Roamin' Cath... Protestants?

HERS:
This week was all about change for these Roamin' Catholics. We talked about doing this months ago in our journey, but finally felt the push we needed to do so. So... this week we ventured to Potomac, MD to... (drum roll please)... St. James' Episcopal Church to the Sunday 8:00 am service... they call them services, not masses, and the celebrants are Rectors, not Priests. Yes, I said Episcopal... and as some like to call it Catholic-lite.

As we pulled into the parking lot, we were both pretty nervous. The only time I've been to anything other than a Catholic mass was for weddings and funerals of friends who were of different denominations. Lou said he felt a little guilty. This is our journey and no good journey goes from point A to point B without some sudden turns, a stop or two, some bumps in the road and some fun along the way. I'll consider this week a turn onto a rest stop.

We walked in to the church and moved to a little area on the side of the church where there were only a couple of people waiting. Within five minutes, we were greeted personally by the Reverend Meredith Heffner who was an enthusiastic woman with a very friendly demeanor. Wow. In my 52 years of being a Catholic, I can honestly say that I have never received a greeting as warm as this one. Perhaps she wasn't burdened by Catholic guilt and that made for a friendly disposition? Hmmm... I could probably embrace a guilt-free, worry-free religion. We must have stood out from the usual 20 "regulars" who attended this service... was it our scarlet C's that made us stand out? At any rate, she asked if we were Episcopalians and I told her we were Catholics. She welcomed us, explained a little about the service and how to follow along and told us to take a book home if we wanted. I felt uneasy and comfortable at the same time. I looked over at Lou. Some of you will understand when I say this next thing... his head did NOT explode (see Lou's Fact #2).  I had to keep reminding myself that Episcopalians believe basically everything we believe with some VERY VISIBLE DIFFERENCES.

The first of these differences was Reverend Meredith Heffner. I have to admit I was completely comfortable with a woman at the helm for the service. I know some will shudder and others will rejoice when I say this... Why NOT women priests in the Catholic religion? And not only was she a woman, she was married... with children!

The second of these differences was the welcoming feeling of the leaders and congregation of this church. It was proof to me that you can be reverent and friendly at the same time. The welcome from Reverend Heffner was only the beginning. At the sign of peace... or whatever Episcopalians call it, everyone came over to shake our hands and to welcome us.

The last difference was the preparation that Reverend Heffner must have taken to write and deliver her sermon. It was a memorable one. She referred back to one of the readings where they talked about shielding yourself with a coat of armor.

She spoke of evil and the devil in our lives and how we must put on our armor to protect ourselves from the two. She spoke of three times when Jesus was tempted by the devil. The first was when the devil offered all of the kingdom to Jesus... all he had to do was worship before him. The second was... well, I can't remember the second one, and this church was too small to be taking notes on my phone.
The final was that of a woman who had been plagued by the devil for years - Jesus cured her.

So back to the armor... sin is all around us. Rev. Heffner said that she did not know our sins... that there could be any number of things that tempt us... she listed a bunch of things, but you get the picture. She talked about putting on our armor... our faith, our courage, our steadfastness to combat the evil that confronts us daily. A breastplate that protects us... shoes that keep our feet safe and comfortable... a belt of courage. But there is one other thing... a sword of love. It is only love that will combat the evil that is out there in this world. Think about it. If we truly love, we wouldn't want to bring harm to anyone. People wouldn't steal, kill, rape, or cause harm if they truly loved. Love is about respect and encouragement and looking out for someone... and not wanting to cause them harm.

I am not doing justice to her sermon. She was prepared... like only a woman can prepare.

To receive the Eucharist or not? At the sign of peace, Rev. Heffner came over to us and told us that all those baptized are welcome to receive the Eucharist. What? This is very different from the Catholic religion. Only Catholics can receive the Eucharist at a Catholic mass. Here, baptism was the only prerequisite. I was torn. I was being welcomed to receive, but I also know that Catholics should only receive at a Catholic mass. But this was the Body and Blood of Christ. The religion didn't matter, did it? I will not divulge my decision. It is a personal one.

At the end of the service, as we were leaving, Rev. Heffner stopped us to ask what we thought. Lou replied that it was not all that different. She welcomed us back and told us if we had any questions to let her know... I told her that was very different from what we are used to. I guess to be honest, I have never thought of the Catholic Church as "friendly". You go, you do your thing, you leave. I am partially to blame for that.

There was coffee, donuts and conversation after, but I think we had enough for one morning. We didn't want to get crazy and actually speak to these Episcopalians.

