#Anglicans Online

[martianbugsbunny]

If I am going to be a 1600s Anglican clergyman then by Rumplestiltskin I am going to be the cuntiest 1600s Anglican clergyman who ever lived

[bronzecats]

National Rainbow Week of Action in Canada

In this post I have compiled all the information I could find regarding upcoming events for the Rainbow Week of Action. There are two online events, and dozens on in-person events across the country.

"Within the Rainbow Week of Action, we are pushing governments and elected officials at every level to take action for Rainbow Equality and address rising anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate. As such, we have identified calls to action for every level of government. These calls to action can be reviewed here."

Event list below:

Events are listed in date order, provinces in general west-to-east order. I have included as much detail as possible, please reference the links at the bottom of the post. At this time, there are no events in N.W.T. and Nova Scotia. Last updated: May 14th, 9:53pm PDT. Please note that I am not officially affiliated with / an organizer of these events, I have simply compiled all the dates to share on tumblr. Original post content.

B.C. EVENTS:

15th: Fernie; Fernie Seniors Drop-In Centre, 572 3rd Avenue, 6:00PM. (Letter writing and Potluck)

17th: Vancouver; šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl'e7énḵ Square - Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza, 750 Hornby St, 5:30PM. (Rally)

19th, Sunday: Abbotsford; Jubilee Park, 5:00PM. (Rally)

ALBERTA EVENTS:

15th: Lethbridge; McKillop United Church, 2329 15th Ave S, 12:00-1:00PM (letter writing)

17th, Friday: Calgary; Central Memorial Park, 1221 2 St SW, 5:30PM. (Rally)

17th: Edmonton; Wilbert McIntyre Park, 8331 104 St NW, 6:00PM. (Rally)

SASKATCHEWAN EVENTS:

17th: Saskatoon; Vimy Memorial Park, 500 Spadina Crescent E, 5:30PM. (Rally)

17th: Regina; Legislative Grounds, 2405 Legislative Dr, 6:30PM. (Rally)

May 18th: Saskatoon; Grovenor Park United Church, 407 Cumberland Ave S, 6:00PM. (Art event)

MANITOBA EVENTS:

16th: Carman; Paul's Place, 20 1 Ave SW, 7:00-9:00PM. (Letter writing)

19th: Winnipeg; Manitoba Legislature, 450 Broadway, 12:00PM. (Rally)

ONTARIO EVENTS:

15th: Barrie; UPlift Black, 12 Dunlop St E, 6:00-7:30PM. (Letter writing)

15th: Chatham; CK Gay Pride Association, 48 Centre St, 5:00-6:30PM. (Letter writing)

15th: Peterborough; Trinity Community Centre, 360 Reid St, 12:00-3:00PM. (Letter writing)

16th: Midland; Midland Public Library, 4:30-7:30PM. (Letter writing and pizza)

16th: Ottawa; Impact Hub, 123 Slater Street, 2:00PM. (Letter writing)

16th: Toronto; Barbara Hall Park, 519 Church St, 11:30AM. (Rally)

17th, Friday: Barrie; City Hall, 70 Collier St, 6:00PM. (Rally)

17th: Cornwall; 167 Pitt St, 5:30PM. (Rally)

17th: Essex; St. Paul's Anglican Church, 92 St. Paul St, 6:00-8:00PM. (Letter writing and pizza)

17th: Hamilton; City Hall, 71 Main St W, 6:00PM. (Rally)

17th: Kitchener; City Hall, 200 King St W, 6:00PM. (Rally)

17th: London; City Hall, 300 Dufferin Ave, 6:00PM. (Rally)

17th: Sarnia; City Hall, 255 Christina St N, 1:00PM. (Rally)

17th: Sault Ste Marie; City Hall, 99 Foster Dr, 11:30AM. (Rally)

17th: Ottawa; Confederation Park, Elgin St, 5:30PM. (Rally)

22nd: Renfrew; 161 Raglan St. South, 7:00PM. (Letter writing, fashion and makeup event, and pizza)

QUEBEC EVENTS:

May 15th: Lachute; CDC Lachute, 57, rue Harriet, 12:30PM. (Letter writing event)

NEW BRUNSWICK EVENTS:

17th: Woodstock; Citizen's Square, Chapel St, Next to the L.P. Fisher Public Library, 12:00-1:00PM. (rally)

17th: Saint John; City Hall, 15 Market Square, 12:30PM. (Rally, flag raising)

18th, Saturday: Fredericton; Legislative Grounds, 706 Queen Street, 1:00PM. (Rally)

NOVA SCOTIA EVENTS:

May 17th: Middleton; NSCC AVC RM 121, 6:30-8:30PM (letter writing and pizza)

P.E.I. EVENTS:

May 15th: Charlottetown; Peers Alliance Office, 250B Queen Street, 6:00-8:00PM. (Adult drop-in)

May 16th: Charlottetown, Peers Alliance Office, 250B Queen Street, 6:00-7:00PM.

May 17th: Charlottetown; PEI Legislative Assembly, 165 Richmond St, 12:00PM. (Rally)

YUKON EVENTS:

16th: Whitehorse; The Cache, 4230 4 Ave, 2:00-7:00PM. (Letter writing)

NUNAVUT EVENTS:

May 16th, Thursday: Iqaluit; Four Corners, 922 Niaqunngusiariaq St, 5:00PM. (Letter writing)

Reference links:

About the Rainbow Week of Action.

Website letter writing events list (does not include all events)

General events website list (does not include all events)

Instagram general events image list

Instagram letter writing / pizza party image list

[orthopunkfox]

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! EXCITING NEWS!

Hello my dear friends and siblings! I am so terribly sorry for my absence but I have been working on some big things and I have some VERY exciting news.

As some of you may know, I have been working with an affirming and inclusive parish, Saint Thekla Independent Orthodox Church. The priest and I have been working together for several months now and share a vision of building an inclusive and affirming community here in Indiana. To that end:

ANNOUNCEMENT ONE: I have been granted permission to found an offspring community under the umbrella of Saint Thekla. I am proud to announce the official opening of Holy Protection Orthodox Christian Community! Although we are mostly online currently, Mother Thekla and I will be working diligently to establish in-person meetings locally. That said, our online ministry will continue and I invite you all to participate. Our virtual Coffee Hour is especially great and not to be missed! (links below). Eventually we hope, by the grace of God, to grow into a fully functioning parish with a priest serving weekly Divine Liturgy. Which brings me to my second announcement:

ANNOUNCEMENT TWO: I have been granted permission to begin the process of reading for Holy Orders with the goal of ordination to the priesthood. I will submit my official application later this week but my spiritual director is confident given my ministry experience (and my brief time in Anglican seminary before my transition) my application will be welcomed and granted quickly. This process will take a couple of years. but I'm very excited to finally complete my journey to the priesthood after so many years. Glory to God for all things!

I will try to post here more regularly and consider this blog as an extension of the online ministry of Holy Protection. I invite you all to please participate in our online community and for those of you who live in my neck of the woods, I hope to invite you to in-person meetings soon! In the meantime, please like the Facebook page and join the Facebook group to stay up to date on our development!

