I am seeking guidance on how Episcopalians understand the general resurrection. Please share your own thoughts or suggest sources that you have found helpful.

A central tenet of Christianity is the promise of the general resurrection -- that all will be raised and given pneumatic (incorruptible) bodies.

At times I can accept the resurrection of Jesus (for what it's worth, I'm an agnostic/seeker drawn toward theism and Episcopalianism). But I'm also asked to believe that God will at some point resurrect everyone and redeem all creation.

Simply put, I find this so inconceivable as to be a stumbling block to faith. I understand that God is meant to be loving and just, so a just and loving god would not allow his creatures to be forgotten. I understand that Jesus' resurrection is meant to preview our own. I understand how a classical conception of god can support this kind of belief, but I find it so at odds with our modern understanding of, well, everything, that I just can't begin to fathom it. We -- everyone human who ever lived -- is going to live forever, zipping around the cosmos in superbodies?

From some of the research I've done, Jesus and the Pharisees may have borrowed this idea from the Persians when the Jews were in exile (with 'Pharisee' itself being a derivative in some way of 'Farsi'). [Note that the Sadducees do not believe in an afterlife, resurrection, etc.]

So on the one hand, I think one could say Jesus and his followers were preaching their ideas about eschatology, the afterlife, etc. to the best of their ability, but may have been wrong. On the other hand, that view could lead one to immediately cast doubt on many other important ideas. Maybe there is no general resurrection and we just inhabit a spiritual afterlife forever? Maybe..., or maybe..., or maybe actually...

Anyway, I'll leave it there. How do y'all think about it? Do you believe it? Do you interpret this promise differently? I understand that Episcopalians often have a range of views on matters of doctrine and theology, even though they affirm the classic creeds.

(I have edited the post to comply with rules for this subreddit.)

I'll be taking a summer course in seminary and I need a cassock and surplice for chapel.

I've tried liking online and so many already have the collar attached.

I'm 14 currently, but when I become an adult, I would like to become Episcopalian, and I was wondering if there were any Episcopal monastic communities.

So, I like Episcopalians, I like this subreddit, and I genuinely enjoy seeing people’s perspectives here.

That being said, how do y’all grapple with the problem of evil? Contemplating billions of years of suffering just seemed incompatible with a loving God to me, and it’s one of the main arguments that drove me to agnosticism. As I find myself reconsidering faith, I find that I still have a tremendous amount of difficulty reconciling this. Most theodicies sound quite tone deaf to me. How do you grapple with this problem and still believe at the end of it all?

I’m about to enter the initial stages of discernment where a committee from the parish meets and discusses my vocation over the next several months. I really desire to be a priest and minister the sacraments. I’ve had some practice in homiletics. But I’m afraid that I’m still prone into falling into sin. For one thing, I’m a bit of a gossip. I don’t know why, but I find myself complaining about family, friends, and colleagues a lot. I have high expectations for others, and when those aren’t met, I feel like I have to say something. Additionally, I’ve never been in a relationship. And the way Gen-Z goes on a first date nowadays is by snapchatting and then heading over to their house. I’m just afraid that I’m not going to be strong enough to keep a holy lifestyle. I don’t want to be celibate forever, but a big part of being holy is to be chaste, at least until you get into a relationship, which I can’t seem to get into. But also a priest (or a deacon) who’s actively hooking up and perusing promiscuous spaces would be terrible optics for the church.

I guess my question is: how do you pursue a holy vocation that affirms sexuality but also sets the boundaries of fidelity and respect for one’s own body?

I’m currently discerning joining TEC after being various forms of agnostic for the past 5 years. I was baptized southern Baptist as a kid. My biggest question is how should someone like myself who has primary immunodeficiency partake in Eucharist? The shared cup is essentially a hospital visit waiting to happen for me. My second question is what does Eucharist mean to an Anglican/Episcopalian? It was something done only rarely when I was a kid.

