Please sign the guestbook and view it.

Louie & Ernest Clay-Crew
Married February 2, 1974


12/21/1974
 
8/17/2006

The Episcopal Church is a secret too well kept. Many are starved for what we experience daily and too easily take for granted. Invite others to come to your parish to experience this joy.

In thinking of your 'reasons,' try to focus on what draws you and others to this church. Enjoy the exercise! Tell others about it and encourage them to submit.

Morehouse has published my 101 Reasons to be an Episcopalian ISBN 0-8192-1925-8 (pbk.) -- all items from this site. All profits from the book will go to Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD).

1. The Episcopal Church doesn't tell me what to think, but it expects me to think about what I think. -- Susan Fiore, AOJN slfiore@mac.com
2. I love the Episcopal Church: good liturgy, good sermons, great music, good communion wine, continuing adult spiritual formation, and because worshiping together is more important than agreeing with doctrine. -- Michelle C. Jackson astraeus@accessbee.com
3. Because we know about LOVE -- Dixie Hutchinson dhutch@speakeasy.net
4. We don't need to see eye to eye, to walk hand in hand. -- Howard Wallace jhwallace@truvista.net
5. My dad always said, 'I love the Episcopal Church because they leave you alone!' After years of reading the 4 spiritual Laws, listening to 'Christian' radio, applying all the bumper stickers and memorizing and underlining all those verses and trying to 'witness back' at all the Mormons and JW's at my door... I have to agree, he was right. -- Keith Coppage keithcop@aol.com
6. I wasn't told to set aside my pride if I had trouble accepting a doctrine. -- Jack McKee jack.mckee99@gmail.com
7. 'This is my body, broken for your healing' and 'This is my blood, shed for the remission of your sin.' In the Episcopal church, I get to savor this deeply moving remembrance every week. How cool is that? -- Kathleen McCalla kathleenmccalla@togetherweserve.org
8. We do not have a 'party line'--we do not claim to know it all, and thus leave room to be open to wherever the holy spirit may guide us. -- Kathleen McCalla kathleenmccalla@togetherweserve.org
9. The Episcopal Church reminds me of my childhood church (The Methodist Church), before the United Methodist Church dumbed down. I love The Book of Common Prayer liturgy; Holy Communion on my knees; the responses; the history; the diversity and the wonderful feeling of warmth. -- Nancy, currently going through adult confirmation. -- Nancy Muenchausen n.muenchausen@comcast.net
10. When bike riding by an Episcopal Church, the priest invited us in for the service. We were welcomed in our bike gear. We felt the love of God in this church and are now members of this wonderful church family. -- Andrea & Perry Ford texasfords77474@sbcglobal.net
11. My children are welcomed, cherished and praised by our church family. They are active participants in our service. No 'be seen and not heard' at our church. -- Andrea & Perry Ford texasfords77474@sbcglobal.net
12. After 46 years, I’m still often moved to tears when I hear “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent.” Liturgy in our churches can be done in many styles, but the focus is on the welcoming Table. Long may it be so! -- Martha Burke Tressler pupsmom303@att.net
13. I came in unsure, unchurched, and agnostic. It's been a long journey that has brought me to the joy of being surrounded by the unconditional love of the Body of Christ. -- Victoria Shao giggles91887@yahoo.com
14. The Anglican fold works--joyously--for me for two reasons. First, it feels like worship is something we all do together, not something that the priest up front does to and for and at us. Second, the pastoral care from both priests and laity is generous and loving. In my earlier religious experience, there were times when I very much needed such care--and it was not there. -- Barbara
15. I first walked into an Episcopal Church as an atheist convinced that religion was nothing more than failed efforts of power-hungry individuals to control the minds and actions of the flocks. It was nothing like I expected church to be. Now I'm here to stay. The first six people I talked to that day had done exactly the same. -- Craig Bateman craig@batemanspace.com
16. On a Sunday 'drive'-by,' you can always tell a small town Episcopal church. It’s the one that the pickup trucks parked nearby have rainbow shield stickers on their bumpers. -- Maria L. Evans crankycricker@yahoo.com
17. Episcopalians have processions instead of standing in lines. -- Maria L. Evans crankycricker@yahoo.com
18. Episcopalians are a lot like golfers—they find debating decisions on the rules a lot more fun and interesting than the rules themselves. -- Maria L. Evans crankycricker@yahoo.com
19. The Episcopal Church is one colossal, massive, explosion of love -- Olive Adamas oaadams@gmail.com
20. People can disagree AGREEABLY and still celebrate at God's table with those with whom you disagree. Everyone is welcome. -- Ken Cribbs kcribbs@aol.com
21. You don't feel weird if you DO pray to Mary and/or any of the other saints. The Church leaves up to individual piety the application of 'encouraged by their examples, aided by their prayers, and strengthened by their fellowship' (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 504). -- Ken Cribbs kcribbs@aol.com
22. Leadership opportunities are out there for young people. They just need to be proactive instead of reactive. -- Bill Wong wongbwmagic@aol.com
23. I can do ethnic ministry in a non-ethnic ministry parish. -- Bill Wong wongbwmagic@aol.com
24. I was born to Episcopalians, grew up Episcopalian, and live my life as an Episcopalian. Why would I want to change? -- Linda Beauregard-Axelson axelsond001@hawaii.rr.com
25. I continue to have more reasons to be an Episcopalian than reasons not to! To be honest, probably number one is -- now that I'm approaching 80, I can't think what I'd say to my mother when I meet her if I WEREN'T an Episcopalian. And even if I hadn't paid up my pledge for the year! -- Loren B. Mead lorenmead@aol.com
26. The Episcopal Church is my 'Amazing Grace' it has transformed me in many ways. 'I will with God's help.' -- Cindy Grenier clgrenier@verizon.net
27. The Archbishop of Canterbury doesn't live under some pretense of 'infallibility.' -- Richard McClellan packtherac@hotmail.com
28. My wife and I, although I am not married yet, will be able to use birth control and not fear the flames of Hell doing what God has given us the brains and body to do in our best interests to Him, ourselves, and those we love. -- Richard McClellan packtherac@hotmail.com
29. You don't feel weird if you don't pray to Mary and/or the Saints -- Richard McClellan packtherac@hotmail.com
30. You aren't made to feel that only confession to a priest is how your sins are forgiven. -- Richard McClellan packtherac@hotmail.com
31. Because the church is a home where your are loved unconditionally, during your greatest joys and most desperate sorrow. -- Tamra Dixon tjd1@uakron.edu
32. If you feed my mind, my heart will follow. The Episcopal Church feeds my mind. -- Jody Strauch jodelld@gmail.com
33. Because the first time I visited the priest said 'Welcome Home' and meant it. -- Colleen Hall 3halls@bellsouth.net
34. Because I can bring anyone I wish to church and feel certain they will be welcomed. -- Colleen Hall 3halls@bellsouth.net
35. I do not count the minutes till the service is over. The Episcopal church has depth that I was missing in other denominations. -- Beth Crumpler jtbcrum@yahoo.com
36. As Episcopalians/Christians, God does not call us to agree. God calls us to Communion. -- The Rev. Kirk A. Woodliff frkirk@hotmail.com
37. The Episcopal Church is the perfect paradox: firmly based in tradition, but never afraid to change; deep and meaningful theology without the headaches; and a strong community of believers who don't all believe exactly the same thing, but love each other anyway. -- Jean Chapman chapmanj@wlu.edu
38. Thinking Tolerant -- Vestry of St. Thomas' in Dallas DoubterTom@aol.com
39. Our theological method is like Baked Alaska which is at once ice and flame, soft and hard. We dare to keep extremes in a creative (and delicious) tension. -- Marilyn Engstrom marengstrom@bresnan.net
40. The perfect church for imperfect people. -- The Rev. Peter Gunning saints@iafrica.com
41. The Episcopal Church focuses on Love, not sin. -- Carol Moggo cmoggo@hotmail.com
42. In the Episcopal service we don't just talk about the bible. We actually read it!! -- Katie Payton
43. Pipe organs, orchestras and SATB choirs, instead of guitars, tambourines and cantors. -- Alan Davis brssplr@gmail.com
44. No bingo! -- Samantha Cutlip, Lay Deputy from Western New York in 2009 spam912@aol.com
45. Where a funeral of a Grande Dame takes place without a casket, yet every row in the chapel of the cathedral has a large box of Kleenex on the aisle which is touched by nobody. They're all too busy singing Beethoven's 'Joy' hymn. -- Paul Goercke, Carillonneur pfg26@webtv.net
46. Instead of bible thumpers, one finds bible thinkers. Thinking being the operative word, I am grateful the Episcopal Church accepts humans who think and say, 'Yeah, but have you ever thought it could be....... ' -- Ann Evans ELucean@aol.com
47. The quest and questioning are the path, I can't accept there is nothing more to think about, as many religious groups preach. -- Ann Evans ELucean@aol.com
48. A safe place for sinners, like the rest of us. --
49. All are welcome here. -- Robin Hodson
50. All Saints' Day, incense and Mozarabic preface to eucharistic prayer canon D. -- The Rev. Lee Alison Crawford LACINVT94@aol.com
