britchicknyc

I hope this doesn't sound too foolish, but I'm a bit confused when it comes to churches in the US.

I am looking for an Anglian church to christen my daughter in. We just moved to a new area - Long Island, and I'm a bit unsure.

I've done a little searching on trusty google and found this http://longisland.anglican.org/ through this http://anglicansonline.org/usa/index.html

I just wanted to be sure this has similar beliefs to a C of E / British Methodist church before I called and sounded mad!

Any help, greatly appreciated! Thanks!

dinosaur

The Episcopal Church is the US branch of the CofE.

britchicknyc

thanks so much. it links me to the one I referenced....so good news!

Rete

Exactly what I was trying to spell ... They are all over the states. I'm most familiar with them in the NE.

There is a lovely one on 51st and Park Avenue -- St. Bart's. Has a catering hall and outdoor seating for lunch weekdays and brunch on weekends. Also host concerts and plays.

JAJ

C of E and Methodist aren't quite the same (Methodism was originally a movement within the Church of England). You may also want to look at the United Methodist church : http://www.umc.org

There's plenty of variety within denominations as well as between them. So if a particular church or minister doesn't "click" with you, that's not to say you should write off the whole denomination.

Haggerwood

Methodist is much better than C of E since it was founded on religious principals rather than politics but for the record none of the churches here are much like their UK equivalents since they are run by Americans. The Americans have to make everything into their own image so if you want to have tea with vicar and sing "Onward Christian Soldiers" then forget it because your more likely to get yoga with an openly gay female atheist hippie "priest" surrounded by tambourines and making demands for at least 10% of your paycheck.

britchicknyc

Oh goodness! No not looking for anything like that. My husband was raised Catholic, but pretty much wants nothing to do with them. I was going to have my daughter christened in the UK, but I think she'd be about 10 by time I got round to it, so I'm looking here.

In the UK I was raised in the Methodist church, but round here it seems a little more wacky than I'd like, so Episcopalian might be the way to go. Not really up for a donation, as I don't think thats really the point. I'm happy to attend when I can though. But my wallet is not.

Thanks everyone!

Titchski

Disco Lesbian Tambourine churches seem to be popping up in the UK too these days!

My United Reform mum (neither a fan of Disco, or a Lesbian) infiltrated a Catholic Church this week to give a flower arranging class. I hope she doesn't go and get a mullet and a leather waistcoat after this

dinosaur

Your situation was similar to ours - we christened our first daughter on a trip back to the UK, but we went local for our second. However, as I'm a militant agnostic, found the process rather daunting as we had to become a church member, which essentially meant guaranteeing to pledge a certain amount a month for about 6 months I think. Imho it's a con, but for the grandparents sake we wanted a christening, so bit the bullet. My wife is also a lapsed catholic, but but on my side of the family that wasn't really an option, so we went Episcopalian.

If you can get away without joining a church, excellent, but just a warning that you may not have that option. As with many things in the US, it comes down to money. At least once it's done, you can let the donations lapse and return to a good British take on religion (i.e.births/deaths/marriages only) - at least that's my opinion. Of course, you may find God and start preaching to everyone here, but probably unlikely at an Episcopalian church

Tegwyn

I actually like the Presbyterian churches here. They offer a less repressed sermon, and they don't chase after you insisting on membership. I'm not a regular goer anyway so don't care for that pressure to provide personal info on how much I donate and how much I am willing to donate. To me that is a private thing, and I don't care to be sussed up by potential dollar contributions. Yesh, the business side of faith here still amazes me.

nun

Be carfeul with the US Methodist church as its more conservative than the UK version and has a lot of variation. I went to a service in the US expecting to hear something similar to the Christian Socialism of Rev. Donald Soper and got a very right wing sermon that was a bit unexpected.

Episcopalian is the US version of C of E, but again there is a range of attitudes to social questions like homosexuality,divorce,abortion etc,so find a church where you feel comfortable.

I once went to a Unitarian Universalist service in ultra liberal Cambridge MA with a Catholic friend as we were curious. After the service she said that it was the only church service she'dever been at where God was never even mentioned.....

nun

I'm not keen on the Presbyterian church because of all that lack of religious tolerance they showed at the time of the Tudors.......lighten up dudes
its all the "Spirit in the Sky".

JAJ

That's not really in line with the impression given in post #6. I think the reality is that there's a lot of variation between different United Methodist churches.

As for the comments on 10% tithing, my own feeling is that if you believe you are saved through your faith as a free gift from God, it's a natural follow-on to give some of your income toward charitable works and sharing the Gospel with others. However, at the same time, it's reasonable to want to know a particular church quite well before supporting it significantly. And churches should only accept tithes as a freely given gift, not something given out of any sense of obligation.

Bottom line is that if a church accosts a new member - or potential new member - with demands for 10% of paycheck, its priorities may not be in the right order.

tony126

I totally agree. The Church I go to does not have "pledging' and yet they do quite well on donations. What people give is left entirely upto them, no demands are made. Choice is always an option on whether you want to go to or not go to Church. The same applies as to whcih Church may be to your liking. At the end of the day the fundamental principle of the Trinity applies to the established Church. Pays your money, take your choice.

Jaxbar

That is ridiculous, you want a Church to Christen your child for the grandparents but you do not know if you believe! The whole point is you are standing up and committing to bring your child up as a Christian, so why bother?
Go ask most good old British vicars they wouldnt do it either without a commitment and get tired of those who just use the Church for the events when they want to wear a new hat.