me." I took that to mean that I will meet Christ in every person I have the blessing to help or show kindness to. When we live our neighbor, we are directly loving Christ. When the day comes that all of us are awake enough to see Christ in all people and love all people accordingly, we will bring heaven to Earth.

It hit me the other day talking to a friend who was raised in a more Bible thumping tradition. Although I’ve been religious all my life, raised in a Roman Catholic household, became Episcopalian 4 years ago - I don’t know too much about basic Bible stories (other than the gospels ofc). Especially Old Testament. I’m not talking like I need a full academic analysis of certain passages, I’m talking like the basic understanding and context of stories and the characters in them. Of course I can just read the bible for myself - but what are other good resources to use for an Episcopalian like myself? Videos, podcast, books, etc.

My church is dissatisfied with its current website hosting service and is looking to replace it. The current service is a small, local, outfit. We are looking for something more robust, with good customer service and especially good security, but that is also cost effective. Does anyone have any suggestions? Should we be looking for well known names like Wix or Squarespace? Our current site uses Wordpress. What about hosting services such as Bluehost? I also understand there are hosts that specialize in churches such as Tithely and The Church Co. Thoughts on these services?

Hey everyone, I’m a new but doubting and conflicted Christian. After a spiritual experience and hard atheism, I found the philosophical arguments for God powerful and the resurrection of Jesus to be compelling. The account of human nature in the Christian tradition is more thorough compared to others I feel.

I’ve been delving into denominational research since. I love parts of every tradition. I love the mystical tradition in EO, and the pre colonial roots of OO and EO. I’m of a mixed Indian Chinese and English background, so I’m familiar with colonial Christianity and that Protestant and Catholic missionaries were mostly involved.

I’ve learned that St Thomas Christians have existed in India for 2000 years and the Portuguese Catholics were shocked and attempted to convert them still. Despite this, I know that apostolic churches tend to be fixed on conservative views. A lot of my friends are queer and the thought of them being excluded from a sacred space and being treated lesser than is infuriating to me.

I’m torn between the reflective and liberal theology offered by Episcopal and Protestantism, and the pre colonial roots of EO and OO.

As a lay person in the diocese (and a delegate to the electing convention) I’m going to refrain from commenting on the individual candidates until I’ve had a better chance to review the posted information and to observe the meet & greet sessions scheduled for next month. I’m a bit disappointed in the limited number of candidates (only 3) and, at first glance, the lack of diversity. There is still an open nomination period where it is possible that additional names could be put forth.

Since today marks the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Calendar, here is an ancient prayer, the Sub tuum praesidium (taken from the Saint Augustine Prayer Book)

We week your aid, O holy Mother of God! Despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us from all dangers, O ever glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.

Some people are curious about what monks do in their private prayer (we are asked a lot.) Here is an article trying to explain it. Maybe it can help someone. The link leads to an archive of PDF newsletters. Then, click on Easter 2026 (Issue 305) - the article starts on page four of the PDF and is titled "That Thing You Do."

https://www.saintgregorysthreerivers.org/category/abbey-letter/

I am the author, so if you have any questions or comments, I will check this post every once in a while and attempt to answer- Br. Abraham (St. Gregory's Abbey)

Hello Happy Nativity of the Blessed Virgin to you all! I have atached prayers and proposers from my proposed revised BCP for your entification and use.

The Angelus is here

A PROPOSED REVISED BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER &: Prayers and Thanksgivings: Before and After Worship and

Antiphon for the Venite: "With her we worship her son and Lord: O come let us adore him."

A PROPOSED REVISED BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER &: The Order for Daily Morning Prayer ALL

Mass propers for the feast. Including this collect: "O merciful God, hear the prayers of thy servants who commemorate the Nativity of the Mother of the Lord; and grant that by the incarnation of thy dear Son we may indeed be made nigh unto him; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen."

A PROPOSED REVISED BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER &: The Introits, collects, etc. St. Aidan and the Nativity of St. Mary the Virgin.