51. All the pagentry, half the guilt. -- Bungee Bynum b.bynum@gmail.com
52. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. (2 Cor. 5:18-19) -- The Rev. John B. Wheeler
53. An Ancient Faith in Today's Communities -- Dylan Breuer sdbreuer@earthlink.net
54. An Embracing Church for a Hurting World -- Herb Gunn herbgunn@earthlink.net
55. An Episcopal youth group - with Jewish kids! (from my son, who is impressed that his Jewish friend is welcome and comfy in his EYC group) -- Alice Fulton Alice-fulton@uiowa.edu
56. Ancient Faith Expressed for Today -- Dylan Breuer sdbreuer@earthlink.net
57. Ancient Faith, Today's Expression -- Dylan Breuer sdbreuer@earthlink.net
58. As a lifelong Anglican I have always appreciated that I was free to think on my own. That doesn't mean that you can believe whatever you want, but we respect the gift that God has given us of intelligence. -- Philipside on beliefnet.com
59. As I grew up, I discovered the church was already there to greet me. -- Alice Fulton Alice-fulton@uiowa.edu
60. As the old hymn says: 'All things are ready; come to the feast! -- Sharon Moon Sharonmoon@aol.com
61. Beautiful, dignified and sensitive memorial services a la the one at the Washington National Cathedral following 9/11. -- Dixie Hutchinson hutch2@airmail.net
62. Because God loves you. ALL of you. Period. Class dismissed. -- The Rev. John Arms
63. Because I don't have to say the Prayer of Humble Access or anything else in the 1928 prayer book anymore, but I remember being struck by its poetry as a child. -- Priscilla H. Ballou vze23t8n@verizon.net
64. Because we constantly remind ourselves we are Christians first, Episcopalians second. -- Mary Koch marykoch@northcascades.net
65. Become one with the One we receive. --
66. Being an Episcopalian gives me the freedom to yell 'Theatre!' in a crowded fire. -- The Very Rev. David G. Bollinger
67. Being connected to a 2000 year tradition of spirituality shaped by everyone from the ancient Celts to contemporary Maoris. -- Drhistory@aol.com
68. Being part of a church that preserves tradition but does not mummify it. -- Drhistory@aol.com
69. Being part of a community that has room for a variety of worship forms such as the rosary, the labyrinth, Taize, and the stations of the cross. -- Drhistory@aol.com
70. Being part of a community that strives to be open and inclusive -- Drhistory@aol.com
71. Come and see. -- Robin Hodson
72. Desmond Tutu is one of our bishops. --
73. Discover why 'Holy! Holy! Holy!' is one of our most popular hymns. --
74. During this time I had an ongoing mild attraction to the Episcopal Church, because while knowing little about it, I regarded it as the place where they have to let you in, and thus where I might end up when the evangelicals finally realized I had moved beyond the narrow pale of their orthodoxy. -- Don Wacome wacome@nwciowa.edu
75. Eat the food of angels! --
76. Enthusiastic doubt is better than judgemental certainty. -- Dr. Ford Elms hcc.elmf@hccsj.nf.ca
77. Episcopalians live and proclaim the gospel in community, through the Eucharist, and seek a servanthood ministry. -- Professor Willis H. A. Moore profwillishamoore@gmail.com
78. Every baptized Christian is invited to take communion in an Episcopal Church. Jesus was able to dine with publicans and sinners, so we should be able to kneel beside Baptists, Methodists, Roman and Orthodox Catholics, Presbyterians and so forth. If people who shouldn't take communion do, that's between them and God. -- David Hunter
79. Fill your spirit; lift your heart. -- Robin Hodson
80. Free wine on Sundays. -- Bungee Bynum b.bynum@gmail.com
81. Freedom of mind; peace of heart. -- Robin Hodson
82. God created male and female, and it is our practice to ordain both as priests, deacons and bishops. -- David Hunter
83. God made the funny bone. Let God repair yours here. -- Lutibelle/Louie
84. God never gives us more than we can handle, including babies, but He needs our help on this one. -- Larry Salvadori salvadoril@kendallhq.com
85. Halfway around the world, away from home, I got devastating news - and the church held my hand and was family for me. -- Alice Fulton Alice-fulton@uiowa.edu
86. Historically, the church has always been at its best when it reaches out to people, all sorts of people; when it seeks to embrace rather than cast off; to nurture rather than ignore; to bless rather than curse. In large measure, that is why I am an Episcopalian - because the Episcopal Church is an affirming church rather than a condemning one. -- The Rev. Dr. Gary Nicolosi
87. Honor the forgotten first commandment. Love God with your mind. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
88. I am allowed to have and express doubts. -- Bob Wyatt bwyatt@ang-md.org
89. I am an Anglican, an Episcopalian, because it calls me stand on my own two feet before God, to be courageous about where we can help the Church and our faith and the world. -- Russell Ruffino russell.ruffino@cox.net
90. I am Gay, and the Episcopal church is where I am least likely to be attacked with baseball bats in the name of Jesus. -- Tantris on beliefnet.com
91. I became an Episcopalian because it was a denomination that challenged me to be the best Christian I could be, rather than a saccharine, feel-good place. -- The Rev. Maureen Lewis saintd@itis.com
92. I became an Episcopalian because it was not club meetings with music, like other main-line denominations. -- The Rev. Maureen Lewis saintd@itis.com
93. I believe the Anglican way is unique, not because of what we Anglicans have, but because of the responsibility we have to share with other Christians and with the world what by God's grace we have been given to give. -- Russell Ruffino russell.ruffino@cox.net
94. I can be different and still be welcomed. People in our Church actually delight in diversity. -- Robin Hodson
95. I can bring my experiences of God in my life into discussions within the church. -- Bob Wyatt bwyatt@ang-md.org
96. I can choose to read or not read whichever translation of the Bible I wish. -- Bob Wyatt bwyatt@ang-md.org
97. I continue to be surprised at finding myself a more or less functioning Episcopalian, and for resonating so deeply with all its strange gear and lore. -- Don Wacome wacome@nwciowa.edu
98. I do not believe that the Anglican Communion of Churches comprises the one true Church, and I do not believe the Episcopal Church is the one true Church. I do believe that in this part of Christs Church I find an understanding of our relationship with God and understanding of our faith which for me is closer to the mind and heart of Jesus of Nazareth and closer to the message of the Gospel. -- Russell Ruffino russell.ruffino@cox.net
99. I don't have to be ordained to give a sermon in Church. -- Robin Hodson
100. I fell in love with the liturgy. -- Mary Cox EpiscoRat@aol.com
101. I felt right at home because the Episcopal Church is crawling with expatriate Missouri Synod Lutherans who asked too many questions. -- Maria L. Evans crankycricker@yahoo.com
102. I had often noticed its beauty; a fine example of the many charming old stone Episcopal churches nestled in the Hudson Valley. Intrigued by what I had heard in chapel, the following Sunday we went there. Then and ever since that church seemed brightly-alive with God's love, full of human beings made gracious by hearing the good news about God's grace. -- Don Wacome wacome@nwciowa.edu
103. I have found the peace and presence of God in every Episcopal Church I have entered, from Alaska to Florida. -- Robin Hodson
104. I joined the Episcopal church because of its open-minded and pragmatic view of birth control. -- The Rev. Matthew Fox
105. I like being an Anglican because our Church has a glorious, age-old, authoritative Tradition, free from authoritarianism, clerical despotism or brutish fundamentalisms. -- Tantris on beliefnet.com
106. I love the Episcopal church because it ministers to my deepest needs, and I can always count on it to do the same for others. -- Sharon Moon Sharonmoon@aol.com
107. I plan to remain where I am for the rest of my life, however long that may be. And when I die, I hope an Episcopalian priest with a sense of humor presides at my memorial service. -- David Hunter
108. I value dialog, questioning, and possibly ensuing argumentative conversation that leads to learning and thought more than almost everything else. Maybe I'm an overgrown child always asking `why' but TEC allows room for this questioning. I'm not going to be thrown out of class (suspended, expelled) for asking questions. -- Tonib Tonib144@aol.com
109. I was divorced, and then it was forgiven, forgotten, forever. -- Larry Salvadori salvadoril@kendallhq.com
110. Intelligent, loving spirituality. -- William Bartosh and Tony wbartosh@slonet.org
111. It is a Church that lets me grow and learn and change. -- Robin Hodson
112. It's God's table, not our own. If you don't come, we may not be the Church. --
113. Jesus welcomes you. -- Matthew G. Livingood mgl@livingood.net
114. Knowing that I can go to any Anglican church in the world and be 'home.' -- Drhistory@aol.com
115. Lay people have a voice in the governance of the Church. -- Robin Hodson
116. Let God restore your spirit. -- Matthew G. Livingood mgl@livingood.net
117. My evangelical friends and relatives take it for granted I am an Episcopalian because I love the liturgy, but I say no, that's not the crucial reason: I go to that sort of church because that's where I hear, see and feel God's grace. I go there because there they talk about what God does for us, rather than telling us what they think we ought to do to make ourselves. -- Don Wacome wacome@nwciowa.edu