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563480251752

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/ecxTi3GAJ8iZiAa6/

Youtube channel (in development): https://www.youtube.com/@AffirmingOrthodoxy

[timeagainreviews]

Mining Gold

In his 2012 stand-up special “New In Town,” John Mulaney quipped that he “always thought quicksand was going to be a much bigger problem than it turned out to be.” This sentiment seems to have rung true with people online. Quicksand was such a big deal in media in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Who could forget Westley jumping headlong into quicksand to save Buttercup in “The Princess Bride?” Remember the first time you saved Mario from sinking deep into golden sands? Yet in real life, very little quicksand. While I am sure there are parts of the world that grapple with quicksand, it’s more of a trope than anything. Trapping our heroes allows storytellers to show who these characters are under pressure. While Doctor Who has its share of great escapes, it’s also prone to using capture to pad time. But isn’t that a cynical view? Can’t trapping our heroes also give the narrative a moment to breathe?

Quicksand is the perfect type of trap because it’s a ticking clock that must be treated with attention and care. Characters must slow down and assess their situation. It’s odd then that Doctor Who has never used quicksand in the show proper. But it’s just a placeholder. You could throw someone into the Timelash. The Fourth Doctor had to shoot a rope while standing over a pit of horda. Or again with the Fourth Doctor when he stepped on a landmine. But that last one is different, isn’t it? The horda and Timelash are as real as the Swamp of Sandness and the Bog of Eternal Stench. But landmines are very real. And in some parts of the world, a horrific day-to-day reality.

Returning after a seven-year absence, Steven Moffat brings the Doctor back into the minefield with “Boom.” But unlike Doctor Who’s last episode named after an explosive onomatopoeia, “Kerblam!”, this episode aims to chastise capitalism’s role in atrocity, not give it a free pass. Also making a comeback are a few Moffat staples- Villengard, the Anglican Marines, and stupid children. Each does their part to build a narrative mirroring the current political climate. But have any of Moffat’s less celebrated qualities returned along with him? Will he fall into his own trappings as a writer? Is this trope just padding out time? Or can a bottle episode become an instant classic?

Coming off the heels of last week’s manic “The Devil’s Chord,” the show was due a bit of a breather. While I’m all for bombast it’s nice to know this thing has an off switch. I already saw someone on Instagram who disagrees wholeheartedly. In their words “Boom? More like BORING,” so I imagine this one won’t be popular among dullards and the chronically contrarian crowd. But as an old, I appreciated the slower pacing and the emphasis on emotion. If you need a constant source of laser swords and loud noises, allow me to quote the Third Doctor- “Don't worry, Brigadier. People will be shooting at you soon.” Luckily, Billy No-Mates and his five Instagram followers appear to be in the minority. Most everyone I’ve talked to absolutely loved this episode.

The one issue I’ve seen fans bring up that holds any kind of water has been the conversation around faith. The inclusion of the Anglican Marines introduces a religious angle that some have criticised as preachy and offensive. In the past Moffat has used the Anglicans to various ends. Spanning across two centuries, the Anglicans we’ve met so far have come in numerous forms. Sometimes they’re allies of the Doctor, and at other times, they’re a fanatic organisation hellbent on stopping the Doctor at every turn. This time, however, the Doctor and they cross paths presumably by happenstance. (More on why I say presumably later.) This group of Marines are already in a deep conflict with an elusive enemy, which they appear to be losing. Despite these losses, they keep their faith. But it’s hard to keep faith when your enemy is as invisible as your god.

The two soldiers we’re introduced to are Carson and John Francis Vater. Not as in they’re married like the Fat One and the Thin One couple from “A Good Man Goes To War,” but rather that Carson only gets the one name. As names go, John Francis Vater is akin to purple hair in an anime- total protagonist vibes. Vater even has a daughter named Splice living back on base. He has a cute “save the cat,” moment when he tells Splice to brush her manky teeth. Which is why when he dies, it feels like there’s still more to his story. Unfortunately for Carson, he exists to illustrate the way the Villengard smartmines on Kastarion 3 operate. As it turns out, it’s pretty quick, rather violent, and kind of pretty. Even more unfortunately for Vader, he is now essentially lost as Carson was acting as his eyes due to temporary blindness.

It’s never really explained why the Doctor and Ruby are parked on the planet. Presumably, it’s the Doctor doing his usual “land wherever and explore,” approach. But it’s the death of Vater that draws the Doctor and Ruby into the action. After lifting the veil from his injured eyes, Vater’s injury draws the attention of a Villengard Automated Ambulance Unit with the video face of Susan Twist. Having assessed that Vater’s recovery time would be too big of a drain on resources the ambulance terminates him. The Doctor comes running at the sound of Vater’s scream but finds nothing but an empty crater and a smartmine under his right foot. It’s the inclusion of Susan Twist here that makes me wonder if this isn’t part of some greater plan. Pretty obvious, really. Also, didn’t a big portion of Moffat’s last episode also take place in a crater?

The Doctor’s voice carries out along the horizon with a mournful rendition of “The Skye Boat Song.” It tells of the journey Bonnie Prince Charles took from Benbecula to Skye after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden, thus spelling the end for the Jacobites. This worked for me on several fronts. As a fan of the Second Doctor, I admired the nod to his past. I also enjoyed the reference to Ncuti Gatwa’s Scottish identity. The forlorn quality of his singing reminded me of the Master playing the Skye Boat Song in “The Power of the Doctor,” which was one of the better parts of that story. I was also grateful that they didn’t undercut the tension with a pop song, or something truly cringe, like quoting from Harry Potter.

The Doctor is singing to calm himself and hopefully delay the bomb until he can come up with a new plan. But it’s this singing that draws Ruby to his location. Together the two of them must move their bodies in sync to a rhythm so the Doctor can rest his leg. In yet another contrast to “The Devil’s Chord,” music is being used in an entirely different manner. But this time, the Doctor’s dance partner, Ruby Sunday, is less complimentary and more complicated. The Doctor faces death all the time, but seeing Ruby put in harm’s way raises the Doctor’s blood pressure. The adrenaline becomes harder to control. And his bio-signs become easier for the smartmine to detect. Because of this, the Doctor’s emotions are raw and prickly, another stark contrast from last week. He chastises Ruby for not doing as he tells her, but she ignores him because she’s got her own ideas about what she is and isn’t allowed to do. I was getting shades of Amy Pond from Ruby in this one, and considering the author, that makes sense.

If you’ve ever heard me say that I wanted the chance for Jodie Whittaker to get mean, or show anger, this is precisely the kind of depiction of the Doctor I meant. In many ways, Ncuti is the same brand of golden retriever adorable as Whittaker, only here they’ve allowed him to show that he’s capable of a depth of emotion. The Doctor has an authoritarian streak that he hides well, but in times of stress, the walls begin to fall away and you see the complicated Time Lord underneath the fish fingers and custard, the floppy hair, and the eccentric fit. This is exactly the kind of episode I wanted to see Ncuti get to do. I’ve seen him deal with heavy subjects in “Sex Education,” I’m glad they didn’t just hire him because he’s hot and dripping charisma. He’s also incredibly capable of going into dark places.

