Sorry to all you grape juice and crackers “just a metaphor” people out there…I’m not one of you. 
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Well, at my social club on Sunday mornings we have bread and wine also. Along with all other Epicurean delights. We call our services - brunch. It is $39.95 all you can eat. And includes champagne or mimosa.
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I read your profile and your name on here is interesting. What type of Lutheran did you grow up as? ELCA or Missouri Synod? I thought the Missouri Synod’s official position WAS YEC. Am I wrong? Or were you ELCA?
Hi Mark, my background is ELCA. I had an uncle who was quite conservative and he was a pastor in one of the denominations that eventually became the ELCA - if he were alive today he would not be happy with a lot of things in the church.
I think my upbringing was rather balanced. I think Lutheranism is comfortable with paradoxes and mysteries and this should lend itself against a too narrow reading of scripture or going off on odd tangents.
I left the ELCA some time ago. I tried attending some LCMS churches but YEC and a few other things were an issue. It is more than YEC itself, the worldview behind it is foreign to me just like postmodernism is foreign to me in “liberal” churches. I have been going to a conservative Anglican church, and there YEC isn’t an issue. I am not too optimistic about the long-term stability of Anglicanism. I have thought about Catholicism but some issues there have given me a wait and see attitude. I have been reading a lot by Pope Benedict XVI/Ratzinger and I find his ideas engaging.
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Do Anglican churches still exist? You must be pretty lonely there. Is it mostly senior citizens there? Here in the Northeast US, Episcopal Churches are nearly empty. Those that do attend are very old.
Ther’s a world of difference between Anglican and Episcopal. And the Anglican church I attended in DC was FILLED with young people.
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There are some churches that broke away from the Episcopal Church and they call themselves Anglican although the Church of England doesn’t officially recognize them. Confusing? I imagine you would find them too conservative on most social issues (if you weren’t an atheist). They are open-minded about science - they are conservative Episcopalians, not fundamentalists.
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There are, Patrick, many, many churches where–believe it or not–nothing could be more enjoyable than celebrating with your friends in church. It probably sounds completely foreign because you may not have experienced this in the congregations that you attended (I’m assuming), but I completely agree with Daniel. I would say that (as Daniel also points out) some of my best friends at church are people with whom I had no immediate connection, and even may have initially had some friction. By realizing that these people are family, I have been able to pray and ask God to make me more accepting/understanding of them. This has been an amazing experience to see relationships grow out of nothing but Christian commonality. In a secular environment, we tend to avoid people we don’t “feel” friendly toward. There is no reason to get to know them better. But those experiences also help here, at Peaceful Science, because there are many people with whom I’m not warm and fuzzy, and yet I know that over time the opportunity to grow closer exists… and is worth the effort.
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I agree that church has been that central gathering place for family and friends and it still is in many parts of this country. But times have changed and more importantly technology has changed. Today the church community has been replaced by facebook communities. I am not saying that there is any thing wrong with church gatherings with family and friends, it is great for those who still enjoy this. But it is no longer necessary nor mandatory to be part of the local church group. When I was growing up, everybody went to church on Sunday with their family (unless you were Jewish and you went to synagogue on Saturday). Today, a very small portion of the population attends church services. Churches are empty around here. But restaurants, coffee shops, malls, and stores are filled on Sunday with people.
To add to Intjer’s comments on Anglicanism, several independent Anglican denominations and congregations (by independent, I mean, having broken away from the mainstream Anglican / Episcopal churches) have in recent years come together to form the Anglican Church in North America. No doubt in the coming years, more congregations from the American Protestant Episcopal and the Canadian Anglican churches will join the ACNA, as the liberalism of the mainstream bodies becomes intolerable.