Anglo catholic

[sammywa]

I've just left a low protestant church for a high anglican church. What should I expect?

Based on my childhood, incense

In no particular order:
Use of Fr and possibly Mother as titles
Incense on various occasions
Traditional music
Angelus on occasion
General air of welcoming of people from varied walks of life
Stations of the Cross around the church
Every traditional festival marked with a special service like the stripping of the altars
More alcohol at any special occasion!

Thanks for letting me know!

Communion being referred to as Mass. I was Anglo Catholic for a while before swimming the Tiber. Someone asked me if my RC parish was much higher than I was used too. Err no, this is way down the candle. And it's a cathedral!

Gay clergy! And a wonderful welcoming warm vibe along with the heavy incense, candles, organ, Latin parts of the mass, and RC-esque names for referring to everything as previous posters have mentioned (sermon is the homily etc). Mentions of Our Lady. Crossing oneself. If you have kids you might find they offer First Communion before confirmation.

Can I ask your reason for the switch? Would be interested to hear your thoughts on the differences you notice.

@sammywa What are you hoping for?

I went to a cathedral and God spoke to me about how it sounds in heaven. Since then I've been looking for a high church as low denominations don't resonate with me after that experience

A place that resonates with me after my cathedral experience

Many Anglo Catholics do not accept the ministry of women. Also, they believe in transubstantiation.

I’ve never ever come across opposition to women’s ministry in the Anglo-Catholic churches. That’s much more associated with the evangelical low church

Sung Mass. Incense. Asperges (sprinkling the congregation with holy water).

The Kyrie sung in Greek sometimes. Sung Angelus at times.

Clergy in coloured vestments according to the season. Some clergy in cassocks.

Your post has made me long to go to Mass. Thank you!

Read some Barbara Pym novels. They feature quite High church.

Many of the Anglo Catholic Churches are overseen by 'flying bishops' because they don't agree with women's ordination. The one I used to attend was overseen by the Bishop of Richborough I think.

I haven’t come across that in any Anglo-Catholic church, it’s much more an issue in the evangelical churches, which are usually low church

So sorry I’ve just realised I posted pretty much the same message twice, I didn’t mean to do that! Have you been to any services yet OP?

The sign of the cross.

They hide it reasonably well

Sexism (sometimes thinly veiled)
Misogyny (again, veiled)
Snobbishness
Incense
Gay clergy
Lacy vestments
Sweep it under the carpet when it comes to any sort of safeguarding issue

Urgh. Shudders.

Tell me more @mumyes — sounds like you have direct experiences of some pretty unwelcoming church/es with the Anglo-Catholic tradition

I think it is mostly Protestant churches (a minority of about 8%), particularly large urban evangelical ones and happy clappy ones (which are mostly 'low' church), that oppose women clergy and have flying bishops to oversee them. They are against women's ordination for completely different reasons than the Catholic church is. I imagine that Anglo Catholics who do not want ordained women do so for similar reasons to the RC church. The Protestant ones object because of their particular interpretation of the bible, whereas Catholics base it on the twelve apostles being male.

They certainly do hide it, even though they agreed a few years ago to be open. Look at a church's website and you often have to work hard to find anything about their beliefs and attitudes on this. The most telltale giveaways are only men leaders or elders, with women sometimes given ministry jobs with other women or children, and phrases like the "infallibility" or "inerrancy" of scripture. That is more or less code for the fact that they restrict women, and not always just to do with church, based on their interpretation of a few questionable selected bible passages.
Have a look at the website of St.Helens, Bishopsgate which is a prominent example of a restrictive evangelical Protestant church.. I couldn't find anything on there about the sexist theology they practice..

Sounds just like parts of the Church of England!

@Cantalever

It is part of the Anglican Communion. The churches themselves are all owned by the Church, it is the priest/ vicar, chosen and supported by the Congregation, who decide the form of service and celebration, within the broad guidelines of the Church of England.

@Cantalever The Catholic Church can't ordain women because Christ Himself, rather than His Apostles, incarnated as a male. Pope St. John-Paul 2 said that the RCC simply does not have the authority to ordain women because of this.
I used to want the Ordination of women, but nowadays I accept that we can't be, just as I accept that the 2nd Person of the Holy Trinity didn't decide to become a female. I'm at peace with it!