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Is it wrong for a Anglican to attend Methodist services?

Jan 3, 2015
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I am a member of my local COfe church but a couple of times a month I like to go to my local Methodist church as I have always liked the Methodist church and used to occasionally attend one back in my youth when I used to go to their church youth club(I'm in my 60's ) now.
I find the Methodist are very much like Cofe church services having the church organ & a choir plus all the old well loved hymns etc but its a bit more informal & relaxed than a Cofe service...however a few people have said Methodism has its problems and can be quite a staunch Christian tradition and that it would still be wrong for a member of the Cofe to partake in Holy Communion etc in a Methodist church.How could it when the Methodist tradition is very much like cofe but more informal & relaxed in its services,and I thought Methodists use proper communion wine in their communion services whereas churches like Baptists and Pentecostals tend to use grape juice.

Is there any problems regarding Methodism that I should be careful about?Would it be wrong my visiting my local Methodist church for a change once or twice a month..and should I partake in Holy Communion with them?
Should I refrain from even attending the Methodist church from time to time and not go anywhere else again apart from the church I was brought up into..christened and confirmed in..The Church Of England?

My sister in law is a Roman Catholic for instance nd she said she'd never dream of attending any other church than The Roman Catholic..unless she was attending a wedding or funeral elsewhere in another church tradition..but she says I shouldn't be going to all these different church denominations 'cause its wrong to do so and to partake in their communion etc..but to Only attend my own church tradition the CofE Only and go no where else but the CofE..Is she correct on this?Is it wrong..sinful even to go church hopping as one might call it..can doing this give you a bad name?Should you Only ever attend the church tradition you were brought up into and christened and Confirmed in?
 

graceandpeace

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Is this a serious inquiry?

I'm asking because there have been 3 similar threads with similar questions asked about Baptists & Pentecostals.

Anglicans have more in common with Methodists than with Baptists & Pentecostals, but considering the distress expressed in your other threads, my advice is keep attending the CofE.
 
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Liberasit

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Pretty much the same answers as on the Baptist thread.

Why are you attending so many churches.

Please respond. We have all spent a lot of time on our answers to you.
 
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Jan 3, 2015
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I have been unsettled for many years now..ever since twenty years back when I got an invite to a Pentecostal church in the Elim tradition.Before then I wouldn't dream of attending a different church tradition..i only ever attended my local CofE.
Over the past twenty years as well as attending the cofe I've also gone to Baptist,pentecostal both elim & aog & charismatic churches And the Methodist church.

I have had folk going on at me for years saying I shouldn't be 'church hopping' like i'm doing as its wrong.I'm an Anglican therefore I need to STOP going here,there and everywhere and stay in one place at the CofE Church but that's easier said than done..i just cant stop 'wandering'church to church..but I always end up back at the cofe at some point.

I have gone through a lot of spiritual abuse in Pentecostal and charismatic churches and to some degree in an evangelical kind of free church.I have been left so very mixed up and confused by all this wandering so I have made a new year resolution to go back to my local cofe church as of this sunday and never to go to other traditions of churches anymore.

I think I really need to just satisfy myself with sticking to cofe Only now so no more Baptist,pentecostal,charismatic,free evangelical or even Methodist now but just the cofe tradition that my folks brought me up into.
It will be hard to pack up my 'wandering' and the desire to go to other churches but I wont be any better until I STOP going anywhere except the cofe.
 
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MurphreeJ

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After reading about some of the issues here all I can think is how sad it sounds. It's very sad that ANY worldly church who claims to represent and worship The Lord Christ would ever treat ANYONE who would attend their service with anything less than true brotherly love.

The problem the OP is running into isn't a denominational problem, it's a PEOPLE PROBLEM. Thus is the sad state of the Christian community today that it's become a members only social club for many if not most. One of the reasons I love my Anglican church is because we welcome anyone at any time, regardless of what you've done, what denomination you claim, or what your socioeconomic status may be. Any church that doesn't isn't following Christ and WILL ANSWER FOR IT when their time comes. A Christian should be able to walk into any "Christian church" and be welcomed, and I pray that anyone reading this who attends a church that is hateful towards outsiders seeking to worship with them would confront that churches leadership to remind them Who they are supposed to be following.

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:40
 
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everbecoming2007

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I likewise find it odd that you have created so many threads with such similar inquiries. Yet I presume in the interest of charity that you are confused right now. I understand. I, too, was exposed to the Pentecostal movement albeit as a child, not an adult, and today the issues that caused in my faith and overall wellbeing have been largely healed through Christ's healing and salvific presence in the liturgy and especially the sacraments, chiefly the most holy Eucharist.