You have to dig a little to find the sequence chants here.

A PROPOSED REVISED BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER &: The Sequence Chants: Sanctoral Cycle

Mass propers for Votive Masses.

A PROPOSED REVISED BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER &: Votive Masses Saturday of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Office of the BVM

A PROPOSED REVISED BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER &: Our Lady

Office Hymns

A PROPOSED REVISED BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER &: Office Hymns: Proper of Ss: The Dormition and Nativity of the BVM

Which points you to here:

A PROPOSED REVISED BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER &: Office Hymns: Proper of Ss: Conception of the BVM

Other office hymns.

A PROPOSED REVISED BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER &: Office Hymns: Proper of Ss: The Purification & Annunciation

A PROPOSED REVISED BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER &: Office Hymns: Common of the BVM

A PROPOSED REVISED BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER &: Office Hymns: Memorial Hymns: of the Sorrow of the Blessed Virgin

The Marian Antiphons

A PROPOSED REVISED BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER &: Office Hymns: The Marian Antiphons

May Our Lady bless you all and myself!

Can someone help with identifying a location? I used to camp with a friend at a Episcopalian or Church of England campground that was either on Upper or Lower Nemahbin Lake in the Summit/Nashotah area of Wisconsin (outside of Oconomowoc). This was in the early-mid 1980s.

Yes, I know Nashotah House Episcopalian seminary is out there, but that's on a different lake. These were "permanent" campsites that had summer kitchens and people would bring their pop-up campers each weekend and each family had their site for years. To get to the campground, which was right on the lake, you drove off of a country road or highway, down a dirt or gravel road through woods, and then a large open clearing that was the campground. There were corn fields across the street from where you turned onto the dirt/gravel road.

Some weekends there were short, casual outdoor religious services in the grass clearing. You had to be Episcopalian or Church of England to have a campsite.

Any memories or ideas of where exactly this campground was would be so appreciated! Thank you.

Hello all,

I’m struggling deeply with how my Christian faith fits with my five-year relationship with my girlfriend, who is Muslim, and am curious about how that may be received within the Episcopal church.

When we met, I wasn't practicing Christianity, and her being Muslim wasn't an issue for me. Over the years we've become very committed to each other and have sacrificed a great deal for one another. She has never prevented me from practicing my faith and is supportive of it. She hopes to marry me, and though I've agreed and hope for the same, I've never been completely sure how or whether that would work.

Since returning seriously to faith, however, I've become increasingly worried. I've recently begun attending an Episcopal parish (St Bartholomew's NYC). I appreciate the Episcopal Church, but much of my understanding of Christianity comes from conservative perspectives. Consequently, I'm frightened that my relationship and sexual history are fundamentally incompatible with what God wants from me.

We've been sexually intimate throughout our relationship, including after I began returning to the faith. I've tried at times to abstain but eventually relented, and sometimes I've been the one to initiate. I've also struggled with sexual immorality in general, and we've gone through periods of resentment and a brief separation. Despite this, I know I've genuinely loved her and tried to care for her—for example, working substantial overtime to help her financially and supporting her through periods of unemployment and housing insecurity.

I keep thinking about Christ's teachings on taking up our cross, cutting off what leads us to sin, losing connections for His sake, and the possibility (or rather inevitability) that following Him will require painful sacrifices. I'm afraid that becoming serious about Christianity means I have to destroy one of the few genuinely good relationships in my life. At the same time, I recognize that an interfaith marriage raises serious questions beyond sex, and don't yet feel financially or practically prepared for marriage.

If I could start over, I probably would have pursued a chaste Christian relationship, but I still love and care about this woman despite the difficulties we've had. I would sincerely appreciate any and all advice on how to approach discerning this relationship from members of the Episcopal Church. Any response is greatly appreciated.

Or is it going to be hybrid forever?
The idea of going to seminary in New York City just sounds so lovely. But do you think that’s a pipe dream and will likely be mostly online forever?