While looking for a rock to help the Doctor balance his dangling left leg, Ruby happens upon the “smelted,” remains of Vater. The Ambulance sort of formed and condensed Vater’s body into a tube shape topped with a nameplate and a hologram projector containing an AI facsimile of Vater’s consciousness. And I’ll say it because everyone’s waiting for me to say it- it’s an actual fleshlight. There, I said the thing. Are you happy? Is this what you wanted from me? Are you not entertained? I’d like to pretend I was so wrapped up in the episode that I didn’t think it, but I absolutely did. It’s VOR all over again. I got over it pretty fast.

That’s the way good Doctor Who goes, really. The little hang-ups are more like snags when you’re moving along. It’s easier to look past the nitpicks and grievances when there’s so much more at play. When Doctor Who is bad, all it has are its nitpicks and grievances and that’s a real sadness when that happens because we’re no longer watching Doctor Who, we’re watching the background go by. We’re admiring the wallpaper because just because the writers phoned it in, doesn’t mean the set designers did. But this is Doctor Who firing on all cylinders.

We are however getting into the realm of one of my nitpicks about this episode and that’s Splice. Because she lost her mother, her dad, Vater, has special permission to let her live on base. The issue I have is that I wasn’t joking earlier when I said she’s stupid. I don’t say this to badmouth the little girl playing her, as she was good. I also don’t mean to denigrate the script. What I don’t understand is why is she so old? That may seem like a weird question because kids come in all sorts of ages, but this one is little kids stupid. I found it hard to believe that a girl of her age would confuse a hologram for her father. I get that she might be fooled by the voice and I can even believe that she would be foolish enough to wander into a battlefield to find him, but I’ve never once seen my dad looking like a translucent blue hologram. This is why I say she’s too old. An older kid would have figured it out. They should have either changed her dialogue or cast someone younger. Otherwise, she’s a perfectly fine character.

Splice’s emotional reaction draws the attention of another Anglican Marine named Mundy Flynn. Immediately my Whovian brain was doing backflips at the sudden appearance of Varada Sethu. For those of you not in the know, Sethu is planned to be a companion in season 2 next year. Seeing her this early was very exciting. Was this an Oswin Oswald scenario or a Martha’s cousin dying at Canary Warf scenario? Did they enjoy working with Varada so much that they created a character for her in the next season or is this some wibbly wobbly sort of thing? Well, as it turns out, it’s a wibbly wobbly thing. I didn’t learn this from the show, however. I learned it from Doctor Who’s social media. And honestly, I really wish they’d have just left us to wonder on this one. Would it have killed them to leave an air of mystery around her character? There’s still a bit of mystery, but I feel like they’re holding people’s hands a bit too much. I guess they’re afraid people’s imaginations will run too wild and we’ll set ourselves up for disappointment. They know who their audience is. But still, I like the not knowing part. I like the speculation.

Mundy sees the Doctor holding the remains of Vater and commands him to drop them. But if the Doctor drops the remains, he risks setting off the mine. But even worse, if the mine goes off, it will turn him into the explosion. The Doctor refers to himself as a ”complex spacetime event,” indicating that if he were to explode, it could take out half of the planet. But Mundy isn’t convinced and tries to shoot the Doctor’s arm to make him drop the tube. Sensing combat, the Ambulance bots start looking for the injured to either heal or put out of their misery. Releasing her mistake, Mundy commands Ruby to shoot her in the arm in order to draw the ambulance away from the Doctor, but in her hesitation, Ruby is mistaken for an enemy and shot by Mundy’s comrade Canto who arrives late on the scene.

While we’re on the subject of Ruby, I wanted to point out that I found it a bit odd that Kastarion 3 was her first experience on an alien planet. Sure this is only her fourth adventure onscreen, but we were told in The Devil’s Chord that six months had passed. Granted, Rose Tyler spent an entire season having earthbound adventures with the Ninth Doctor, so there’s an explanation. I have to tip my hat to their attention to detail here as not even the Doctor Who Magazine comics have taken her off-world. I guess “Space Babies,” kind of counts. Just something I felt worth mentioning.

Not only has Ruby now died, but the Doctor learns that even if he does dupe the smartmine into thinking he’s not a living person, it will eventually detonate by default. The only way to stop this is now outside of the Doctor’s control, sort of. He must convince Mundy to surrender. Since the mine belongs to the Anglican Marines, only their surrender will disarm the device. Otherwise- boom. The Doctor explains to Mundy that the war they’re fighting is with themselves. The Villengard algorithm has been tricking the Marines into attacking themselves to keep them buying their product. It’s a war being waged against nothing all in the pursuit of profit.

Mundy asks the Doctor for proof which is where the Doctor’s stance on faith comes into play. But I feel like the actual conversation the Doctor is having in that moment is that faith is both a good and a bad thing. It’s not that he’s saying it’s bad for someone to have faith in God, but that it’s bad to let faith do your thinking for you. Splice has faith in her daddy. The Doctor and Ruby have faith in one another. Faith can strengthen us as people. But when it’s used to justify not considering deeper truths, it’s a hindrance. I feel like this is very in line with things we’ve heard the Fourth and Tenth Doctor’s say about religion in the past. I will admit though, I am an atheist, so I can’t speak from the perspective of a person with faith.

When Mundy tries to send evidence back to command, it’s intercepted by the algorithm and overruled. The machine has taken over and the smirking face of Susan Twist shows no signs of compassion leaking through. But with the Doctor connected to the machine and his hand connected to the remains of Vater, he’s able to send Vater into the algorithm. As Vater battles the ghost in the machine, I was reminded of “The Doctor’s Wife,” when the TARDIS re-enters her body and destroys House from the inside. In fact, lots of this episode reminded me of previous Doctor Who. The short war fought on the basis of a lie reminded me of “The Doctor’s Daughter.” The message about unchecked capitalism reminded me of “Oxygen.”  And of course there’s the mine calling back to Tom Baker in “Genesis of the Daleks.” Lots of what Ncuti was doing this week reminded me of Tom Baker and I mean that as the utmost compliment. He was doing stellar work here.

This episode had me grinning from ear to ear for the entirety of its runtime. But it wasn’t until after that I realised what it was that had me so happy. Sure, the episode was good, but I realised that it was the first time in the last 5 or 6 years that I had enjoyed a new Doctor Who episode without a giant asterisk hanging overhead. I cried tears of joy during “The Woman Who Fell to Earth,” but that was excitement for Jodie. My opinion of the episode itself was quite low. I enjoyed “The Witchfinders,” (also how cool was that reference to it in this episode?) and I enjoyed “It Takes You Away,” but I loved “Boom.” Without any hesitation, I absolutely loved it.

