My visit......

Tonight, I visited an Episcopal church. It was the first time that I have every worshiped at an Episcopal church. I must say that it was very, umm, interesting. Actually, to tell the truth, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was not a service like most of us are used to. It was very liturgical and was very, how do I say this?, very reverent. That is a good word. When I walked into the chapel, there were people already in there. They were kneeling and sitting and doing something that I am not used to. They were praying. That’s right they were praying. I should know, I was watching their every move. This one gentleman, kneeled, sat, kneeled, sat and repeated it one more time. Every time he kneeled, he was praying. Not just some kind of general offering of words, but was more of an intense prayer where you could tell this gentleman was in communion with Christ. Whenever he was sitting, he still had his head bowed and was still in some type of meditation mind state.

The service was very liturgical. We did responsive readings that included different sections of the Bible. We read sections from both the New Testament and the Psalms. It was different reading so much aloud and it was different having that much emphasis on the reading of the scripture. We also recited the Lord’s prayer as well as the Apostle’s creed. At one point, we kneeled for an extended period of time. I found this very hard on my back and my knees. I guess I could have gotten up, but I wanted to stick it out all the way. I was happy that I had.

After the service, the Priest waited for me outside of the chapel. He introduced himself and asked a couple of questions. He then asked me if I would like to see the “sanctuary.” I said that I would and so we went and took a look. We then talked for a long while. It was very blessing to talk to this Godly man. I found that he and I had a lot in common. I was blessed by his wisdom and his insight into life. He invited me to come and see him sometime in the future. He was going to be out of town for 8 days and told me to stop by anytime after then.

I could tell that he was sincere. It was truly refreshing.

Overall, I can say that I enjoyed this experience. It was definitely different to this “Baptist” boy, but it was something that I needed to experience. I would like to go and celebrate the Eucharist with them some Sunday. I may do that when I know Father Pat will back.

I am feeling a little better this evening. I still have my periods of darkness, but as of right now, things look better than they have. Sleep is going to be very important to me tonight. It may make a difference on how my day is tomorrow. I can’t go through another night like last night.

Until then……