Missed the Eucharist this morning, so I decided to visit the local ACNA church (the one that split from my parish about a decade ago) for their afternoon service.
Things I liked:
The Prayer of Humble Access (my parish never does it)
The Doxology at the end of the Offertory
The full, traditional Gloria Patri (world without end)
Things I didn’t like:
No Gloria (Greater Doxology)
No Creed
No fraction anthem (the priest just started tearing up the bread during the words of institution!)
The Eucharistic Minister wore a t-shirt and shorts, no alb
Overall, it was a looser, lower-church, more evangelical style service. The priest had the same mannerisms and preaching style as my old Presbangelical pastor—in fact, he felt like merely a charismatic pastor in vestments. For me, it was a much inferior service compared to my parish's average Sunday: less solemn, less liturgical, and—dare I say it—less traditional. Believe me, I know Anglican parishes can vary widely in their styles, but this church was like if there were an Anglican ordinariate for low-church Presbyterians. After that service, I think I'd rather join the Continuum than the ACNA.