118. My late mentor once told me, `I don’t pray anything that isn’t in the Book of Common Prayer.' Before I joined the church, I had no clue what he was talking about. Now that I use the BCP I finally `get it.' I can’t think of a single situation where one couldn’t find an applicable prayer in there! -- Maria L. Evans crankycricker@yahoo.com
119. My parish is the most functional family I have found. -- Sheena Lawrence BrightEagle@mindspring.com
120. No church karaoke. -- Cindy McLeod
121. No grape juice! -- Youth at St. Anne's in Tifton, Georgia
122. No matter who we are or what has happened in our lives, we are all His children and can feel welcome here. -- Nan Milliken NJMilliken@aol.com
123. No minimum age for full benefits. -- Youth at St. Anne's in Tifton, Georgia
124. No PowerPoint presentations during the sermon! -- Maria L. Evans crankycricker@yahoo.com
125. Open doors, open hearts. -- Robin Hodson
126. Our God loves absolutely everyone! -- Mary Jane Herron HERA576@aol.com
127. Our liturgy has 'breathing room,' and we don't have to be in a hurry to get done and get out. -- Lou Poulain
128. Over sixty percent of our members have fled other denominations as adults. --
129. Participate fully in an ever-evolving institution. -- The Rev. Canon Dr. Richard T. Nolan canonn@adelphia.net
130. Peculiar honors to our King! --
131. Protestant and Catholic. No waiting. -- Tony Hitsman tonyhit@globetrotter.net
132. Robert Warren Cromey, Louis Weil, Paul Moore, Carter Heyward, Kelly Brown-Douglas, William Stringfellow, Martha Overall, Kwok Pui-lan, Lizette Larson-Miller, Louie Crew, Ed Bacon, Rosa Lee Harden, Jay Johnson, Bill Countryman, Desmond Tutu, Hannah Glover, Diana Wheeler-Brandon, Glenda McQueen, Walter Smith, Julio Murray, Ana Murray -- oonagh Ryan-King sheela_na_gigs@mac.com
133. Share freely in God's unconditional love for all people. -- Sheena Lawrence BrightEagle@mindspring.com
134. Stand, sit, and kneel in awe of God. --
135. Take time to be whole! --
136. That we can sit around and discuss why we're sitting here. -- Ascension Cafe, Twin Falls Idaho bthom@idahodiocese.org
137. The Anglican communion - circling the globe with thanks and praise. -- Alice Fulton Alice-fulton@uiowa.edu
138. The Anglican Communion has been my life-long home, but the Episcopal Church opened her doors to me as wife, mother and priest. -- Rachel Endicott
139. The Calendar, filled with heroes of every era, from Saints Peter and Paul to Saint Martin Luther King, Jr. -- Lou Poulain
140. The Episcopal Church is home to those who use their minds as well as their hearts to deepen their understanding of God, themselves, and the best ways to live out Christ's summary of the law. Though the church has (and values) a long and rich liturgical history, it recognizes that there are many paths to spirituality. It asks of its members not that they pass a test of doctrinal purity, but that they bring to life and faith these three things: seriousness of purpose, joyousness in action, love in support of other persons. -- Wesley Jones
141. The food here is really good! -- Grace Gill gracegill@hotmail.com
142. The perfect church for those people who don't attend. -- The Rev. Selwyn Swift
143. The point is not to agree with the individual position and personal behavior of the bishop baptizing me but to accept the baptism in the spirit and tradition in which it comes. I am a lesbian and joined the Episcopal Church last year in St. Ann's in the mainly conservative Diocese of Tennessee. -- Tonib Tonib144@aol.com
144. The text for my inquirer's class said that in the Episcopal Church it is important *that* we worship, not so much what we *believe* about the one we worship. -- Priscilla H. Ballou vze23t8n@verizon.net
145. The three-legged stool of faith, tradition, and reason -- Drhistory@aol.com
146. The warmest of God's frozen chosen. -- Tony Hitsman tonyhit@globetrotter.net
147. There were also the obvious aesthetic attractions and the pull it has on any American Anglophile. Indeed, it was my awareness of these latter motives that kept me from investigating the Episcopal Church; one ought not to choose one's church on aesthetic grounds, I thought. -- Don Wacome wacome@nwciowa.edu
148. Things which had been cast down are being raised up! --
149. This wonderful, crazy Church of ours works for me! Indeed, it is the place where I know that I am called to work out my salvation `with fear and trembling' (Philippians 2:12) and to take my place in helping to build up the Kingdom of God -- The Rev. David Boyd
150. Today's Expression of an Ancient Faith -- Dylan Breuer sdbreuer@earthlink.net
151. We are a haven for the spiritually wondering and wounded. -- Mary Jane Herron HERA576@aol.com
152. We are welcome participants in worship. -- Ascension Cafe, Twin Falls Idaho bthom@idahodiocese.org
153. We celebrate God's love at the center of the church and at the heart of our being. -- Lori Allen lorinda.allen@verizon.net
154. We have the best preaching this side of heaven. Guaranteed guilt free. -- Larry Salvadori salvadoril@kendallhq.com
155. We laugh a lot. -- Char Vinik char@allsaintsfl.org
156. We promise not to tell you how to dress, act or feel. -- Dorothy/Anne Crocker
157. We welcome all who seek God. -- Wendy W. Sopkovich WWWS@prodigy.net
158. Welcomed, loved, and accepted as you are! -- Larry Salvadori Larry.Salvadori@TycoHealthcare.com
159. We're comprehensive enough to have Matthew Fox and Ollie North in the same church. --
160. We're not 'either/or' people; we're 'both/and' people -- Patsy Duncan cowcatcher99@cableone.net
161. What brought me into the Episcopal Church was a mission that ministered to people who fell through the cracks: housed the homeless, fed the hungry, clothed the naked and helped find jobs--all while respecting the dignity of each individual. It's not just going to services on Sunday! -- Agnes H. Moore agnes.moore@snet.net
162. Whatever you believe, there is at least one Episcopalian that agrees with you. -- Youth at St. Anne's in Tifton, Georgia
163. When I first began attending the Church of the Holy Cross in NC (because my son got up one day at 15 and said, Mom, I'm going to church). I found what I had been looking for all those years.....a wonderful joy, love and 'lightness' in the midst of beautiful pageantry, plus priests that had a wonderful sense of humor and helped me to understand more about Christ's teachings and God's love than I have ever experienced before. -- Kathy Alyea kalyea3@yahoo.com
164. Where differences are appreciated more and more. One can be joyful in being unique -- The Rev. Teresa T. Bowden alohayouall@hawaii.rr.com
165. Where Diversity is a blessing and celebrated. -- Sheena Lawrence BrightEagle@mindspring.com
166. Where God continues to become flesh and shows up in those deemed the least! --
167. Where God is not a boy's name. --
168. Where God welcomes you, you, .... and me, and .... -- Wendy W. Sopkovich WWWS@prodigy.net
169. Where one can take time to heal and become whole. -- Ascension Cafe, Twin Falls Idaho bthom@idahodiocese.org
170. Where that which had grown old is being made new! --
171. Where the bible is taken seriously, not literally. --
172. Where the Holy Spirit is alive and well, daring to say something new! --
173. Worship God in the beauty of holiness. --
174. Worship God. -- Matthew G. Livingood mgl@livingood.net
175. Years ago in an Adult Inquirers' Class, the priest asked me if I had decided to be confirmed. I answered, 'I don't know if I agree with everything.' 'Heck,' he said. 'I don't agree with everything and I'm a priest. You will never agree with everything.' -- The Rev. Nancy Vogele VogeleN@aol.com
176. You will almost always also find good coffee in the fellowship hall of Episcopal churches. It is consumed reverently before and after services and considered almost a sacrament by many Episcopalians. -- David Hunter
177. [W]hen Anglicanism is at its best, its liturgy, its poetry, its music and its life can create a world of wonder in which it is very easy to fall in love with God. -- Urban T. Holmes III
178. A gorgeous filling station to refuel your ministry in the world. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
179. A place where a Jewish man, his Episcopalian wife (whose great- and great-great-grandfathers were Episcopalian priests), and their two children can be embraced as valued contributors to the works, worship, and leadership of a vibrant liberation community. -- Dan Goldman, member of Redeemer, Morristown, NJ dangold8@yahoo.com
180. A place where God and I can work things out....and share them with others -- Karl Lusk karllusk@earthlink.net
181. All of the tradition; none of the guilt! -- Louise Stover calcs@sprintmail.com
182. An Ancient Faith in Today's Terms -- Dylan Breuer sdbreuer@earthlink.net
183. Anglicans can imagine the past and remember the future. -- The Rev. Nayan McNeill, PhD vitamac@batnet.com
184. Anglicans do good deeds to increase understanding of God, not out of fear or to earn admission to heaven. -- Robert L. Neal 3rd RobtLNeal3@earthlink.net
185. Anglicans don't burn books. We 'heare them, read, marke, learne and inwardly digeste them. -- Georgianna Henry georgiannahenry@juno.com
186. Another reason to be Episcopalian is that the altar is not fenced. In my days as a Presbyterian 'seeker' I frequently attended both Roman Catholic and Episcopal liturgies: at the former I was explicity refused communion; at the latter I was welcome to receive. As Woody Allen didn't quite say, I wouldn't want to belong to a club that wouldn't take me as a non-member. -- Deborah Smith Douglas
187. Any church that can contain both Bishop Spong and Bishop Stanton has got to be doing something right. -- Drhistory@aol.com
188. Any pulpit thumping is kept to the side; the altar is at the center. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
