Question

[heatherq17]

Hi. I dont no if I am allowed to post this here but I was wondering if you can give me a little information on the Methodist religion? I left the catholic church and looking for a church where I can feel comfortable. I am going to a Methodist church for the first time on Sunday. Can you just tell me a little bit about the religion?:hug: Thanks

[markbelieves]

Hi. I dont no if I am allowed to post this here but I was wondering if you can give me a little information on the Methodist religion? I left the catholic church and looking for a church where I can feel comfortable. I am going to a Methodist church for the first time on Sunday. Can you just tell me a little bit about the religion?:hug: Thanks
Hi Heather,

You are certainly welcome to post here.

I see that we have a few things in common: we are both from Pittsburgh, I was Catholic up until two years ago, and I too felt drawn to seek out a different church and ended up at the Methodist church.

Since joining the UMC two years ago, I have never felt this at home in a church. I pray that you will have a similar experience.

The religion is Christianity, just as the Catholic church is, but obviously there are differences in theology as well as practice. Instead of trying to outline all of then for you I will give a link to the UMC site and then if you have any specific questions after check it out, either myself or one of the very many helpful people here will try to answer. http://www.umc.org/site/c.gjJTJbMUIuE/b.484771/k.7BD7/UMCorg_The_official_online_ministry_of_The_United_Methodist_Church.htm

Since this is your first visit to a United Methodist Church I can tell you what stood out to me from the perspective as a Catholic. Keep in mind also that Protestant church services, such as the UMC, tend to vary more church to church than the Roman Catholic service would.

The first thing I noticed was that when in the Sanctuary, before service, people socialized. I grew up walking into church, praying, and then staying quiet, so this seemed different; but now I am quite accustomed to it.
Next, there is more singing in my current church including the singing of contemporary songs at the beginning of worship. I think that is pretty cool and my 11 year son loves that part.
In most UM churches communion is not celebrated weekly. In ours it is usually once a month. I understand that many share this frequency but there are those that have more frequent and others that have it less frequent.
The main focus of the service is sermon, and I really like that part. I have noticed that our Pastor, probably because he is married and has a family, seems to connect the Gospel reading to my life in ways that I never felt in the Catholic church.

I hope this was helpful and please post any other questions you may have and also post how your visit to the church goes.

Grace and Peace to you,

Mark

[heatherq17]

Hi Heather,

You are certainly welcome to post here.

I see that we have a few things in common: we are both from Pittsburgh, I was Catholic up until two years ago, and I too felt drawn to seek out a different church and ended up at the Methodist church.

Since joining the UMC two years ago, I have never felt this at home in a church. I pray that you will have a similar experience.

The religion is Christianity, just as the Catholic church is, but obviously there are differences in theology as well as practice. Instead of trying to outline all of then for you I will give a link to the UMC site and then if you have any specific questions after check it out, either myself or one of the very many helpful people here will try to answer. http://www.umc.org/site/c.gjJTJbMUIuE/b.484771/k.7BD7/UMCorg_The_official_online_ministry_of_The_United_Methodist_Church.htm

Since this is your first visit to a United Methodist Church I can tell you what stood out to me from the perspective as a Catholic. Keep in mind also that Protestant church services, such as the UMC, tend to vary more church to church than the Roman Catholic service would.

The first thing I noticed was that when in the Sanctuary, before service, people socialized. I grew up walking into church, praying, and then staying quiet, so this seemed different; but now I am quite accustomed to it.
Next, there is more singing in my current church including the singing of contemporary songs at the beginning of worship. I think that is pretty cool and my 11 year son loves that part.
In most UM churches communion is not celebrated weekly. In ours it is usually once a month. I understand that many share this frequency but there are those that have more frequent and others that have it less frequent.
The main focus of the service is sermon, and I really like that part. I have noticed that our Pastor, probably because he is married and has a family, seems to connect the Gospel reading to my life in ways that I never felt in the Catholic church.

I hope this was helpful and please post any other questions you may have and also post how your visit to the church goes.

Grace and Peace to you,

Mark

Thank you so much for the info! I am looking forward to going on Sunday!:)

[Onesimus85]

Hi. I dont no if I am allowed to post this here but I was wondering if you can give me a little information on the Methodist religion? I left the catholic church and looking for a church where I can feel comfortable. I am going to a Methodist church for the first time on Sunday. Can you just tell me a little bit about the religion?:hug: Thanks
I went to a low mass this past Sunday evening and felt fairly comfortable. There are some things that I wasn't sure what was going on. I didn't realize that "for thine is the kingdom, the power, the and the glory forever. Amen," was left out in the Catholic version.
As far as the service goes, if you are visiting a more traditional Methodist service you should feel right at home.

[Qyöt27]

Specifically, this is the Q&A section of the UMC's website:
http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=16&mid=1244

Like has been said, there's a lot of variation - some are pretty low church, others could be almost indistinguishable from Episcopal churches. I hesitate in making this assertion, but as far as theology and practice goes, Methodism tends to be a lot closer to Catholicism than a lot of Protestant denominations. Part of this is because the only violent break from the Catholic Church that occurred in the long-term history of Methodism was actually when the Church of England broke away, and that was far less of a dirty break than most of the other Protestant groups that left ('dirty break' meaning, how much of the group's theology was at odds with Catholic teaching, and how much work would be needed to reconcile the two again).

Methodism itself was intended to simply revitalize the Church of England from a sense of perceived apathy but due to politics (internal and national; the American Revolution was going on around that time), they were pretty much forced out rather than forcefully leave, and so a lot - most, IIRC - of the theology is shared with Anglicanism, which in turn tends to have more similarity with the Catholic Church than other Protestant churches. John Wesley, however, remained an Anglican priest all his life, and from what I've read there are some Anglican parishes with Methodist leanings, or at least that's what it seemed like.

Due to all that IMO, one of the big things that distinguish Methodists from the stereotypical Protestant is that Methodists don't usually adhere to Sola Scriptura, but rather Prima Scriptura. The other sources besides Scripture are Tradition, Reason, and Experience. The understanding of Communion is that Christ is present, but how exactly it happens remains undefined. A well-written overview is here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Presence#Methodism_-_Real_Presence_as_.22Holy_Mystery.22).

[herev]

for basic information: we are NOT a different religion. We are all christian. You are welcome here. If I can give you more info, let me know. I am a UM pastor, pm me if needed