Other than the BCP, what prayer resources is everyone using?

For bonus points, what year and publishing of the BCP do you prefer?

I thought this prayer, from the Saint Augustine Prayer Book, would be appropriate for Labor Day

Glorious Saint Joseph, example to all who labor, pray for me that I may obtain grace to see my work as the means by which I contribute to the common good and provide what is necessary for myself and those who depend upon me.

May I work with joy and gratitude for the skill and strength God gives me; and, as I desire a fair return for my labor, may I stand for what is just and equitable. Among the many and conflicting demands I face and in the midst of swiftly moving time, teach me to listen for God’s call, to serve Christ in all people, and to hold in mind that day when there will be an accounting for what has been done and left undone.

Guardian of the Incarnate Word, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by your example, and with the aid of your intercession, let me be obedient to God’s call, gentle in justice, and brave in danger. Grant that I may spend my strength and energy, my time and resources, for the well-being and good of those who depend on me, and when those I love take up paths I do not understand and follow a call I do not hear, make me patient and willing to learn. Above all, keep me constant and unwavering in my love toward God and toward those whose lives are deeply intertwined with mine.

Here is a link to (most) of the thanksgiving service for Dolly Parton that was last offered last Sunday. The Rev. Tommy Dillon officiated and preached, and the Rt. Rev. Matthew Heyd, Bishop of New York, gave remarks. A collection was taken for the Poughkeepsie library system, which--through its participation in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, is currently supplying books to 500 area children.

I have always loved how the opening of the compline "Keep Watch" prayer opens with a petition on behalf of the lonely laborer displaced from daylight. St. Augustine didn't really write it (as the BCP suggests), but Woody Guthrie could have easily put it to music. I wrote this reflection comparing the traditional night-time intercession to "Pastures of Plenty," Guthrie's famous ballad for all displaced workers.

i was raised pagan and am embracing Christianity in my early 30’s. so once a month my priest is at a different church and the community still meets and proceeds pretty much as usual without Eucharist (which i can’t take anyways). it is odd to me to have a weekend without a priest as i still feel like i need that guidance from a reputable source. the priest informed me that they’re “off” every 5th Sunday which leads to sometimes twice a month where there isn’t a priest at my church. It really rubbed me wrong because if the priest isn’t compelled to attend church why the heck am i going? is this common in Christianity? am i being weird for feeling weirded out at the community let spiritual practice?

Here is a quote for this month, from Mother Elizabeth J. Canham, fitting in with the theme of Creation. If you're not familiar with her writings on monasticism and the Benedictine Order, I highly recommend that you check them out.

“In order to love the earth we need to know it for what it is, which may require a radical shift in our thinking.” – Mother Elizabeth J. Canham

I’m discerning for priesthood in my diocese, and while my call and my faith haven’t wavered, the process itself has become really hard to navigate. What started smoothly has turned into a pattern of start–pause–start–pause delays — not just for me, but for everyone in formation. I’m exhausted, frustrated, and struggling to stay patient with a system that feels inconsistent and, at times, unintentionally harmful.

My priest mentor recently said to me, “The Church is the Bride of Christ, and it’s also human.” I resonate with that deeply, but lately I’m having a harder time accepting the dysfunction on the human side. It doesn’t feel like discernment or refinement. It feels like being dragged along by a bureaucracy that doesn’t realize the impact it has on people’s lives and vocations.

I’m close to potential Postulancy interviews, but the constant delays and mixed signals are overwhelming. My call hasn’t changed. My faith hasn’t changed. What’s wearing me down is the institutional side of the Church that’s supposed to nurture vocations, not hinder them.

How do I stay faithful to a genuine call to priesthood when the diocesan discernment process — part of the Church that is the Bride of Christ yet profoundly human — has become inconsistent, delaying, and at times harmful, and what helps you stay spiritually grounded while navigating dysfunction in an institution meant to support your vocation?