189. As a Christian, I am very proud to be an Anglican. The Church of Melanesia embraces and encourages the good side of life of the culture of the Melanesian people and builds these into the Anglican Church of Melanesia. These make the people somewhat relaxed and free, yet they are Christians at heart and live a life of faith and hope in Jesus Christ and are much concerned for one another. -- Philip Dovo comdov@vanuatu.com.vu
190. As a lay person my ministry is just as valid and important as that of a bishop, priest or deacon, and in the Catechism I'm listed first! -- Alison Bush kokopelli120@hotmail.com
191. As a young adult in 1967, after years of searching through the haze, I finally found the 'real thing!' I never looked back. The Episcopal Church changed my life forever. -- Gail Steinfield GailSt@aol.com
192. As an Anglican, I can be myself. I can be authentic and feel accepted and respected. -- Glauco Soares de Lima
193. Asking questions about our faith is expected. In the Episcopal church, God doesn't get upset if I wonder why some things are as they are. And God doesn't get upset if I suggest that some things should not continue as they are. -- La Reverenda Martha Sylvia Ovalle Vasquez
194. At my parish, I, a lesbian, am a completely accepted, loved, and voting member. -- Cynthia Mahaffey mahaffc@bgnet.bgsu.edu
195. At our best, Episcopalians can respectfully disagree about a great many things - and still break bread together. -- Barbara Tensen Ross BarbRoss78@hotmail.com
196. Because `struggle' is considered necessary, a path to growth not just something to overcome. -- Ascension Cafe, Twin Falls Idaho bthom@idahodiocese.org
197. Because a priest in Vermont invited me back. -- Priscilla H. Ballou vze23t8n@verizon.net
198. Because ambiguity is good for you....sometimes. -- Scott Estes sestes@qx.net
199. Because everyone loves a parade. -- Roy Murphy murphy@panix.com
200. Because George Herbert (of Bremerton) was one! -- Joel Watson sbjoelwatson@gmail.com
201. Because I need the structure of a home but don't need everyone to be exactly like me. -- Priscilla H. Ballou vze23t8n@verizon.net
202. Because it's bound up with the richness of English and Western Civilization and man's search for meaning, rather than self-righteousness, bigotry and anti-intellectualism. -- Nicholas Corwin ncorwin@ucdavis.edu
203. Because it's not Baptist. -- Mary Tuel shipoftuels@hotmail.com
204. Because it's one religion where laughing at our own absurdities is a basic spiritual discipline and we're invited to rejoice in how much we have still to learn of God instead of how much we know. -- Bill Countryman rusticus@thegrid.net
205. Because of people like the Right Reverend John Spong - who push the boundaries of what it means to be inclusive in Love -- Kimberly Murphy ms_kimberly_murphy@hotmail.com
206. Because small-minded people can't spell 'Episcopalian'! -- Grace Gill gracegill@hotmail.com
207. Because the Mothers' Union gives women a chance to rule their own affairs, and make an impact on society. -- Veve Edith Willie comdov@vanuatu.com.vu
208. Because they don't freak out or get holier-than-thou if, as a newcomer, I couldn't quite `get it right' each time. -- Nicholas Corwin ncorwin@ucdavis.edu
209. Because they trust your spiritual integrity enough to allow you to drink, dance, gamble, read what you want and visit other churches. -- Nicholas Corwin ncorwin@ucdavis.edu
210. Because we recognize that God doesn't make junk and we are all valuable members of the church. -- Corey Spence allsaintsboy@yahoo.com
211. Being an intelligent, strong woman is not a drawback in the Episcopal Church. -- Cynthia Jo Mahaffey mahaffc@bgnet.bgsu.edu
212. Bell, Book, and Candle. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
213. Birkenstocks. -- Cindy McLeod
214. Calm, orderly, predictable, rational services with intellectually challenging sermons. -- Dixie Hutchinson hutch2@airmail.net
215. Catholic and Evangelical, Orthodox and Reformed. -- The Rev. John Hartnett JGHart@aol.com
216. Catholic lite. Great rite. Less guilt. -- William Barnett-Lewis wlewis@mailbag.com
217. Catholic With Your Mind Turned On. -- as told to James A. Beyer jabeyer@uillinois.edu
218. Catholic, without the pope; and with the women; protestant without the gloom. -- Catherine Gallouet
219. Celebrating unity with God and others mid inspiring symbolic worship. -- The Rev. Gerard Pisani g.pisani@verizon.net
220. Celtic, not Roman. -- Joanna Wragg jwragg@wraggcasas.com
221. Christ has no hands on earth but ours. We need you to help us bless the world. -- Meg Carter
222. Christ wasn't picky, and neither are we. -- Larry Salvadori salvadoril@kendallhq.com
223. Christmas lasts 12 days. -- The Rev. Karen Ann Campbell gardener58@verizon.net
224. Coming to the Episcopal Church is coming home. -- The Rev. Deacon MaryJo Smith smith9@erols.com
225. Day after day rendering enemies blood kin at the Eucharist. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
226. Despite or perhaps even precisely because of our present disagreements in the Episcopal Church, I am reminded that God calls us all together because we aren't whole without each other. -- The Rev. Nancy Vogele VogeleN@aol.com
227. Discover the abundant life. -- Anneke Bertsch wbertsch@palmnet.net
228. Don Williams, a friend of mine, says that attending an Episcopal Church is a lot like worshipping with the members of the cast from 'Northern Exposure.' Everyone is different and nobody seems to notice. -- David Hunter
229. Down-to-earth people will welcome your presence and won't get in your face. They will love you and allow you the space to share your heart with God. -- Edie Marshall jetsetvet@hotmail.com
230. Elbow Room -- Ascension Cafe, Twin Falls Idaho bthom@idahodiocese.org
231. Enjoy classical choral music. -- Nigel Renton nrenton@insdra.com
232. Episcopal Church vs Roman Catholic Church: all of the funky vestments; none of the guilt. -- Weiwen NG weiwentg@gmail.com
233. 'Episcopal' is an anagram of 'Pepsi Cola.' Both are the real thing. -- The Rev. Tom Woodward TBWSalinas@aol.com
234. Episcopalians accept others as they are and do not lecture or preach hell fire and damnation to those who may be, or may not be, errant, as certain other denominations do; and we follow the teachings of Jesus in that we do not judge others lest we be first judged, and thus are more forgiving than certain other denominations. -- Bill Rowland dauphin@canada.com
235. Episcopalians believe in moderation in all things, including moderation. -- Sheena A. Lawrence BrightEagle@mindspring.com
236. Episcopalians demonstrate vitality in ancient terminology, such as sexton, thurifer, narthex, sacristy, suffragan, suffragan, canon, nave, narthex and undercroft.” -- Richard Schwermin jschwermin@msn.com
237. Episcopalians don't tend to be demonstrative, no one expects you to shout Amen or hallelujah! On the other hand, it's OK if you do. -- Donna H. Barthle
238. Episcopalians may spend a lot of time arguing with each other about important matters inside and outside the church. And often the arguments are very public. Sometimes they go on for years and seem to reach no definite resolution. But Episcopalians are confident that in and through this kind of engagement with eaqch other, they will become closer to understanding what God is up to and who God wants them, as a church, to be. -- Ellen K. Wondra
239. Episcopalians see reality as existing in the tensions of paradox, ambiguity, and diversity. -- Richard C. Milhon
240. Episcopalians spend less time beating on the Bible and more time actually reading it. -- Andrew Werner drewwerner@bellsouth.net
241. Episcopalians try to love with the heart of Christ, think with the mind of Christ, and act as if we were the body of Christ. -- Professor Willis H. A. Moore profwillishamoore@gmail.com
242. Episcopalians welcome all Christians to the participate fully and express faith through a unique blend of biblical text, the Catholic tradition and one's individual conscience. -- Bernie Jones bdj8q@yahoo.com
243. Expect to see God here: often in the face of a person you'd never choose. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
244. Exploring the wideness of God's mercy. -- Tony Hitsman tonyhit@globetrotter.net
245. First publishers of the King James Version. -- The Rev. John Hartnett JGHart@aol.com
246. For anyone who wants to worship by the book. -- The Rev. John Hartnett JGHart@aol.com
247. For Episcopalians religion is not a set of rules but a life of love. -- Elizabeth Geitz
248. For over four centuries, we agree...to disagree. -- Deborah G. Seles d.seles@attbi.com
249. Free To Be Me. -- Ascension Cafe, Twin Falls Idaho bthom@idahodiocese.org
250. From Miami to Manchester, from Lima to London, from Brisbane to Birmingham, Singapore to San Francisco, I can go to church and fit right in. -- John Schwaller
251. From Quasi Unitarians to Quasi Baptists, We All Feast at One Table. -- The Rev. Michael Povey jmp@berkshire.net
252. From smells and bells to speaking in tongues-we have it all. -- Sheena Lawrence BrightEagle@mindspring.com
253. From Washington to Mississippi to Alabama to Florida to Nassau to London to Canterbury to Paris you are always at home in an Anglican church. -- Lane Brown w2alb.com"@w2alb.com
254. God loves you, and there is not a thing you can do to change that. -- The Rev. Tom Van Culin kahutom.vanculin@verizon.net
255. Growing up in my Episcopal Church, I remember our teenage church youth group went to all the different churches in town and experienced their services, from a full dunking baptism in a Baptist Church, to a service at the local synagogue. We were never discouraged from learning about other religions. Actually probably just the opposite. It made me feel, you can question, you learn, you can decide for yourself. If you choose to stay here after all you've been exposed to, you did it with knowledge. -- Deborah Loeb dc26sharp@yahoo.com