While the RTD2 era has been a marked improvement, I have had a few reservations. Mostly that it has so far felt like they’ve been trying way too hard. Trying too hard to have fun. Trying too hard to be funny. Trying too hard to be action-packed. I hope that the people in charge have seen the fan reaction to Boom for what it is. You don’t need massive budgets. You can do smaller stories with simple sets. The fans will respond well when you nail the tone and writing. Even Ncuti Gatwa said that while he was confused the entire time shotting the episode, it ended up being his favourite of the season. This felt like the most Doctor Who episode of Doctor Who that I’ve watched since Moffat left, and I’m including the new Davies stuff in there. This is what I meant when I said I wish Davies would chill the fuck out. Stop trying so hard.

Where this falls short for me is it highlights how insular the show has been since it returned. Eight episodes, six by the same writer, one by a former showrunner, and the remaining one is shared by two new authors. Why? I’ll be honest, Davies has never been my favourite Doctor Who writer. He’s a strong producer who writes people well. But when it comes to his episodes, other than “Midnight,” he’s never written one I would call a favourite. This is just a personal preference. When they announced his return, I was more excited for a return to competence than a return to classic writing. We could use new blood in the writer’s room. Even Chris Chibnall could see that, and he did hire some pretty good talent. My two favourite episodes from his era are written by people new to the show. More of that, please.

In truth, bringing Moffat back was a good choice. Unlike Davies, Moffat has written some of my favourite Doctor Who. And as with most anyone who has written the shear volume of Doctor Who as he has, he’s also written some of my least favourite Doctor Who. It’s bound to happen at that level of output. He’s not a writer without problems. His writing of female characters leaves something to be desired. But Moffat writing under a different showrunner, with an editor? Total Chad material. Some of the best. If they kept bringing him back like this every year or so, I would absolutely love it. Especially because it would continue to leave room for new talent.

With Vater in the machine, the ambulance revives Ruby. Sadly, Mundy’s love, Canto, dies just as he proclaims his love for her. This part was a bit shallow in that it was barely set up and felt like loss for the sake of loss. As Jean Cocteau once said “Emotion resulting from a work of art is only of value when it is not obtained by sentimental blackmail.” So it’s a bit difficult to feel sorry for Mundy here, but it’s not completely void of an emotional core. It’s nice that Splice has a new caretaker in Mundy, and that’s as happy an ending as we need. What’s more important is the emotional depths we’ve experienced with the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby. This was the moment when they were solidified for me as characters. I needed this episode. Not so much to show me that the Ncuti and Millie could do it, I knew they could. But rather to show me that the show could still do it. That RTD was still up to the task of delivering us something more than progressive happy fun. We’re not beyond the realm of complexity. And with that, I can relax a little. What else ya got, Davies?

[herbaklava]

The particular church I watch online is currently celebrating the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women. The guest speaker this morning was Right Reverend Mary Glasspool and she was the first openly lesbian woman to be elected to the episcopate in the Episcopal Church or in the larger Anglican Communion. This morning she mentioned the important roles of political activist groups such as the Black Panthers and Dykes on Bikes as they both gathered together on a hot summer night in 1974 to protect the newly ordained women from those who were threatening them with death.

[aprilsjesusblogging]

@baronmagikcarp I didn't want to annoy the OP of that post so I'm replying by screenshotting/tagging lol

(Edit: ....this became an Info Dump)

Y'know, I still think of myself as something of a Noob at this whole "Christian" thing, but I think the problem is that my online religious discussion spaces have a lot of clergy/seminarians/Church Nerds in them.

Like I knew the names of those heresies off the top of my head--I opened the wikipedia pages just to double-check I was spelling them right. What the actual fuck.

That said, I'm incapable of thinking about Trinitarian heresies without hearing a leprechaun in my head yelling, "That's modalism, Patrick!"

(Modalism is also called Sabellianism)

In any case, as the joke goes, if you think you understand the Trinity, you're probably doing a heresy, and the heresy was defined and named before, like, 1000 CE; the point of the Trinity is that it's a mystery and we can't really understand it.

(This is the Trinity. Obviously. /half joking)

Wikipedia's list of Trinitarian heresies is based on the definitions put forth by the Roman Catholic church, but since most of them were decided before the Great Schism (much less the Reformation), plenty of non-RC churches define them as heresies as well, including all the Anglican churches.

To the degree that the Episcopal church has a set of normative beliefs* (none of which are required of anyone except, theoretically, ordained clergy**), the list is here, but if you dig into the site's glossary you can find a lot of the major heresies listed by their names and defined as heresies.

(*"What do you mean you don't have a set of beliefs" We're not a confessional denomination, we're united by liturgy more than anything else hence the Book of Common Prayer, I talked about it a bit here; something something lex orandi, lex credendi; something something orthopraxy; something something via media; ask a handful of Episcopalians whether the bread and wine at the Eucharist are Jesus' body and blood and most of them will answer something about the Real Presence, but ask us to define that and most of us will smile and say it's a Mystery, and a few people will smile and then say something like "Well I believe in consubstantiation as opposed to transubstantiation but it's not like our salvation depends on those details." Like, we have a catechism in the back of the BCP but I wasn't required to read it or agree with it to be confirmed; I read the book Walk in Love instead which is often used in Episcopal confirmation classes, because it includes things like church polity; but I did say to my bishop, in front of my church and family, that I believed a few things during my confirmation, mostly based on the Apostle's creed.)

(**This is what I get for hanging out online with Church Nerds; a lot of the younger ones who self-define as "inclusively orthodox" have extremely strong negative opinions on priests and bishops who openly doubt, for instance, the physical resurrection or the virgin birth. I have mixed feelings on this--doubt is considered normal and fine in the Episcopal church. But I do feel odd about clergy preaching that "eh maybe those things didn't happen," because I do feel like faith should sort of be the goal?? But then it also seems arbitrary to believe the Gospel stories are literal when we don't insist on literalism/inerrancy in any of the rest of the Bible. Can you tell I've thought about this a lot. Anyway don't get me started on the "inclusive orthodoxy" movement or I'll be here all fucking day--the tl;dr is that I mostly agree with them but they can be smug dicks about it and it puts me off.)

[bizarre-blorbo-bracket]

Round 1 poll 13: Rev. Green from Cluedo vs the Nachtraven from Nachtraven

Propaganda under the cut:

Rev. Green:

1) Literally just a random board game character 😪 2) Ok so basically here’s the deal. One day, about a year and a half or two years ago, I saw some random thing related to Clue online. I (dual U.S. American and Russian citizen, because I was born in America to an immigrant parent, I PROMISE this is important) was confused because among the cast of characters was “Mr. Green”. Now, I hadn’t played Clue in a very long time. It wasn’t my favorite game as a kid, my only memories of it were wanting to play as Ms. Peacock and then my brother taking her and making me pick someone else, but I was pretty confident the character was Reverend Green. What happened? Was he excommunicated?? I kind of figured the name was just changed to reflect a more secular culture and that I had unknowingly played an old copy of the game as a kid.

