10. No snake handling.
9. You can believe in dinosaurs.
8. Male and female God created them; male and female we ordain them.
7. You don’t have to check your brains at the door.
6. Pew aerobics.
5. Church year is color-coded.
4. Free wine on Sunday.
3. All of the pageantry – none of the guilt.
2. You don’t have to know how to swim to get baptized.

And the Number One reason to be an Episcopalian:

1. No matter what you believe, there’s bound to be at least one other Episcopalian who agrees with you.

Too true!

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

Acts 20:28

As I briefly mentioned earlier, I have begun “church shopping” here in Atlanta.  Today I am not only thankful that I live in a country where I can pick which church I go to, but I am thankful for all the options that Atlanta has to offer!  I was unable to find a church home where I felt comfortable in North Carolina, and so far I’ve visited 2 churches that I have really enjoyed – The Cathedral of St. Philip and Saint Martin In The Fields Church.  While they were both Episcopalian churches, they each had their own distinctive style (which is one of the things I love about the Episcopalian church – lots of different styles, but they all have the liturgy and doctrine in common).  I think I’m going to look around a bit more, just to make sure I’m not missing anything, but at the moment I’m leaning toward St. Philip’s.

I think this week I will visit St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church.  I also might visit St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, though it is a little further away from my house.  Anyone in the Atlanta area have any suggestions?

See what others are thankful for at Spiritually Unequal Marriage

What was I doing in Florida? Why, I was taking confirmation classes to join the Episcopal Church! This is something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, but have been unable to get the scheduling to work out. I wanted to join at our church at home instead of a church up here in North Carolina, but every time the class was offered I was unable to make it back to Florida to attend. But this year, it worked out, and I am so thrilled that I will be able to join the church now! The actual service takes place in a month, so I’m not official yet, but I learned a lot, and I will be sharing a post soon about what I’ve learned about the Book of Common Prayer.