256. Hate is not a family value here. -- Grace Gill gracegill@hotmail.com
257. Hearts and Lives transformed. Brains left intact. -- Shari DeSilva godspagan@yahoo.com
258. Heaven, we're in heaven!--by virtue of our baptism, we live in heaven. 'It's a done deal!' -- The Rev. Karen Ann Campbell gardener58@verizon.net
259. Here laughter and fun are appropriate. -- Winnie Souza Winniesouza@aol.com
260. Here was the kind of intellectual integrity I had despaired of in Christians. I was completely hooked -- Don Wacome wacome@nwciowa.edu
261. History and tradition should be reveled in and enjoyed, not swept in the dustbin as in other denominations. -- Todd J. Wilkinson episcopalscot@yahoo.com
262. Holy smoke! -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
263. Hooker's Eucharistic theology in 30 seconds: It's about us becoming the Body of Christ, the presence of Christ in the assembled community. For real. -- Deborah G. Seles d.seles@attbi.com
264. However you like to worship, there are Episcopalians who like doing it that way too. -- Andrew Wetmore andrew@wetmore.com
265. Humor is the best part of the church and of us. -- Rt. Rev. Jack McKelvey BpJackM@aol.com
266. I admit that I enjoy being an Anglican because of its aesthetic appeal and intellectual nuance. We approach belief with an almost Talmudic playfulness, preferring dialectical ambiguity to dogmatic rigidity. -- Very Rev. Allen W. Farabee mdivjd@aol.com
267. I am a monk in the Church of Melanesia, a member of the Melanesian Brotherhood, the largest monastic community in the Anglican Communion. I love the Anglican way of life because we follow the practice of Christ's example by celebrating the Sacrament of his Body and Blood, and hearing His Word every day in the Offices, and this makes our life interesting. We go from Advent, Christmas, and all the seasons of the Year, proclaiming Jesus as Lord instead of proclaiming man-made rules about what to do or eat. -- Brother Kinsey Perry, MBH comdov@vanuatu.com.vu
268. I am an Anglican and an Episcopalian because I love its challenge and its excitement, and because it demands the best of me and all of us. -- Russell Ruffino russell.ruffino@cox.net
269. I am an Anglican because I believe the Anglican way is on the cutting edge of what it means to be Christian and what it means to be human, and I think the Episcopal church of the United States especially shows itself to be on that cutting edge. -- Russell Ruffino russell.ruffino@cox.net
270. I am an Episcopalian because it is the one form of the tradition that enables me to still call myself a Christian. It allows me to think and to feel deeply in a life that is grounded in tradition and yet is always open to change. I sometimes think of Anglicanism as the Zen Buddhism of the West. I love it because schism is a greater sin than heresy. I would much rather be with someone who loved me than with someone who would define love. -- Alan Jones
271. I am an Episcopalian ultimately because I believe that in this Church and Communion the great truth of Christianity is most adequately and fully set forth in balance and proportion and that through its life of worship and witness it makes possible the richest kind of fellowship with God and with fellowmen. -- Rt. Rev. John Krumm in Why I am an Episcopalian
272. I am episcopalian because while in one of the most Catholic Countries in the world, The Philippines, I met a Filipino Episcopal priest who said, `You know, we're catholic too.’ -- Tucker Janoski roshowt@hotmail.com
273. I am so appreciative of the way t he Episcopal Church, with its Benedictine roots, keeps me grounded in real life, real relationships, real encounters. Ours is a very incarnational church -- insisting on the importance of the Spirit's embodiment in the ordinary events of each day, and reminding us over and over that God can be found in the most difficult and improbable places. -- Norvene West
274. I became an Episcopalian because of an invitation in a Sunday bulletin: 'All baptized Christians are welcome at the Lord's Table.' The state of my life, my marriage, my lostness didn't matter. I responded to a community's magnanimity of spirit. Through them I learned of God's abiding love affair with us through the Risen Christ in whom we live and move and have our being. -- The Rev. Jessica A. Hatch
275. I became an Episcopalian because of the Prayer of Humble Access (Book of Common Prayer, p.337). At a time when I, as an ordained Presbyterian Minister, was burdened with particular guilt, this prayer let me admit the seriousness of my failure, but confronted me with the 'property' of God 'always to have mercy.' -- The Rev. Jim Workman jworkman@desertsaints.org
276. I can express my love of God's many female qualities as well as Her male qualities. -- Bob Wyatt bwyatt@ang-md.org
277. I can go almost anywhere in the world, and, just like a ballet class, the liturgy and the services in an Episcopal or Anglican Church will be essentially the same. -- Tonib Tonib144@aol.com
278. I can go to Church in blue jeans. -- Robin Hodson
279. I can pass the Creed with a lie detector, but rejoice that the Episcopal Church does not require one! -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
280. I can walk in to church, hand in hand with my boyfriend, and no one thinks twice about it. -- Spencer Musick Ucanttakeitwithu@aol.com
281. I could be assured that there would be tea as well as coffee after church. Imagine my delight when I discovered that in England one might also have the option of a glass of sherry!! -- The Rev. Maureen Lewis saintd@itis.com
282. I don't expect my clergy to have all the answers. Even the gospel authors did not agree on all the answers. 'We believe....' is a position statement about where the church is today. We do the best we can. I am pleased to be in the company of an educated and gifted clergy who take these questions seriously. I don't expect that they have all the answers. I am proud to be an Episcopalian. -- John S. Morgan DrSwiney@AOL.COM
283. I don't get looked down on because I'm childless by choice. Other churches wouldn't be so accepting of me not wanting to 'be fruitful and multiply!' -- Stacey Carmody RoseArtJwlry@aol.com
284. I don't know why anyone would become a member of a crazy church like ours, but I am a Christian of a peculiarly sacramental sort because of something that happened when I was thirteen. My parents sent me off to Christ School near Asheville, North Carolina, and on the first Sunday the boys were lined up and marched into chapel, which was quickly filling with smoke (under the direction of a senior named Terry Holmes). Some of the new boys passed out and had to be dragged out onto the lawn to recover, but I stayed, survived, and loved it. -- Ormonde Plater oplater@cox.net
285. I got tired of Presbyterian Calvinist guilt. -- Mary Cox EpiscoRat@aol.com
286. I joined the Episcopal Church for precisely the reason that I left the Roman Catholic Church in my teens: Because it didn't have the 'right' answers. Only the Episcopalians I encountered said, But 'we'll be with you on your journey as you seek them, no matter what.' -- Nick Cuccia Nick.Cuccia@latimes.com
287. I like being an Episcopalian because every time I wear my 'Have you hugged an Episcopalian Today ?' T-shirt people always ask about it and I know enough about my religion to answer their questions. St. George's is a COOL church! -- Kelly Hanlon
288. I like being an Episcopalian because I can be a mystic without anybody noticing. -- Suzanne Guthrie amaguthrie@cs.com
289. I love Anglicanism because the most stable seat, on rough ground, is a three-legged stool. -- The Revd Selwyn Swift
290. I love Anglicanism for its basic humanity, its sense of decency and order, its freedom of thought, and its insistence on the corpus of faith, 'those things necessary unto salvation.' I love it for its tradition and for the women and men of faith who have been lights of the generations in whose company we worship. I love it for its quirkiness, its untidiness, its comprehensiveness and for its ability to receive, accept, alter, or jettison new things, while being always merely and astoundingly the Church. -- Father Tony Clavier DeanEICS@aol.com
291. I love mysteries. -- Mary Cox EpiscoRat@aol.com
292. I love our church because we don't think unity means conformity. -- Barbara Cawthorne Crafton BCCRAFTON@AOL.Com
293. I love our church because we have poetry in our Prayer Book and in our Hymnal. -- Barbara Cawthorne Crafton BCCRAFTON@AOL.Com
294. I love the Anglican Church of Melanesia because it has order in its worship services, plenty of different expressions of the religious life of monks and nuns, brothers and sisters. We celebrate All the Saints of God, in the context of the Mass. This kind of worship reflects back on our own life in our daily work...Heaven and Earth, the living and the dead, black and white, we are all one in Christ Jesu -- Brother Bright Evison, MBH comdov@vanuatu.com.vu
295. I love the Episcopal Church because I don't believe in organized religion.  I am a Verger and believe me Chaos lurks in the narthex, the nave, the chancel, the sanctuary, the sacristy, the halls, just waiting for a chance to mess things up.  Sometimes Chaos gets through, but no one seems to mind greatly.  We take our liturgy seriously, but not solemnly. -- Lane Brown w2alb.com"@w2alb.com
296. I love the Episcopal Church because it is part of a global Christian community which makes me family in Christ with people from every corner of the world. -- Rt. Rev. Alden Hathaway hathawayvi@worldnet.att.net