But it fascinated me. So I spent months on and off researching the topic. (poorly, might I add, it wasn’t a complicated issue. But still.) I found out about many changes from version to version. Clue Junior, Clue VCR Mystery, Clue Master Detectives, all of it. And the whole time, Green was there to greet me in each new version. It was the first thing I always checked. Was he Mister or Reverend? I found out in one version he was a defrocked priest turned businessman, and in another a scam artist who pretended to be a member of the clergy to pull of a scheme. Closer. I ran polls, I went to irl Clue events, and eventually I found what I was looking for the whole time. Green was a Reverend in the 1944 patent of the game, and the subsequent 1949 U.K. release of Cluedo. But, because of fear that U.S. Citizens would take issue with a member of the church being suspected of murder, Parker Brothers changed the name to Mister Green for the U.S. release.

That all could have taken me five minutes of googling, but honestly the chase made the result so much more worth it. And yet, there was something more there in the back of my mind. This all was well and good, but why was I so sure of the U.K. version of the name? My father’s family is Irish so we have a pretty healthy hatred of all things British, there’s no way my dad would’ve had us play that version of the game. Right? But thanks to a response from a poll I ran, I found out that the German version also went with Reverend. Because Green is an Anglican, I kind of assumed that the U.S. change might have been carried over into other international releases. But no! That made me realize that Mister Green is an outlier and that almost all languages of the game use Reverend. So then last night the pieces finally clicked together. I asked my mom to confirm a hunch I had, not expecting her to at all remember something this trivial. Like I said, I didn’t play it much as a kid. Maybe we didn’t even own a copy, and I had just played it at a library or a hurricane shelter or a relative’s house or something. But she remembered. We did, in fact, own the game. Not just any version, but a RUSSIAN COPY. I unknowingly grew up with Cluedo! So I had every reason to believe it was Reverend Green and be confused when I heard otherwise.

Tl;dr, minor version difference between Russian and American copies of a board game gave me a hyperfixation and a blorbo.

Nachtraven:

SO! The Nachtraven is the titular character of a Dutch children’s gameshow.

They’re a cyberpunk-synthwave-medieval fantasy knight (which is honestly an awesome aesthetic) who breaks into children’s bedrooms at night, lures from their sleepovers and makes them compete against each other in challenges… and the winners get to have a lovely sleepover at whatever place they were lured to.

Seriously, they’re so ominous, so sinister, so villain-coded, but all they want to do is to make children’s sleepovers even better. They’re just a nice guy/entity.

They don’t speak, and instead communicate using electronic beeps, gestures, tape recordings of a woman’s voice and the visor of their knight’s helmet as an LED display they put words on.

Seriously, if this was an American show, all the cryptidcore kids would be citing them as one of their biggest childhood influences. I hope that one day they will be recognised as the true cryptid they are.

[kuwdora]

For the vidding ask meme, 12!

12 Most underrated vid that you wished had gotten more views?

Gonna go with another blast from my past, my 2009 festivid All For Swinging You Around for the Canadian show Little Mosque on the Prairie. A show I was so obsessed with (it's so cute and wholesome and LOVELY). I could not find it online so I ordered the DVDs directly from the CBC shop and ripped them for the vid. (Some of the episodes ripped so poorly, I was not very good with MacHatcha and MacTheRipper back in the day, aspect ratios waaagh). But I really really love this vid. All my love! All my joy! For the community of Mercy!! Click the vid based on my rec and love, but keep watching until you see an imam and an anglican priest jogging and wearing purple pinnies that say "The God Squad." I highly recommend this show for wholesome comedy humor love.

ty!! for the ask! Get to Know the Vidder ask game! Send me an ask!

[godlovesdykes]

hi I was just wondering if u can mention a few of ur other favorite prayers? I need a few more in my arsenal !

my favourite repository for prayers is the anglican book of common prayer! you should be able to find it online, or there’s an app with the daily offices. i like to pray the evening prayer collect before bed:

lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, o lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only son, our saviour jesus christ. amen.

compline and the prayers for families also have some very sweet ones:

keep us as the apple of an eye; hide us under the shadow of thy wings.

preserve us, o lord, waking, and guard us sleeping, that awake we may walk with christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.

general prayer for those in anxiety (i usually change “their” to “our” etc):

almighty god, who art afflicted in the afflictions of thy people: regard with thy tender compassion those in anxiety and distress; bear their sorrows and their cares; supply all their manifold needs; and help both them and us to put our whole trust and confidence in thee; through jesus christ our lord.

prayer for the departed (the first part is from the old latin, second part is local to my home church):

rest eternal grant unto them, o lord, and may light perpetual shine upon them. may the divine assistance remain with us always, and with our absent brethren.

sarah bessey’s a rhythm of prayer has breath prayers and a good one for righteous anger. i also use the jesus prayer as a breath prayer:

(inhale) lord jesus christ, son of god, (exhale) have mercy upon me, a sinner

i LOVE the angelus but can never find the translation i like on prayer cards >_<

common prayer: a liturgy for ordinary radicals by shane claiborne and jonathan wilson hartgrove has a lovely office as well.

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 10.29

Holidays

Bishop James Hannington Memorial Day (Uganda)

Black Salsify Day (French Republic)

Bob Ross Day (Abeldane Empire)

Candies Day

Coronation Day (Cambodia)

C6HO Day (Kentucky)

Cumhuriyet Bayrami (North Cyprus, Turkey)

Cyrus the Great Day (Iran)

Feed the Birds Day (UK)

Festival of Global Climate Change

Fiestas Patrias begins (Honduras)

Halloween Eve Eve

Hermit Day

Hide From Everyone Day (a.k.a. Hermit Day)

International Day of Care and Support (UN)

International Day of Degrowth

International Internet Day

Laugh Suddenly For No Reason A Lot Today Day

Ľudovít Štúr Day (Slovakia)

Military Financier Day (Ukraine)s

Naming Day (Tanzania)

National Boner Day

National Book Day (Brazil)

National Cat Daddy Day

National Cat Day

National Hermit Day

National Martina Day

Oatmeal Day

PSC Awareness Day

Sea Slug Day

Security Guard Day (Kazakhstan)

Separation of Church and State Day

Turkish Republic Day (Turkey)

Vote Early Day

World Online Networking Day

World Psoriasis Day

World Stroke Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Gnocchi Day (Argentina)

National Disgusting Little Pumpkin-Shaped Candies Day

National Oatmeal Day

Poperinge Beer & Hop Festival begins (Belgium) [Every 3 years, 3rd Friday]

Independence & Related Days

Constitutional Referendum Anniversary Day (Serbia)

Turkey (from Ottoman Empire, 1923)

Westarctica (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

5th & Last Tuesday in October

Mix It Up at Lunch Day [Last Tuesday]

Taco Tuesday [Every Tuesday]

Target Tuesday [Every Tuesday]

Tater Tot Tuesday [Every Tuesday]

Teriyaki Tuesday [Last Tuesday of Each Month]

Transformation Tuesday [Last Tuesday of Each Month]

Trivia Tuesday [Every Tuesday]

Two For Tuesday [Every Tuesday]

Weekly Holidays beginning October 29 (Last Week of October)

None Known

Festivals Beginning October 29, 2024

The Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue (Des Moines, Iowa) [thru 10.31]

Feast Days

Abraham of Rostov (Christian; Saint)

Andrei Ryabushkin (Artology)

Bill Mauldin (Artology)

Blažej Baláž (Artology)