I am an Episcopalian who came from the Roman Catholic Church. One difference in the communion prayer of the Episcopal Church that I have noticed is an omission of the line “I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed. “
I’ve always found this a very powerful line of prayer to prepare myself for the reception of communion. So I looked into the history of why it is not included in the Episcopal communion prayer and found that it was dropped by Episcopalians, Anglicans, and Anglo-Catholics, but was later added back by Anglicans and Anglo-Catholics. Does anyone know the arguments or reasons given by the Episcopalians for not likewise restoring this powerful line of prayer for communicants? I can’t seem to find anything on that point in the research I’ve done.

We are finally adopting our daughter soon and will be having her baptized a few weeks later. Asking prayers for my family during this exciting and stressful time, please.

I'm curious if anyone has ever done the baptism liturgy with any added elements for recognizing an adoption at the same service. I know there are some elements in the BCP, but since this is a bit different from the typical, bio-kid baptism.

​Hello!

​I wanted to reach out to learn more about attending the Holy Eucharist at an Episcopal church with special needs children. I apologize in advance for the length of this message, but I want to share some context about our family's situation.

My wife and I have five children. Two of our children are on the autism spectrum with low support needs, though they require frequent supervision and some accommodations. This is especially true for one of our children who is also navigating a tic disorder. Naturally, his tics increase in frequency in crowded or singing environments. Due to the nature of his condition, he occasionally vocalizes a socially inappropriate word or loud comment when a ticking episode begins.

​As born-again believers originally baptized in the Baptist tradition, we have spent a long time searching for church services of many traditions and children’s Sunday school programs willing to accommodate us. It has been incredibly difficult. To be clear, we are only looking for reasonable accommodations, not for a church to alter its service. Because most children's ministries are understandably not equipped with staff trained to handle these specific needs, we usually choose to keep our children with us during worship.

Things really came to a head about a year ago. My wife posted in a local Facebook group for Christians that has over 30k members. We live in a smaller town in Florida, and the responses we received were astonishing and heartbreaking. We were told things like, "This is what cry rooms are for," "The church needs order, so this would be disruptive," and "You shouldn't expect others to change for your kid." Several people flatly told us we just shouldn't come to church at all.

​As a family with no local support system, desperately seeking a faith community, this hit us incredibly hard. While a few people offered helpful suggestions, the overwhelming negativity was devastating. We aren't asking a church to alter its format; we are simply asking for a chance. If things ever become too overwhelming for our child, we are more than willing to step out of the sanctuary until he is calm. We are just looking for compassion.

Fast-forward to today. Over the past year, my wife and I began exploring Episcopal theology, liturgy, and history, and it has allowed us to dive deeper into our faith. We have been watching online services, but we have never set foot inside a physical building. We truly want to transition back to attending physical services. This is especially important to us now, as our oldest child identifies as non-gender-conforming, and most local faith traditions in our area speak harshly and openly against this. We are searching for a community of believers where our entire family can safely share in the love of Jesus Christ.

​With that in mind, I have a few questions as we prepare to take this step:

1. ​What should we expect during our first physical Sunday service?

2. Are "cry rooms" or similar spaces typically available if our child needs a sensory break?

3. How can we work toward learning more and eventually becoming confirmed if our family needs to attend non-traditionally (such as online or infrequently)?

​Thank you so much for your time, guidance, and compassion.

​God Bless!

I'm not sure if these types of posts are generally allowed in the subreddit but I thought I'd at least try because right now I'm having a hard time meeting likeminded Christians for fellowship and friendship.

I'm Fraise, 26, and I live in the United States. I'm an Anglo-Catholic Episcopalian and very progressive, which is why I thought here would be the best place to look for friends since my faith is important to me, but so are my views and political affiliations. I consider myself a leftist, alternative, and a part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

I am seeking people who are geeky as well. I'm a big gamer but I also love anime, reading, movies, cosplay, art, collecting stuff, and things of that nature. If there are similar people here, maybe we could start a Discord group chat together for games, Bible study/discussion, and things like that? Let me know :)

Edit: Hey guys… thanks for all the Discord server links, I appreciate them! But I’d rather do a small 3-5 person group chat instead. Sorry for any misunderstanding or inconvenience 🩷🙏🏻

I was raised in a traditional High-Church Anglican family. I have always considered myself Anglican and have been part of the Anglican communion since I was 13. I attend services weekly and my Anglican faith is very important to me.