297. I love the Episcopal Church because it makes me part of a world class 21st Century global Christian Mission. -- Rt. Rev. Alden Hathaway hathawayvi@worldnet.att.net
298. I love the fact that I can have stimulating conversation in class and disagree with the priest, or even the Bishop, and not get kicked becase it is all right to use your mind and not be a rubber stamp for anyone. Christ died to save us from our sins, not our minds. -- Pat Fortenberry
299. I may not get the answers to all my questions about the Holy Spirit. I get enough answers to ask more questions. -- Ascension Cafe, Twin Falls Idaho bthom@idahodiocese.org
300. I minister among immigrant Latinos, as such, I also believe that learning about how our church functions also teaches about how to live as a good citizen of the United States. Teaching immigrant Latinos about General Convention is a lesson in how the American political system works. So that being an active Episcopalian teaches about being an effective American citizen. -- The Rev. Sylvia Vasquez Sylvia@TrinityParishDE.com
301. I participate, I enjoy, I laugh , I am not damned to hell, I say 'The peace of God be with you' and it is reciprocated. Thanks be to god. -- Annette Driedger driedgera@shaw.ca
302. I received my Confirmation in the Episcopal (TEC) church last September, and needless to say, I still ask too many annoying questions. Actually, that's what I like about TEC besides its beautiful Liturgy. One is expected ask all those irritating questions and to use her brain. -- Michelle Wright smithie82@yahoo.com
303. I remain an Episcopalian because of the acceptance: Episcopalians are not as judgmental as others. God will judge, we need to help others find Jesus. -- Jorge Bardisa alhndndk@bellsouth.net
304. I spent Good Friday with the folks at St. Paul's Chapel. There I talked with a young firefighter who has been volunteering at Ground Zero for several months. In the midst of his sharing, he said: 'If it weren't for this place, I wouldn't be able to smile.' -- Sharon Moon Sharonmoon@aol.com
305. I tend to see Jesus as more a compaqero or brother than Lord, though I also respect traditional christologies. I am post-post-Christian, which means I go to church and pray with my prayer book almost every day. I may be an example of thow the the other side of secularization is the return of religion in different forms. Jacques Derrida and Heidegger and Wittgenstein are the context in which I read the Bible. Language doesn't mean what it seems to mean. -- Gary Paul Gilbert garydasein3@YAHOO.CO.UK
306. I was told that wearing my kilt was not 'appropriate' in the Presbyterian Church -- Most Scottish-Americans seem to be Episcopalian. -- Todd J. Wilkinson episcopalscot@yahoo.com
307. I wasn't influenced to leave behind my cultural affiliations, or customs and become something I wasn't, as I was before encouraged to become Roman.  My ancestors always taught that all of the Earth's creatures were related by creation, as we all were made to breath from one Creator -- the Episcopal Church doesn't leave out respect for the Earth as well as Her inhabitants in the Common Book of Prayer.  I can even participate in pow-wows without it being pagan, and pray in the language of my Relatives without it being econd best to Latin, or old-world English! -- Robby Drain robbyd@prodigy.net
308. I'm 3rd generation, blessed and proud to be part of a loving, open-minded community. -- Pam Chapman Queenpamela50@aol.com
309. I'm an Episcopalian because of the incredibly profound understanding of authority in the Anglican Communion. The three-legged stool - with its stout legs of Scripture, tradition, and reason, supported by (but also firmly joined by) the seat of our experience and prayer - is perhaps Anglicanism's most glorious contribution to theology. -- Paul M. Johns paulj334@yahoo.com
310. I'm comforted by the fact that I am part of a church that allows for differing viewpoints and open debate. While many lable our church as 'wishy-washy' or divided on issues, I think that my faith is stronger for my being an active participant in trying to understand God's will. When I hear or read the spirited opinions of my fellow Episcopalians, I find that I am grateful to them, whether I agree with their viewpoints or not. They are contribuing to the vitality of our church, and keeping us all honest. -- Jennifer Hanshaw Hackett
311. I'm glad to be a member of the Episcopal Church because its evangelical, catholic, pentecostal, and liberal. It is evangelical because it glories in the cross of Jesus Christ as salvation for all people. Its catholic in that it is a church which lives as resurrection people beyond the blight and bondage of death. We're pentecostal because we trust in the supernatural empowerment of the Holy Spirit. And we're liberal because we yearn for the Kingdom of God in the world as it is in heaven and labor in the hope that will make it so. -- Bishop. Alden Hathaway hathawayvi@worldnet.att.net
312. In a global family, like the Anglican Communion, the voice of prayer is never silent. -- Canon James Rosenthal StNicholasMyra@aol.com
313. In the Episcopal Church doubt is so okay that we name some parishes 'St. Thomas.' -- Louie Crew lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
314. In the Episcopal Church not only am I allowed to use the gifts God has given me, I'm encouraged to use them, urged to use them, begged to use them. -- Alison Bush kokopelli120@hotmail.com
315. In the Episcopal Church you will be treated as an adult, and the child in you will be welcomed. -- Alex H. MacDonnell alexmacd@cybercomm.net
316. In the Episcopal Church, I do not have to understand; I only have to believe. -- (Rev. Dr.) Charles L. Wood c.n.wood@juno.com
317. In the Episcopal Church, it’s perfectly okay to kneel at the communion rail and marvel at the ornate beauty and mystery of the Eucharistic table while wearing jeans and cowboy boots. -- Maria L. Evans crankycricker@yahoo.com
318. In the Episcopal Church, it's all right to have questions, doubts, and disagreements about your beliefs and you won't be criticized for not having enough faith, or somehow made to be felt that you don't belong, or that you're less of a Christian because your faith isn't 100% complete. -- Pierre R. Wheaton pierre15208@verizon.net
319. In this Communion my spirit soars, while my(alleged) intellect and will are challenged, and my feet are grounded in terra firma. -- The Rev. Canon Peter D. Haynes stmikescdm@aol.com
320. It is a church in which we are free to entertain the notions that no theological proposition is beyond challenge and that doctrine is theology in cement, yet it is where we can celebrate the eucharist in all its liturgical manifestations to transcend such notions. -- Lewis R. Amis lraarb@att.net
321. It takes three Episcopalians to screw in a light bulb: one to make the martinis, another to screw in the bulb, and a third to talk about how much prettier the old lightbulb was. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
322. It’s one of the few denominations I know where you go out for a beer after Bible study...and actually talk about Bible study while in the bar. -- Maria L. Evans crankycricker@yahoo.com
323. It's a church where you can come in without leaving your brain at the door and then have the opportunity to love all of those who managed to come in with their 'wrong' ideas. -- The Rt. Rev. Leo Frade, D.D. BishopFrade@aol.com
324. It's ok if I don't want to memorize a bunch of Bible verses. -- Bob Wyatt bwyatt@ang-md.org
325. It's okay to cross yourself, your fingers, or your knees. -- Diana Smith dianas@mindspring.com
326. It's one of the few denominations that allow alcoholic beverages to be served on the grounds. -- Wes Quesenberry wesqga@yahoo.com
327. I've found the Episcopal Church to be more real than any other. It's diverse, just like reality. -- Kevin J. Perez KevinPz@aol.com
328. Jack Spong, Marcus Borg, Matt Fox. -- Lou Poulain
329. Jesus said 'Feed my sheep,' but he didn't specify that they be fed a narrow and rigid diet. Our Episcopal/Anglican approach to the sacrament of Penance is a good example: 'All may, some should, none must.' -- Dean. George L. W. Werner, President of the House of Deputies gwerner@episcopalchurch.org
330. Join our Missionary Society. -- Ralph Spence RSPENCE406@aol.com
331. Joy! -- Louie Crew lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
332. Lay Episcopalians cannot be excommunicated. -- Thomas Ferguson tferguson@episcopalchurch.org
333. Let God repair your ticklebox. -- Lutibelle/Louie
334. Lighten your burden. -- Matthew G. Livingood mgl@livingood.net
335. Like Catholic and Orthodox Christians, Episcopalians are in touch with the ancient voices and aesthetic and spiritual practices of the Christian tradition. We are united by a common liturgy and by the Book of Common Prayer. And so long as we do the liturgy right, we are orthodox, and thus permitted a broad range of theological opinions. With its riches of liturgy, prayer, and music, it is for me a sacrament of the sacred, and it feels like home. -- Marcus J. Borg
336. Makes me want to do right rather than be right. -- Ascension Cafe, Twin Falls Idaho bthom@idahodiocese.org
337. Many of our priests give birth. All do re-birth. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
338. Many whom we know well are starved for the spiritual food we receive daily. -- Louie Crew lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
339. Ministering in the lesbigay community for 33 years. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
340. My agnostic husband likes going to church. -- Rachel Endicott
