Attending church in another parish (Anglican)

[WanderingSouls]

I'm new to Christianity, not yet baptised. I've been attending my local church but it hasn't really clicked.

Then last week I went to a service in a church about 30 mins away from my home and absolutely loved everything about it, to the point of getting quite emotional (not in a noticeable way, I wasn't making a hoo-ha like screaming in the Sistine Chapel 😉). It just felt right, the sermon was great, the building was beautiful, everyone was friendly. But is it ok to keep going? I think a lot of people there don't live locally (it's in a city centre and has lunchtime services for local workers) but I don't work locally either- I'd be making a special trip.

Is this likely to be a problem? And once I've been attending for a while, can I talk to the vicar about baptism or does that have to be my parish church?

Thank you.

It's not problem at all - they will be delighted to have you there . People travel outside of their parish all of the time for various reasons

Absolutely fine to attend and get baptised there, glad you found the right church for you

Not a problem at all OP. So glad you found it.

The only issue might be of you hope to get your dc into specific faith schools near home which prioritise those attending church/es locally. Anyone is free to practice at any c of e church and the style of worship can vary a lot.

Congratulations! I'm very pleased for you. And nice to see a reference to crying in the Sistine Chapel.

Absolutely not an issue. I don't go to my parish church - I live just outside of the parish boundary of the church I do go to, and several members of the congregation are the same. Unless schools are an issue, it's really not a big deal at all.

If you live in a fairly densely populated area, you will find that many people cross parish and even diocesan boundaries.

We don't go to our local church because it is liberal, and prefer the conservative evangelical of the neighbouring parish. Both DH and I are church officers.

There is very likely to be a major reorganisation of the Church of England starting from next year's General Synod, so expect more criss-crossing.

What's the reorganisation plans, @CraftyGin ?

It's all to do with separating out parishes that are willing to conduct same-sex marriages from those that have a biblical understanding.

A proposal that is supported by both sides is to redefine the Provinces of Canterbury and York. Conservative parishes would be assigned to Canterbury and liberal parishes to York.

This would avoid problems (faced in the USA) with built heritage, pensions etc.

that's interesting. It's a knotty problem and I was wondering how it would be sorted.

I did the same thing. Worship where you feel.comfortable and ask the vicar about baptism.

I sing in a CofE church choir and I've been co-opted onto the PCC. I don't live in the parish, it's largely irrelevant.

You also don't need to live in the parish to go on the electoral roll.

But the electoral roll is simply down to where you live and has nothing to do with where you worship.

Just go where you feel happy. There is already a large range of churches within the Church of England and you just need to find somewhere you feel accepted and happy and matches your approach.

It's the church electoral roll - if you are on it you can vote in the APCM and elect churchwardens etc. In our church around 40% of the electoral roll live outside the parish.

And if you were in a church-packed city, the parishes are so tiny that few people know where the boundaries are anyway!

Sorry to clarify - the church electoral roll. You can join the electoral roll of a different church by declaring you have worshipped there for the last six months. So it's not dependent on the parish you live in. The church electoral roll is also only those people who sign up to it, not everyone in the parish.

But the electoral roll is simply down to where you live and has nothing to do with where you worship

Which electoral roll are you referring to? I was on the pectoral roll of a church 100 miles away from where I live.

Church electoral roll is a list of people who worship (subject to various qualifying criteria) and is not the same as the electoral roll for elections

Yes, I was on PCC and Deanery Synod for many years, and I think I wasn't in my "home" parish.

Yes, we go to a church about 20 minutes away, there are a lot of CofE churches closer! We were married there and our children baptised there. It is our church and the fact we don't live super close is irrelevant

DH is a vicar and at a previous church where he was the associate vicar the house the church owned for him to live in wasn't in the parish. It really isn't a problem. If you decide to get married in a church you will need banns read at the parish you live in, but that is one of the only times where you live makes a difference.

Totally fine. My local parish church has a particularly charismatic and informal style which really makes me uncomfortable as it's reminiscent of the kind of church I attended in my teens where I had some bad experiences. I go to a different church 15 minutes away where the worship style is more meditative and liturgical and that's totally fine. There's no obligation to attend your parish church. The obligation is the other way around - your local parish church is obliged to offer baptism, marriage and funeral services to anyone who lives in the parish and wants these ministries, whereas another non-parish church can be more circumspect and have additional requirements and conditions - but I am sure that the church you feel comfortable with will welcome you with open arms.

You can go on the electoral role if you live in the parish, but also if you have habitually worshipped there for the previous six months.

Thank you everybody for these lovely posts- I feel reassured.