Bob Ross (Artology)

Chef (a.k.a. Theuderius; Christian; Saint)

Chiara Badano (Christian; Blessed)

Colman mac Duagh (Christian; Saint)

Desmond Bagley (Writerism)

Dominick Dunne (Writerism)

Douai Martyrs (Christian; Saint)

Gaetano Errico (Christian; Saint)

Ghatasthapana begins (Nepal)

Harriet Powers (Artology)

Isis/Osiris Mysteries II (Pagan)

James Hannington (Anglicanism)

Kojagrat Purnima [15th Day of Dashain]

Lazarus Long Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Lee Child (Writerism)

Mary of Edessa (Christian; Saint)

Maximillian (Christian; Saint)

Narcissus of Jerusalem (Roman Catholic Church)

Niki De Saint Phalle (Artology)

Nut Day (Pastafarian)

Robertson (Positivist; Saint)

Second Fiddle of the Mounth (Shamanism)

Shin Saimdang (Artology)

Theuderius (a.k.a. Chef; Christian; Saint)

Warren the Warthog (Muppetism)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Historically Unlucky Day [10 of 11]

Historically Bad Day (Stock Market Crash, Hurricane Sandy & 8 other tragedies) [10 of 11]

Lucky Day (Philippines) [58 of 71]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

All I Want for Christmas Is You, by Mariah Carey (Song; 1994)

The Autobiography of Malcolm X, with Alex Haley (Biography; 1965)

Being John Malkovich (Film; 1999)

Blue Moon, 24th Jack Reacher book, by Lee Child (Novel; 2019)

Boy Pest with Ash (Modern Madcaps Cartoon; 1963)

Bullwinkle Busts a Brush or The Cleft Palette (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S5, Ep. 226; 1963)

BUtterfield 8, by John O'Hara (Roman à clef Novel; 1935)

Create Dangerously, by Albert Camus (manifesto; 1957)

Don Giovanni, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Opera; 1787)

Fido Beta Kappa (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1954)

The Fleischmann’s Yeast Hour (Radio Series; 1929)

Get Nervous, by Pat Benatar (Album; 1982)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (Film; 2010)

Halloween Is Grinch Night (DePatie-Freleng Animated YV Special; 1977)

The Halloween Tree, by Ray Bradbury (Novel; 1972)

Hemispheres, by Rush (Album; 1978)

Hulu (Streaming Network; 2007)

The Huntley-Brinkley Report (TV News Show; 1956)

Jingle Bell Rock, recorded by Bobby Helm (Song; 1957)

Keeping Up Appearances (UK TV Series; 1990)

Last Night in Soho (Film; 2021)

Man of the Century (Film; 1999)

The Marbleheads, Parts 1 & 2 (Underdog Cartoon, S3, Eps. 13 & 14; 1966)

Maruhi Gekiga, Ukiyoe Senichiya (Japanese Animated Film; 1969)

Mind Games, by John Lennon (Album; 1973)

The Music Lesson (Ub Iwerks Flip the Frog MGM Cartoon; 1932)

My Generation, by The Who (Song; 1965)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (Animated Film; 1993)

The Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James (Novel; 1880)

Portrait of a Moose or Bullwinkle Gets the Brush (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S5, Ep. 225; 1963)

Princess Mononoke (Anime Film; 1999)

Ray (Film; 2004)

Red Riding Hoodwinked (WB LT Cartoon; 1955)

The Saw Mill Mystery (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1937)

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You Now! (WB Animated Film; 2021)

The Sentinel, 25th Jack Reacher book, by Lee Child (Novel; 2020)

Trip for Tat (WB MM Cartoon; 1960)

The Valiant Tailor (Ub Iwerks ComiColor Cartoon; 1934)

Welcome to the Pleasure Dome, by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (Album; 1984)

What’ll I Do?, recorded by Frank Sinatra (Song; 1947)

Wild Target (Film; 2010)

The Woody Woodpecker Polka (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1951)

Today’s Name Days

Ermelina, Hermelindis, Melinda (Austria)

Časlav, Honorat, Ida, Narcis (Croatia)

Silvie (Czech Republic)

Narcissus (Denmark)

Alf, Alfred, Fred, Fredi (Estonia)

Alfred, Urmasimo (Finland)

Narcisse (France)

Ermelinda, Franco, Grete, Melinda (Germany)

Abramios, Melina (Greece)

Nárcisz (Hungary)

Ermelinda, Michela, Massimiliano (Italy)

Elva, Elvijs, Fortuna, Laimonis (Latvia)

Gelgaudas, Narcizas, Tolvydė, Violeta (Lithuania)

Noralf, Norunn (Norway)

Euzebia, Franciszek, Longin, Longina, Lubogost, Narcyz, Teodor, Wioletta (Poland)

Anastasia (Romania)

Zinaida (Russia)

Klára (Slovakia)

Narciso (Spain)

Viola (Sweden)

Garrison, Cyrano, Cyrena, Narcissa, Narcissus (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 303 of 2024; 63 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of Week 44 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Hagal (Hailstone) [Day 3 of 28]

Chinese: Month 9 (Jia-Xu), Day 27 (Bing-Yin)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 27 Tishri 5785

Islamic: 25 Rabi II 1446

J Cal: 3 Wood; Threesday [3 of 30]

Julian: 15 October 2024

Moon: 7%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 23 Descartes (11th Month) [Dunoyer / Adam Smith]

Runic Half Month: Wyn (Joy) [Day 7 of 15]

Season: Autumn or Fall (Day 37 of 90)

Week: Last Week of October

Zodiac: Scorpio (Day 6 of 30)

[brookston]

Holidays 10.29

Holidays

Black Salsify Day (French Republic)

Bob Ross Day (Abeldane Empire)

Candies Day

Coronation Day (Cambodia)

C6HO Day (Kentucky)

Cumhuriyet Bayrami (North Cyprus, Turkey)

Cyrus the Great Day (Iran)

Feed the Birds Day (UK)

Festival of Global Climate Change

Fiestas Patrias begins (Honduras)

Halloween Eve Eve

Hermit Day

Hide From Everyone Day (a.k.a. Hermit Day)

International Internet Day

Laugh Suddenly For No Reason A Lot Today Day

Naming Day (Tanzania)

National Boner Day

National Book Day (Brazil)

National Cat Daddy Day

National Cat Day

National Hermit Day

National Martina Day

Oatmeal Day

PSC Awareness Day

Sea Slug Day

Separation of Church and State Day

Turkish Republic Day (Turkey)

World Online Networking Day

World Psoriasis Day

World Stroke Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Gnocchi Day (Argentina)

National Disgusting Little Pumpkin-Shaped Candies Day

National Oatmeal Day

Poperinge Beer & Hop Festival begins (Belgium) [Every 3 years, 3rd Friday, but postponed from 2021]

5th & Last Sunday in October

European Summer Times Ends (EU) [Last Sunday]

International Creole Day (Dominica, Saint Lucia) [Last Sunday]

Jounen Kwéyòl (Creole Day; Dominica, Saint Lucia) [Last Sunday]