341. My father always said that he liked being an Episcopalian because he would have the same funeral as Queen Elizabeth. He said that because of our use of the Book of Common Prayer. Everyone gets the same funeral service. I thought of that as I watched Diana's funeral. Before God everyone is the same. The extra things like Elton John singing are for the audience. -- Nancy Engelrth
342. My father is Catholic, my mother Southern Baptist.  I was raised Catholic but converted.  I was confirmed at the age of 25 into the Episcopal Church, my confirmation day was the first day I was allowed to take communion with both of my parents.  Needless, to say my mother and I cried.  It was beautiful! -- Emily Walters emily@perrysrestaurants.com
343. My favorite reason for being an Episcopalian is the coherence of scripture, tradition and reason/experience as basic tenets of our belief. I appreciate our melding of church and world, sacred and secular, soul and body, sophistication and simplicity, literary and on-verbal, seriousness and nonchalance, holiness and ordinariness, indeed, our being deeply rooted in the Incarnation. -- The Rev. Malcom Boyd
344. My four-year-old son has attended the Episcopal Church since birth. Hesings the Alleluia from the fraction anthem as easily as the theme from 'Blue's Clues.' -- The Rev. Rachel Endicott
345. My Jewish mother and Roman Catholic father found themselves welcomed into the Episcopal Church over fifty years ago as they sought a home for their yung family. I grew up in the Episcopal Church feeling that everyone was welcome. My father, a blue collar worker, served on the vestry with a doctor, corporate executives, public officials, and educators. They shared a common vision of a church that was big enough to make all differences less important. -- The Very Rev. Dr. James A. Kowalski cannon@stjohndivine.org
346. My mind is Protestant and my spirit is liturgical. Where other than to the Book of Common Prayer can my worship go and still have both be happy? -- Phyllis Tickle Tickrel@aol.com
347. My parish welcomes everyone regardless of sex, orientation, race, nationality, church affiliation, or seriousness, just as God does.  She's Black, you know. -- Lane Brown w2alb.com"@w2alb.com
348. My wife and I started coming to St. Andrew's in January of 2001. And we will join the Episcopal Church during this year's Easter Vigil. We have not seen God since we started going to this church. We have not heard his voiceor witnessed a miracle. But just from getting to know the people of St. Andrew's better and getting more involved in the church we have become closer to God. And we are constantly reassured of his presence in our lives. -- Ben Philpott standrews@wwisp.com
349. My wife and I were sitting in the second-from-the-front pew (yes, we are Episcopalians anyway!) at St. Martin's-in-the-Fields in London, the parish church of the Royal Family and the Admiralty.  In the row behind us there was a man who looked and smelled as though his last bath was at infant Baptism.  He made loud unintelligible comments to the serman by a recently-ordained woman priest.  After he received Communion he turned in the nave and gave the finger to the priests (probably had not gotten enough wine).  No one seemed to notice.  At the end of the service his hand was shaken like everyone else's. Those are my kind of people! -- Lane Brown w2alb.com"@w2alb.com
350. Mystery and clarity co-exist here. -- Alex H. MacDonnell alexmacd@cybercomm.net
351. News Genuinely Good for Absolutely Everybody! -- Louie Crew lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
352. No dress code. -- Char Vinik char@allsaintsfl.org
353. No matter where in the world I attend an Episcopal/Anglican church, I am always home. -- Joan Carr carr@islandnet.com
354. Not so much organized religion - more spontaneous joy. -- Alice Fulton Alice-fulton@uiowa.edu
355. One of Anglicanism's core tenets is that God transcends all creeds and sects (including it). Therefore, by not being Episcopal, God is Episcopal. Seroiusly, God is love. If you find a more loving faith, join it. If not, join this. -- Craig Oehme craigoehme@hotmail.co
356. One of many blessings of being an Episcopalian is joining with a rich and global diversity to celebrate God's blessings in our worship and mission throughout the world. -- Corrinne Stover calcs@sprintmail.com
357. One of the perks of membership in our parish is the exercise. My heart rate elevates with all the standing, kneeling, processing, bowing, passing the peace, reciting, crossing on'es self and singing. Fortunately there is some time for the pulse check during the sermon and the readings. -- Lu Sweeney
358. One thing I've learned about Episcopalians this weekend: You folks may fight like hell with each other from 9am to 5pm but at the end of the day you put your arms around each other and say, 'Oh nuts. Let's go have a drink.' -- A Mormon sociologist speaking to a diocesan convention in the 1960s, via Rt. Rev. Sandy Hampton bishop838@fidalgo.net
359. Only in the Epsicopal Church would an 18-year-old be encouraged to run for deputy to convention, and truly feel that her words and ideas are being taken seriously. The growing number of older teens and young adults on vestries and in the House of Deputies is very exciting. It's strengthening to feel that though we are young, we are still full-fledged members of the church. -- Allie Graham agraham@ycp.edu
360. Only two commandments to remember! -- Carter Whitson cwhitson@stlmhb.com
361. Other churches saw the sinner; Episcopalians saw another child of God. -- Keith Husmann keithhusmann@yahoo.com
362. Others are often denominations of 'Don't'; the Episcopal Church is a denomination of 'Do.' -- B. Lance Moody
363. Otherwise, I'd be unchurched. -- John A. Merullo rockhopper@ev1.net
364. Our bishops are made of flesh and blood, and so are we. Of such was Jesus begotten! -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
365. Our church service is called a 'Celebration,' and most of the time we do. -- Linda Strohmier
366. Our doors may be locked, but we try to keep our hearts open. -- Ana Hernandez ahernandez@episcopalchurch.org
367. Our eighth Sacrament: Fellowship and Good Food. -- Amanda Demers
368. Our Eucharistic table is not made less special if all are invited, which is contrary to the understanding that I grew up with. Adjusting to the idea that everyone is invited to this most holy meal took me some time, but it has become one of the things I love most about the Church. Understanding that the true presence in the body of Christ is strong enough to survive inside someone who might seem less worthy requires more, not less, faith in its power. I am saddened that I cannot share in communion at my parents' church, and that they will not receive in mine, but I would rather be in that position than the other way around. -- Sean P. Hackett
369. Our major heresy is plastic bread. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
370. Our roots in the past bear fruit in the present. -- Alice Fulton Alice-fulton@uiowa.edu
371. Our theology is an art form, not a law book. -- The Rev. Paul Gibson
372. Ours is not just a checkbook ministry. Episcopalians roll up their sleeves and help. -- Agnes H. Moore agnes.moore@snet.net
373. Ours is the perfect church for people who aren't perfect. -- John Schwaller
374. Out of habit Episcopalians don't change anything easily, so they cna form ironclad habits. They never stop to compare what others believe or do, but settle comfortably into the habit of being Episcopalian. The thing is that such a habit, followed year after year, immerses us in the biblical language of the Book of Common Prayer and the story of Jesus -- to say nothing of making a life-giving habit of the weekly Eucharist. Such habits make life pretty special. -- Loren B. Mead lorenmead@aol.com
375. Please join us for song, bread, wine and The Good Book. -- John K. Webster jwebster4@juno.com
376. Pope Gregory was right: Not Angles; angels. As a recent convert, I find an angelic spirit in Anglicanism lacking elsewhere. -- Craig Oehme craigoehme@hotmail.co
377. Prayer that is time-tested. -- Cindy McLeod
378. Preaching is a small part of an Episcopal worship service. This alone is a big draw for people from denominations where the sermon is the central event and the preacher tries to make it last as long as possible. -- David Hunter
379. Pregnant priests! Celebrating! -- Deborah G. Seles d.seles@attbi.com
380. Prophets Welcome Here! -- Joanna Dupue depuej@optonline.net
381. Q: How many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb?  A: Change?  What do you mean, change?  My Mother gave that light bulb to the Church. -- Lane Brown w2alb.com"@w2alb.com
382. Q: How many taps are there on an Episcopalian bath? A: Three -- hot, cold, and strangely warm. -- Sudie Blanchard sudieb@maine.rr.com
383. Religion on tap.  Where discussing theology with your priest over a beer doesn't warrant a second thought. -- Emily Walters emily@perrysrestaurants.com
384. Resisting fundamentalism since 1785! -- Julie Wortman
385. Saved by faith, grace, and good taste! -- Amanda Demers
386. See God's face. -- Matthew G. Livingood mgl@livingood.net
387. Sermons more about Grace than Guilt. -- Char Vinik char@allsaintsfl.org
388. Share the mystery. -- Matthew G. Livingood mgl@livingood.net
389. The best reason to become an Episcopalian is that taking a date to an inquirer's class is really memorable. I became an Episcopalian one summer when I was baptized, confirmed and married in the span of a couple of months. -- Allan Stover calcs@sprintmail.com
390. The Bible says we should make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Laughter is as joyful a noise as you'll ever hear and there's a lot of it in an Episcopal church. -- David Hunter