All in all, I'm glad we attended. It prompted discussion about why we are Catholics on the car ride back home. I said to Lou... we were kind of born into it. I then said, but think about it... when we have work done in our home it is usually our habit to get three quotes... wouldn't it make sense to do that for a religion as well? Well, not quotes, but wouldn't it make sense to expose ourselves to different religions and then decide what was best for us?

At any rate, I have no thoughts of converting... well maybe a passing one. No matter what, as we continue this journey I am continually making the distinction between faith/spirituality and religion. I'm probably a late bloomer, but if you haven't already, I would invite you to do the same.

HIS:

Fact number one, I identify myself as a Catholic and always will.  Fact number two, change does not come easy to me.  (Fact number one proving fact number two.)  Now, having proclaimed those two facts, I have a confession to make (pun fully intended.)  Mary and I attended “Services” this week.  This was a first for both of us.  I have been to weddings and funerals for other religious traditions, but this is the first time I have attended a Sunday service.  We attended the 8:00 a.m. service at St. James Episcopal Church in Potomac, Md.  We had always intended to go to another denomination during our year of “Roamin’” but given the sad revelations of a few weeks ago, it seemed like the right time.  The first thing I noticed was how welcome we were made to feel.  Before the service began, the rector, who was a woman by the way, came directly over to where we were seated and greeted us by introducing herself and asking us if we were new to the congregation.  She described the use of the prayer book as well as the four page “bulletin” with some of the prayers.  Everything is clearly articulated with respect to the order of the service.  Wherever it wasn’t, the rector told the congregation where to find it.  By the way, there is a note on the first page of the bulletin, If you notice that the person next to you is having difficulty finding a page in the prayer book, please offer to help.  For this life long Catholic, this was quite the change from what I have grown accustomed.

I have always heard the Episcopal tradition described as “Catholic Lite.”  To this point, the service was very much like the Catholic mass.  The order of the service follows closely to the Mass, they say the Our Father, Nicene Creed and offer Communion.  Some (not insignificant) differences are, EVERYONE is welcome to partake in Communion (and everyone (except Mary and me) did), and little things like a woman celebrant and her talking about her children during her sermon.  Even now as I type this several hours later, my mind is still processing these last two facts.  Let me say it again, a woman celebrant and SHE HAS CHILDREN!   I wasn’t so much bothered by these two things as (see above) change doesn’t come easy to me.  Mary did comment to me as we drove home, I’ve come a long way.  I must admit, I wasn’t always the wonderful, doting, enlightened husband that I am now.  I know, I know, that is hard to believe.  I do believe that enlightenment comes from exposure to new and different things.  After all, how can you truly know what you like unless you have been exposed to different things.

I compared the readings from St James (and I assume every other Episcopal church) with those that were read during mass this week and they were different except for the Gospel, which was the same.  Although, the second reading at mass today was from Ephesians and the service at St James included a reading from that book as well, just a different chapter and verse.  The Ephesians reading at mass was one of my favorites and I’m sorry I missed it.  It begins with,  Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.  For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church and further on states, As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.  I missed the opportunity for my annual elbow to Mary’s ribs followed by my whispering, see, see, I told you so… 😊 The reading does conclude with, For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.  This I truly believe as I am on my journey (life) with the one I am truly meant to be with!

Our Celebrant this morning commented during her sermon that in the Episcopal church, they don’t spend a lot of time talking about the devil and his temptations.  She further observed that this didn’t mean that the devil didn’t exist but that we need to be ever vigilant in resisting the temptations of the devil.  My 54 year old Catholic mind was blown again when she related a comment from a friend who said that Words with Friends is a temptation from the devil.  Having only heard about this game and never having played it myself, this isn’t what I was blown away by.  That friend was her son’s godmother, a Presbyterian minister.  Its not that I am necessarily against any of this, but this was a lot to take in, in one morning!  Old habits die hard.  In case you weren’t fully paying attention when you started reading this, Fact number two, change does not come easy to me!  The important take away for me from today’s Gospel was that we need to put on the whole armor of God and take the fight to the devil.  There is evil in the world and we must practice our faith so that we are an example to others.

I don’t think I will be converting to the Episcopal faith anytime soon, but I am glad for this experience.  As I said, in order for us to grow, we need to experience different things and be exposed to different faiths.  Chances are, I (not sure about Mary, I haven’t read her write up yet) will return to Mass next week.  I am glad for today’s experience and will likely do this again sometime.  Perhaps Lutheran or Presbyterian next time.  Live life like you mean it!