National Grandparents Day (Australia) [Last Sunday]

National Student Baptism Day [Last Sunday]

Reformation Sunday [Last Sunday]

Visit a Cemetery Day [Last Sunday]

World Swim Hat Day [Last Sunday]

Independence Days

Turkey (from Ottoman Empire, 1923)

Westarctica (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Abraham of Rostov (Christian; Saint)

Andrei Ryabushkin (Artology)

Chef (a.k.a. Theuderius; Christian; Saint)

Chiara Badano (Christian; Blessed)

Colman mac Duagh (Christian; Saint)

Douai Martyrs (Christian; Saint)

Gaetano Errico (Christian; Saint)

Ghatasthapana begins (Nepal)

Isis/Osiris Mysteries II (Pagan)

James Hannington (Anglicanism)

Kojagrat Purnima [15th Day of Dashain]

Lazarus Long Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Mary of Edessa (Christian; Saint)

Maximillian (Christian; Saint)

Narcissus of Jerusalem (Roman Catholic Church)

Nut Day (Pastafarian)

Robertson (Positivist; Saint)

Warren the Warthog (Muppetism)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Historically Unlucky Day [10 of 11]

Historically Bad Day (Stock Market Crash, Hurricane Sandy & 8 other tragedies) [10 of 11]

Lucky Day (Philippines) [58 of 71]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Premieres

All I Want for Christmas Is You, by Mariah Carey (Song; 1994)

The Autobiography of Malcolm X, with Alex Haley (Biography; 1965)

Being John Malkovich (Film; 1999)

Blue Moon, 24th Jack Reacher book, by Lee Child (Novel; 2019)

Bullwinkle Busts a Brush or The Cleft Palette (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S5, Ep. 226; 1963)

BUtterfield 8, by John O'Hara (Roman à clef Novel; 1935)

Create Dangerously, by Albert Camus (manifesto; 1957)

Don Giovanni, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Opera; 1787)

The Fleischmann’s Yeast Hour (Radio Series; 1929)

Get Nervous, by Pat Benatar (Album; 1982)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (Film; 2010)

Hemispheres, by Rush (Album; 1978)

Hulu (Streaming Network; 2007)

The Huntley-Brinkley Report (TV News Show; 1956)

Jingle Bell Rock, recorded by Bobby Helm (Song; 1957)

Keeping Up Appearances (UK TV Series; 1990)

Last Night in Soho (Film; 2021)

Man of the Century (Film; 1999)

Mind Games, by John Lennon (Album; 1973)

My Generation, by The Who (Song; 1965)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (Animated Film; 1993)

The Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James (Novel; 1880)

Portrait of a Moose or Bullwinkle Gets the Brush (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S5, Ep. 225; 1963)

Princess Mononoke (Anime Film; 1999)

Ray (Film; 2004)

Red Riding Hoodwinked (WB LT Cartoon; 1955)

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You Now! (WB Animated Film; 2021)

The Sentinel, 25th Jack Reacher book, by Lee Child (Novel; 2020)

Trip for Tat (WB MM Cartoon; 1960)

Welcome to the Pleasure Dome, by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (Album; 1984)

What’ll I Do?, recorded by Frank Sinatra (Song; 1947)

Wild Target (Film; 2010)

Today’s Name Days

Ermelina, Hermelindis, Melinda (Austria)

Časlav, Honorat, Ida, Narcis (Croatia)

Silvie (Czech Republic)

Narcissus (Denmark)

Alf, Alfred, Fred, Fredi (Estonia)

Alfred, Urmasimo (Finland)

Narcisse (France)

Ermelinda, Franco, Grete, Melinda (Germany)

Abramios, Melina (Greece)

Nárcisz (Hungary)

Ermelinda, Michela, Massimiliano (Italy)

Elva, Elvijs, Fortuna, Laimonis (Latvia)

Gelgaudas, Narcizas, Tolvydė, Violeta (Lithuania)

Noralf, Norunn (Norway)

Euzebia, Franciszek, Longin, Longina, Lubogost, Narcyz, Teodor, Wioletta (Poland)

Anastasia (Romania)

Zinaida (Russia)

Klára (Slovakia)

Narciso (Spain)

Viola (Sweden)

Garrison, Cyrano, Cyrena, Narcissa, Narcissus (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 302 of 2024; 63 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 43 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Gort (Ivy) [Day 27 of 28]

Chinese: Month 9 (Ten-Xu), Day 15 (Geng-Shen)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 14 Heshvan 5784

Islamic: 14 Rabi II 1445

J Cal: 2 Mir; Twosday [2 of 30]

Julian: 16 October 2023

Moon: 99%: Waning Gibbous

Positivist: 22 Descartes (11th Month) [Robertson]

Runic Half Month: Hagal (Hailstone) [Day 3 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 36 of 89)

Zodiac: Scorpio (Day 6 of 29)

[kylejsugarman]

how have we let literally every youtuber/content creator get away with butchering a non-anglican name and saying "sorry im probably pronouncing that wrong" and moving on. it literally takes two physical seconds to look up a name pronunciation online. if u cant find it, put out a request for help. its so disrespectful lmao put in a little effort

[angeltreasure]

I hope this isn’t a disrespectful ask but could you vaguely explain at all what the key differences between being part of an Anglican just ‘Christian’ church and calling yourself a Christian vs being a Catholic is and if you still agree partly with Christian’s ?

I’ve never been Angelican so I can’t speak for them, but people online sometimes will try to say that Catholics “aren’t Christians” because we believe in the Communion of Saints and the Holy Trinity, etc. In other words, they mistakenly believe “Catholics worship” the angels and saints as gods and goddesses instead of just God. There are so many that hate the Catholic Church because of what they think it is vs what it actually is.

I can probably give some light o your question through my own denomination. You can call yourself Catholic, but are you really a practicing Catholic who follows the Bible AND the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or do you just feel culturally Catholic or a cafeteria Catholic who picks what they want to believe and live it at their own convenience? Like, are you saying you’re a devoted Catholic but yet you’re voting in all these pro abortion people and advocating for abortion left and right while ignoring God. It’s probably the same for Angelicans. People online probably say false things about them too.

[businesstiramisu]

I think you may be mentally conflating High Church with Catholic. Anglicans, Lutherans, and maybe Methodists (? I don't know much about Methodists) are all High Church - venerate the saints, follow a liturgical calendar, receive sacraments, conduct formal and structured services. Think JS Bach (who was Lutheran). By contrast a lot of prominent American protestantism is Low Church: Baptists, Presbyterians, all the various Evangelical churches. If you're mostly familiar with Low Church Protestantism, High Church Protestantism can look very Catholic until you scratch the theology

Nah the CS Lewis thing was because I mostly hear Catholics talk about him online. My social circle is like the Supreme Court but with Asians,* and I've been to a few catholic masses but have very little personal experience with the actual religious practice of any sort of Protestantism.

Incidentally I *do* know a little bit about Methodists but only from reading the 1632 series -- Virginia DeMarce's take on the religious landscape of Grantville is one of my favorite parts of the series :P

[jeanjauthor]

They may not have had a choice.

