Reddit reviews The Anglican Way: A Guidebook

Welcome. Good luck on your path. Do know that faith ebbs and flows. Right now, you've had a powerful experience that moved you significantly--to a whole new faith. That's great. In a few months, or years, or maybe never, things may settle down and feel less powerful. But that doesn't mean they're less genuine. Be open to the journey and its ebbs and flows. Though if you're a fan of Ignatian spirituality you probably have a sense of that!

As far as books, I think The Anglican Way and Your Faith, Your Life are great introductions to the Anglican/Episcopal traditions. They are basic, but they might help you pick up some facts you're missing out on. For better understanding the Book of Common Prayer and liturgical worship, I'd recommend Inwardly Digest to start and the Commentary on the American Prayer Book if you really want to dive deep on specific aspects of the book. To understand the Nicene Creed, one of our primary statements of faith, try The Nicene Creed. It's written by a Catholic theologian but really helped me understand more pieces of this prayer that Christians share.

If you are interested in the more mystical/Ignatian modes of spirituality, both of these are Catholic but apply well to Anglicanism: Richard Rohr's Center for Contemplation in Action (love their daily reflections!) and many of the books by Father James Martin, SJ.

Lastly, read the Bible just a little bit every day! It will help you get more familiar with things. Try choosing a daily devotional like Sacred Space or Day by Day which will give you snippets of reading and reflection. It'll help you grow to understand scripture better.

The Anglican Way by Thomas McKenzie
The Anglican Way: A Guidebook https://www.amazon.com/dp/0996049908/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_.DBJBb170QV9B

So far, I've loosely been told that Episcopalians are just American Anglicans. I like Anglican better, and more people understand what that means. So to be clear, since I live on the West Coast of the US, this is the church I'm talking about. I feel at this point I don't want to mis-speak too much since I'm getting some downvotes here and there.

I've read this book a few times over, and loved it. The whole idea of "we come from different paths, but we are One" really speaks to me in a way (when I read it) the Catholic church did not. I also don't think it goes quite as far as the UU church, as in there are still really clearly defined doctrines.

I've been to an Episcopal church (both male and female presiding) and felt very much at home. The Mass felt familiar (they still use what would be the pre-2013 RCC Missal). The Eucharistic service is incredibly reverent, it's not just a bunch of people lining up to get out and then the door opening and closing and everybody shuffling and it's a big mess. It felt like everybody wanted to be there, even the children, week after week, celebrating together.

I like prayer beads, they still have them. In fact, I own a set, and made a set for myself. The 4 x 7 configuration is beautiful. Seasons, weeks, months, days, sacraments, there are so many things that fit well into that structure, and I find it very useful for prayer.

I like confession (or used to) and the Anglicans (at least the High Church ones) still have that. It's important to me that Confession isn't just "okay God I messed up, can I be forgiven?". There's a very real psychologically healing element to Confession, which is why I think Our Lord made it the way he did.

I adore the Mass, and have wanted to be a pastor on and off since I was a little girl, and when I started going to Mass at the Anglican parish, I felt whole, in a weird way. I know I'll never be a pastor, but I at least want to be part of a parish where the women are celebrated, rather than the women just undercutting the priest and carrying on in a haphazzard half-pastoral role. (This is in several parishes, but yeah, I just grew up in a horrible parish, I'm noticing that writing this...)

The parishes I've been to have been tiny. You think LDS wards are tiny? A/E parishes are even smaller! Like I already mentioned, that makes community insanely close knit. Everybody wants to be there, everybody is celebrating, every week. The service projects get fulfilled because it's not one person on a committee trying to ask 3000 people if 15 people can show up on Monday and it ends up being the same 15 people every time. No, the parish I was in, we voted on what to participate in, and we did it together.

Some of my best times, my quietest moments, my most religious encounters, have been with the Episcopalians. I figure at some point it's time to stop f*ing around in Catholicism where I do nothing but stew and hurt, and go to where I can be happy. I'm holding myself back because "rules". I believe the Lord wants us to be happy. He sets forth a few rules for us to follow, but then lets us more or less figure it out. To be honest, I think if he was really so dead-set on the Catholic Church being "The Church" he would have cared enough to put it in the Bible.

Here is the Article of Faith from the Church of the Nazarene - we get it from the Anglicans through Methodism. We added plenary for complete an are more restrictive on canon.


We believe in the plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, by which we understand the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, given by divine inspiration, inerrantly revealing the will of God concerning us in all things necessary to our salvation, so that whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an article of faith.

(Luke 24:44–47; John 10:35; 1 Corinthians 15:3–4; 2 Timothy 3:15–17; 1 Peter 1:10–12; 2 Peter 1:20–21)

For general Anglicanism, you could look at the Book of Common prayer 1662 or American 1979 and the historical documents. Also The Anglican Way by Fr. Thomas McKenzie which is from more conservative American Anglicans but a good overview.