Kind-of-practising RC thinking of attending CofE church - is that OK?

[Thatsnotmypenguin]

Namechanger, I'm a regular but wanted to be a little anonymous for this one, not sure why . Not feeling robust enough for AIBU.

Anyway - I was raised/ schooled RC, married (a non-practising anglican) in RC church, DS baptised in RC church, etc. I go to church at Christmas, Easter and family events now, but still confess from time to time and regard myself as loosely/ "culturally" RC. DH isn't a churchgoer but is open-minded.

We are looking to move house in time to apply for DS' primary school place. I had hoped to be near a church again and that at least part of his education would be in an RC school, but the house we're seriously considering isn't near either an RC primary or secondary, the schools are both LA. There is a CofE church right across the road, and it doubles as the community centre.

So - if we moved there, would I be completely out of order to attend their family services with DS, and generally join the local church community, and maybe attend the local RC church family services sometimes too?

I would, of course, talk to the vicar first, and I have done this in the past when lodging with a devoutly anglican family (I even took communion there, at the invitation of my landlord). My DM always pretty much took the view that there is only one Christian god, and I do kind of feel the same way these days.

I'd love to hear about anyone's personal experiences here.

Sorry for the long post, thanks for sticking with me.

You would be very welcome. You don't need to ask permission of the vicar.

My dc go to a CofE school. There are plenty of RC parents who go to the attached church with their dc. Also plenty who go to eg cubs church parade with them.
We welcome everyone :)

Thank you, that's really reassuring .

I don't know what I'm worried about, really. My CofE friend often comes with me to midnight mass, and I never give it a second thought, except for when she doesn't take communion.

You surely need to be baptised to get into a church school?

However, I suspect you won't let a little thing like hat stand in your way..

Seeker, I'm actually saying the opposite - there won't be a church school nearby, DS would go to LA schools if we buy this house.

If it makes you feel any better at all, perhaps you'd like to know that our (probably) second choice house is within walking distance of an RC primary school, so I could very easily get him into one if that was my only aim here?

This isn't about schools, it's about my faith and how I raise my DS in a christian ethos and my local community.

seeker no you don't always need to be baptised to get into a church school, it depends on the rules of that specific school but it's usually just done on attendance.

Thatsnotmypenguin you would be very welcome to attend a CofE church and would be welcome to take communion without having to check with the vicar first (the usual phrasing in service sheets is that anyone who looks to God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and who would normally take communion in their "home" church, is welcome to share communion within a CofE service. The CofE is a very broad church which is intended to be welcoming to as wide a spectrum of beliefs and traditions within the Christian faith as possible, and contains many anglo-catholics who would have more in common with the congragation of your catholic church than with the more evangelical parts of the CofE!

No need for baptism. It's regular attendance that matters for the church schools that I know.
Not that this is relevant to the OP.

The LO is baptised, and this will be recognised in the CofE

(not that this is the gist of the thread).

xkcd, thank you. I hadn't thought of that. In RC circles I am at the very liberal end of the spectrum, so it might actually be a good match!

seeker
the OPs ds is baptised

Attending sounds like it would work. Especially if the Catholic church is too far. there is a big overlap for all Christians and Anglicanism is the Established church and very good at welcoming all the community.

Whether it can replace going to Mass is the possible hitch. For a long time, I didnt attend regularly, so it's not a 'be there every Sunday at 10am or else' statement. Church anywhere is largely about community, but if you're raised Catholic, the Eucharist and Communion are absolutely central to that.

maria, thank you for your post. It is reassuring to know that my DS and I would be welcomed.

Your points about community and the Eucharist are I think at the centre of this for me. I seem to have reached a point in my faith where I can't, for the life of me, work out why attendence to receive the sacrament can be as important as how you live your life and your impact on others, and the RC church doesn't have the monopoly on the latter.

However, I'm finding it difficult to shake my feelings that I'm deserting my roots, IYSWIM (a bit of catholic guilt, I guess), and I genuinely am no longer sure that I really want DS to follow me into that feeling of being tied.

Writing this down is helping me to sort out my thoughts and feelings enormously, though - thanks all.

I'm a former RC now Anglican, who knows the feelings of guilt you talk about. But several years in, I now feel really happy in the C of E, and love the breadth of worship and beliefs, and especially the opportunities for lay people to get involved. For me too, Eucharist is central, but thats not a problem in my current church (apart from a few who'd like to see an end to weekly communion, but thats not going to happen, at least in our current vicar's time - and she's been with us less than a year).

If I can help at all, PM me :), or post here :)