King County (the county containing Seattle, Washington, here in the USA) has some VERY STRICT guidelines for building new churches. Most newer church congregations find it far cheaper and easier to just rent & renovate an existing store in a strip mall, and if they get big enough, a box store like the one above.

And of course, King County isn't the only region-governing body to decide to be strict when it comes to building new churches. City ordinances across the US can also be quite restrictive. But honestly, it makes sense in the short to medium term. These buildings are not being used as stores anymore. They're just empty structures cluttering up the landscape. A lot of the bigger stores have switched heavily toward an online retail model and need less physical space. The "mini mall" construction boom of the 1990s has slowed down.

New construction is far more expensive than simply renting. With renting, you can keep your congregation going while saving up the money for that new construction. And as for churches that already have, well, established churches (the buildings)...many of them actually share their facilities with other denominations.

My mother's church, which is a bit of a sprawl of different building wings that's been added onto over the decades, has 3 different religious groups on top of her own (Methodists, the founding group). This includes Seventh Day Adventists (church on Saturday), Anglicans (holding services on Sunday at a slightly different time in the old church sanctuary while the Methodists use the new/modern one), and a Muslim community (services held on Friday in the community hall beneath the old sanctuary, where there aren't any seats set up; plenty of room for prayer mats that way).

Each one of these groups is not super-large, but at one time the Methodists had a big enough congregation to need to expand, but they still needed to conduct services, so they just kept the old sanctuary hall while building the new one more or less right next to it...and since the old building was merely small, not in bad condition, they kept it in place and started renting it out to other groups once they moved their congregation into the new hall.

For the other groups, it was far easier to just rent space in a facility that was already set up for worship services. And since my mother's church aren't jerks (they're a little conservative about some things, but they aren't bigots or sanctimonious by any means), they are perfectly fine with Islam services taking place within their facilities. It's a holy space, and both are Abrahamic religions; Islam acknowledges Christ as one of its great prophets, and that's 85% of everything right there. Plus, this decision to rent to Muslims was made back during the 9/11 era, when Muslims were being persecuted just for existing. Putting their mosque services inside of a clearly Christian church helped protect them from being attacked, and that was--and still is--A Very Good Thing To Do.

Frankly, with just that box store appearance alone to go on (I don't know what LCBC stands for), I would NOT have pegged it for a church of any kind. That could be serving as a sort of protective camouflage. It could be simply renting a building that already exists--a building that used to be a Pizza Hut or an IHOP will always look like a Pizza Hut or an IHOP, as they say. And they could be planning for the possibility of their congregation dwindling enough to the point where they might have to downsize their congregation...and don't want to try to sell a "lame duck" building that obviously looks like a church to...well, a group that isn't a church.

It's like how many new houses these days are made bland and boring in their construction, coloring, & details "so as not to hurt its resale value," as opposed to building a house meant to last for several generations in one family.

maybe it's because i was raised catholic but churches shouldn't look like furniture stores

[jordanianroyals]

17 December 2024: King Abdullah II received Christian and Muslim religious leaders from Jerusalem and Jordan.

At the meeting attended by Crown Prince Hussein and Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, His Majesty extended best wishes to Christians in Jordan, Palestine, and around the world on the occasion of Christmas and the holiday season.

The King reaffirmed Jordan's unwavering support for Palestinians’ steadfastness, stressing that Jordan will continue to undertake its historical role in safeguarding Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, under the Hashemite Custodianship.

His Majesty announced a personal donation to support the establishment of the Baptism Site Orthodox International University, and fund gilding the crowns and wooden ornaments in the Dome of the Rock.

For his part, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III stressed the importance of the Hashemite Custodianship in protecting Christians’ right to access holy sites in Jerusalem, preserving the historical status quo, and safeguarding the authentic spiritual and cultural identity of Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

He warned against the growing threat of Christian Zionism, describing it as a foreign movement in the Holy Land that seeks to distort the biblical message by justifying illegal occupation in a way that threatens religious cultures and the ancient heritage of Christianity, stressing that heads of the Churches stand united in the face of this threat, and work to protect society from the negative impact of this movement.

Patriarch Theophilos III thanked the King for supporting the establishment of the Baptism Site Orthodox International University, which will deepen ties between Jordan and the Church in Jerusalem, and strengthen the presence of the churches in the Holy Land.

Speaking at the meeting, Jerusalem Awqaf and Al Aqsa Mosque Affairs Director Sheikh Mohammad Azzam Al Khatib affirmed adherence to the Hashemite Custodianship, noting that workers at Al Aqsa Mosque will continue to implement Hashemite restoration projects.

Khatib thanked His Majesty for his personal donation to purchase the gold paper needed for gilding the crowns and wooden ornaments in the Dome of the Rock.

He said the occupation continues to ban thousands of Palestinian and Muslim worshippers from praying at Al Aqsa Mosque, in addition to the Israeli forces’ interference in the mosque and assaulting staff, guards, and imams in an unprecedented manner.

Khatib thanked Jordan for the online Palestinian curriculum learning platform initiative launched by the World Islamic Sciences and Education University under His Majesty’s directives in October, which is now being used by nearly 650,000 Palestinian students in Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, in remarks delivered by Latin Patriarchal Acting Vicar for Jordan Father Jihad Shweihat, expressed appreciation for the historical role of the Hashemites in the Holy City and the continuous efforts of His Majesty at international forums, noting that safeguarding the holy sites and the legal and historical status quo in Jerusalem is a message carried by the Hashemites and by Jerusalemites for generations so that peace and justice can prevail.

He said Jordan's political and relief role align with the Holy See's great efforts and the positions of Pope Francis, calling for the celebration of the Silver Jubilee of the Christian pilgrimage to the Jordan River, which coincides with the Kingdom's celebrations of His Majesty’s Silver Jubilee.

He added that the lives of Jerusalemites Muslims and Christians are further complicated by unilateral measures and settlers’ continuous violations of Muslim and Christian holy sites, which make it impossible for many to worship at these sites.

Archbishop of Anglican Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem Hussam Na’om commended Jordan’s position, led by His Majesty, in standing with the Palestinians for many years, especially during the recent aggression on Gaza, highlighting the role of Jordanian medical teams working in the Strip, especially in field hospitals, and Jordanian medical teams providing services at Al Ahli Arab Hospital.

He added that the heads of the Churches and Christians in the Holy Land value the King's role in safeguarding Islamic and Christian holy sites, under the Hashemite Custodianship.

Archbishop Na’om touched on the attacks on holy sites in Jerusalem, including attacks on clerics as well as on religious, archaeological, and cultural sites, noting that settlers are deliberately changing the status quo in the Holy City under the protection of members of the Israeli government.

He also denounced extremist Zionist Christian groups that support occupation, eradication, and injustice, stressing that the holy books, including the Bible, are far removed from the misinterpretations used by such groups.

Royal Hashemite Court Chief Yousef Issawi, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Director of the Office of His Majesty Alaa Batayneh, Awqaf Minister Mohammad Khalaileh, and Chairman of the Higher Presidential Committee of Church Affairs in Palestine Ramzi Khoury, attended the meeting.