In and of itself I personally do not view it as sinful to visit a Methodist Church. I have often communed with them although for theological reasons I will not disclose in this particular thread I will no longer do so. That said, as someone who suffered much spiritual abuse in Pentecostalism and am acquainted with other former charismatics and Pentecostals, those who come from these backgrounds really need stability: that is crucial. Many such people who manage to remain within or return to Christianity instinctively gravitate to liturgical traditions, usually Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, Lutheranism, or Presbyterianism, precisely because of the need for order, stability, predictability, and avoidance of excessive emotionalism.

You seem really hurt by your experience which is not surprising. You have been immersed in toxic, abusive religious movements. You do not need to add to confusion by visiting other churches if you are committed to the Church of England. Doing so is wounding your conscience in this time when you are really needing healing and stability. Talk to your vicar to get guidance. Reconciliation is available if you need it as you seem to have indicated in another post, but one on one counsel is also available and beneficial.

Go to the liturgy. Receive Christ in the Sacrament. Go where you know he waits for you with his healing mercy and love. That is all you need. Don't bother yourself with these other churches. It isn't wrong to visit, but in your case it seems an unnecessary weight.

I hope I am conveying helpful advice to you as someone who has also experienced toxic religious environments. I cannot emphasize to you enough to consult your vicar, adopt a stable prayer rule with the vicar's counsel, and receive Christ in the Eucharist regularly and frequently in the community you commit to. Don't add to your grief going anywhere else when it causes you conflict of conscience.

You are in my prayers. May the dew of the Lord's mercy descend upon thee with healing grace and the perfect peace of consolation through Christ our Lord. Amen.
 
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Pink Spider

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No offense intended! But
many Brothers and Sisters
here have already commented
on this very question in your
previous threads on the same
question.

Is there something really bad
going on - that you want to
talk about?


Don't hesitate to send me a PM.

As to the answer to your
question in the OP:


Yes, avoid them!
(meaning Baptists and Pentecostals)
.
 
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G19shooter

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Here is my 2 cents. There are other, almost identical threads on the same matter.
(Is it wrong to attend ______________ Church?)

What this tells me is you probably are lost spiritually and are simply not liking the answers people are giving you in one thread and are starting another in hopes someone will say, "No, it's not bad."

I think you need to pray more. Look inward and talk with yourself about God, Church, and your personal beliefs and how they all fit together.

I have visited other Churches, Roman Catholic (my mother is Roman Catholic,) I have even thought about feeling even a closer bond with my mother and possibly becoming Roman Catholic, but after praying, searching within myself and looking at who I am and what I believe to be true, I found the the RCC is not for me. If you have friends or family or something pulling you towards these other churches, don't let that tug change who you are inside. Listen to God, listen to your heart. You'll find your answer.
 
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Quaero

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Generally speaking I'd stick with your own communion - as others above have said, it is always best to share communion & community with those who support your faith.

That being said, I was confirmed at a shared service by the Anglican Bishop of Dover and a Methodist minister here : Sturry Anglican and Methodist Church, Canterbury, Church of England and Methodist Church, Kent, UK, Canterbury diocese

We're arguably closer to Methodism than any other group, but for Sunday worship and community I'd stick with your CoE parish. Nothing wrong with dropping by for a service-or-two at another church though - I attend Vespers at Westminster Cathedral occasionally, and I'm pretty sure at our Choral Evensong 50% of the congregation are Catholic!
 
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J

JustAnglican

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After chopping and changing various pentecostal churches for a decade (rebelling against my Anglican upbringing), I came back to the Anglican Church and realized that I've hindered my spiritual growth by not sticking to my church (there was always a stumbling block for me to commit 100% to the pentecostal movement.

I've made a conscious choice that I don't visit other churches unless for a wedding or a funeral. I do listen to Catholic radio stations and read up a lot of EO blogs as well, purely because these make sense to me compared to the pentecostal media that is dominating our radios and TVs.

Enough about my babbling... What is it that appeals to you about the Methodist Church?
 
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VolRaider

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Methodists are very close to being in full communion with TEC, so there is no big deal in attending a UMC service. However, keep in mind they do not celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday. I attend early service at an Episcopal Church before taking my family to the UMC service solely for the purpose of receiving Communion.
 
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Albion

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No. All are welcome to attend any church and every church.
All people are welcome to attend any church, muslim, hindu, buddah, catholic, any Christian church. every place.

We should be specific enough to say that it would be all right to visit a Buddhist or Muslim worship center but not to participate in worship with them. However, this is very far from what the OP was asking us about.
 
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