However, recently I have come to question if I, after going to Catholic school, have crossed the line between High-Church Anglicanism into Roman Catholicism.

I recite the Ava Maria, pray to Mary and other saints for intercession, use the rosary, fast meatless on Fridays, believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and affirm all 7 sacraments.

However, I also do not subscribe to immaculate conception, papal infallibility or papal supremacy, clerical celibacy, and only venerate Anglican saints.

Because faith is so important to me, I’ve started fearing if I’ve moved too far away from Anglicanism. Do you think I need to rework my faith to align more with Anglicanism? Some people have told me to convert to Roman Catholicism, but I simply disagree too much with it to do so. Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this.

Hi, sorry if this is an odd question. I’m very new to Christianity / the Episcopal Church and have been thinking about attending a service for the first time.

Heres an unnecessary amount of information about me (that none of you wanted): I have severe anxiety, trauma, and sensory issues (autism). Unfamiliar public places are extremely overwhelming and stressful for me.

Getting to the problem part, weed is one of the few things that reliably helps with all of that enough to function in situations that are difficult for me. The problem is that being high in church feels very wrong and disrespectful. Like something you’re obviously not supposed to do. But I also genuinely don’t know if I could handle going sober right now.

I’m not trying to be disrespectful AT ALL, I actually care a lot, which is why I have been extremely anxious about this. So from an Episcopal perspective, would this be seen as genuinely wrong/insensitive? I don't want to attend if HOW I attend would be disrespectful to God or the congregation.

I'd just rather ask instead of assuming and be inconsiderate. Thank you guys for any answers you can give me!

That's the longest subject line ever, so I guess it is self-descriptive.

I’ve never been someone who *usually* was that religious, but I have found myself drawn to Christianity, and particularly Episcopalianism. My issue right now is that I am not sure where to begin in my Bible study (and Christianity more broadly) journey. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I am a Catholic who is thinking of converting and I'm trying to understand.

We had our young adult retreat a couple weekends ago, and to be honest it wasn't a super great time; I felt more exhausted than rested on Sunday. My friend I carpooled with also agreed, and even mentioned that during the planning meeting she brought up how full the schedule was and our leader (who is youth minister at our parish) was like "Well, people aren't going to know what to do." I mentioned to her that I've given the feedback every time to have more free time and it's never happened. For example, people were encouraged to bring their own games and whatnot... and then there was never any time to actually play those games because instead of having sort of an open relax/hang out at night it was let's do group games and activities.

Maybe I'm just overthinking because I'm the kind of person who prefers a do nothing vacation/retreat, but this weekend confirmed what I've felt years that our leader kind of treats us like teenagers in a sense. For example, we had a happy hour a while back and everyone was having a great time sitting around and chatting, she got there late and then after she arrived had everyone play this card game. I don't mind group games, they can be fun, but it's like "We're adults, we don't need to be doing something, just let us hang out."

I love the people and my friends at my parish, but I'm so done with her as leading it. I don't know if others feel the same. I don't want to start drama or anything, but maybe others are in the same position of not wanting to say anything and thus nothing will change?

Do you believe that prayers of petition are directly answered by God?
Examples:
Do you believe prayers calling on God’s help to heal a person are directly answered? Do you believe prayers requesting a certain outcome (win a game, make more money, the job) are directly answered?

If prayers of petition seem directly answered for some things/people and not others, then what do you believe about the worthiness of the petition or the petitioner?

Just looking for some good thoughts and discussions to see what you other Episcopalians believe. I struggle with this on a personal level.
I’m always praying to God but praying as a petition often feels weird to me. As if God is a vending machine that gifts outcomes to the worthy. I pray for the health of my child, for example, while knowing my friend’s infant son is dying of a rare disorder and we cannot change that despite our prayers for him as well.

My current belief is that God works within us and among us to help us see and act with love, despite the costs of our free will and living here in a reality that will always have death and suffering. Prayer helps us be closer to God. This feels incomplete to me and I want to wrestle with it.
Thanks for your responses!