391. The Book of Common Prayer allows a degree of uniformity in prayer while leaving room for the diversity of cultures, languages and liturgical styles. -- The Very Rev. David G. Bollinger
392. The Book of Common Prayer gives me the words I need when I'm all mixed up. -- Barbara Klugh litlrivr@chartermi.net
393. The Book of Common Prayer reminds me that my `sins of omission' are equally as serious and require as much attention as my `sins of commission.' -- Rosalind L. Forrest rosalindf@earthlink.net
394. The calling of an Anglican is not to fill the church, but to fill heaven. -- The Rev. Selwyn Swift
395. The Church and Science comfortably co-exist. -- Ron Sheperd
396. The Church of Melanesia as trained me not become an English Christian, but a Melanesian Christian. -- Mama Charles Bani comdov@vanuatu.com.vu
397. The clergy are not only smart, gifted, and spiritual -- they are fun! -- Lee Davis cleedavis@earthlink.net
398. The comfort of the tradition. -- Ascension Cafe, Twin Falls Idaho bthom@idahodiocese.org
399. The 'Dark Night of the Soul' is understood and one is respected at such a time. -- Cynthia Mahaffey mahaffc@bgnet.bgsu.edu
400. The democratic polity of ECUSA is extremely important to me. We, prayerfully, elect our bishops, delegates to conventions, rectors, vestry. We the people all have a say. -- The Rev. Nancy Vogele VogeleN@aol.com
401. The doors are always open. -- Val Hymes Valhymes@aol.com
402. The Episcopal Church develops healthy eccentrics. -- Charles Hoffacker choffacker@advnet.net
403. The Episcopal Church does not emphasize solely the sermon, as did the church of my childhood. The totality of the liturgy helps us get to communion, in all senses of that word!). -- The Rev. Nancy Vogele VogeleN@aol.com
404. The Episcopal Church doesn't foster the common religious version of co-dependence that says the way to holiness is to change somebody else. -- Michael Sarro MichaelS@cloud9.net
405. The Episcopal Church enables me to worship God with my mind. It doesn't install an idol like the Bible or the Pope as the source of ultimate authority. It has lived in the tension between ancient truth and living history and has evolved into something fragile but beautiful, something that is worthy of being defended as it becomes a sign of the inclusive Kingdom of God. -- Rt. Rev. John S. Spong JOHNSSPONG@aol.com
406. The Episcopal church invites the impatient to learn 'patience' and the sticks in the mud to learn 'drainage.' -- Mary L. Lyons MaryLyonsNow@aol.com
407. The Episcopal Church is a liturgical church in tune with a contemporary world -- Betsy Porter
408. The Episcopal Church is a place where bishops are people too, and some of them know it. Many even have spouses to remind them. -- Linda M. Maloney lmmaloney@csbsju.edu
409. The Episcopal Church is a place where I continue to learn in scripture and experience in sacrament that God loves me unconditionally; that I will never deserve one drop of His bloody grace, and yet He drowns me entire in His endless red sea. -- Dietrik Vanderhill dvanderh@nwciowa.edu
410. The Episcopal Church is one of the few places where you can be a mystic and a realist at the same time. -- Maria L. Evans crankycricker@yahoo.com
411. The Episcopal Church is the place where I learned to 'Seek the Truth, Come What May' -- Robert B Cannon Jr progressive_episcopalian@hotmail.com
412. The Episcopal Church offers a gracious and roomy expression of catholic Christianity which points to an even more gracious God. -- Rt. Rev. C. Christopher Epting, ECUSA's Deputy for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations cepting@episcopalchurch.org
413. The Episcopal Church stretches me delightfully in ways that I never imagined. -- Ben Porter bporter@porter-inc.com
414. The Episcopal Church taught me that Jesus came to challenge, not just comfort; to overturn, not maintain; to love, not judge; to include, not cast aside. -- The Rev. Canon Elizabeth R. Geitz
415. The Episcopal Church welcomes YOU just as you are, with all your glorious and less than glorious moments, giving you a place to grow through God's unconditional love into the person God created you to be. There's room at the table for everyone, no matter what. -- Elizabeth Geitz
416. The Episcopal liturgy, in the name of Jesus, gently clothes my Baptist suspicions. -- Michael Kugler kugler@nwciowa.edu
417. The 'fashion police' don't come to our church; the Holy Spirit does. -- Vivian E. Norton Vivenorton@aol.com
418. The frustration with modern society and the sense of spiritual decay were also reflected in Willa Cather’s personal life, when she, parallel to entering her new line of writing, in 1922 joined the Episcopal Church. -- Norton Anthology of American Literature
419. The hymn: 'One was a doctor and one was a queen and one was a shepherdess on the green and one was a soldier and one was a priest and one was slain by a fierce wild beast.' -- The Very Rev. Marilyn J. Engstrom Stmattsdean@aol.com
420. The name rings a bell -- Herb Gunn herbgunn@earthlink.net
421. The only church besides the MCC that can direct God to the antique store with a sapphire throne! -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
422. The only institution that has lower entrance requirements than those for getting on a bus. -- The Rev. Selwyn Swift
423. The options: Rite One or Rite Two; back-to-congregation or facing congregation; traditional or contemporary music; all are allowed and welcome! -- John A. Merullo rockhopper@ev1.net
424. The Prayer Book bids us to come to God's table for strength and renewal, not for solace and pardon only. -- Agnes H. Moore agnes.moore@snet.net
425. The sadness and the joy are celebrated together in the Eucharist -- Keith Joseph :kjoseph@solomon.com.sb
426. The seasons are color-coded. -- Bungee Bynum b.bynum@gmail.com
427. The sermon lasted only five minutes, and the dean questioned the ongoing Vietnam War. I had never been to an Episcopal Church before, but I was hooked. -- Christina Hembree
428. The signs that say, 'The Episcopal Church Welcomes You' mean it. -- Nick Humez
429. The world is beautiful, so we worship the God who created beauty. -- Larry Graham GraLawLe@aol.com
430. There are only 40 Episcopalians, and I know 28 of them. -- Martha Elizabeth Stough
431. There is no Church in Vanuatu that offers the same kind of pastoral counseling as the Church of Melanesia. We try to help people with their problems, and are not afraid to come face to face with peoples demons, and drive them out and fill them with the love of the loving God for them. When people come to me and the other members of the Melanesian Brotherhood for prayer, we must welcome them as Christ, and give them a cup of water in Christ's name. We never try to convert people, or tell them they must come to us to be saved. But with the welcome they receive, the love they feel, the counseling they need, the people go out smiling and happy that someone was there to listen, and share with them the power of God. . -- Brother Malcolm Mwele, MBH comdov@vanuatu.com.vu
432. There will be no outcasts in this church! -- Edmond Browning, Presiding Bishop 1985-1997 formerpb@aol.com
433. There's no such thing as a politically incorrect Episcopalian. There are conservative Episcopalians and liberal Episcopalians. There are straight Episcopalians and LGBT Episcopalians. There are Catholics and Protestants. There are African, English, Asian and Alaskan Episcopalians. And none of the above. The Episcopal Church doesn't offer you set dogma, or pat answers, or a list of do's and don'ts. There's room for all kinds of people and all kinds of theologies. What the Episcopal Church does offer you is a way of prayer, a way of thinking and asking questions, a way of life in this often confusing, conflicting and complicated world, a way that may lead you closer to God. -- Jacqueline Schmitt nuchap94@yahoo.com
434. Think, question, think again, question again, These are the use of God's gifts: not sins in the Episcopal Church/Anglican Communion. -- Robert L. Neal 3rd RobtLNeal3@earthlink.net
435. This church affirms that God loves me and others like me because it allows me, a woman and a lesbian to be ordained; and it even celebrates who I am. -- The Rev. Rose Hassan rosehassan@mindspring.com
436. This is a church which tries to open its arms to all the diversity of God's creation; and although it fails miserably at times, it never stops trying. -- The Rev. Rose Hassan rosehassan@mindspring.com
437. This is the only church that's as lovingly loony as your family. -- Mary L. Lyons MaryLyonsNow@aol.com
438. Though you pray without ceasing, you won't be called devout. -- The Rev. Canon Bill Lewellis blewellis@diobeth.org
439. Tired of hell fire and brimstone? Try incense. -- Louie Crew lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
440. To this recovering Roman Catholic, the Episcopal Church is a breath of fresh air and a ray of sunshine. Christianity never tasted so good! -- Richard F. Bautsch agit8r2@juno.com
441. Try us. You'll like us and we'll love you. -- Carol Marsh cmmarsh@zianet.com
442. Two millennia of faith; four centuries of liturgy; comrades worldwide traveling in love the journey to God we each tread alone. -- Peter Berry PBerry7053@aol.com
443. We affirm paradoxy. -- Diana Smith dianas@mindspring.com
444. We are a fun loving bunch. I am not sure if you ever noticed, but wine is rarely missing from any of our celebrations together. So it is no wonder that the story of the Wedding feast at Cana of Galilee is one of our all time favorite Gospel stories. -- Stephen D. Becker >sbecker@stpauls-lakeview.org
445. We are connected to the ages by stepping through the icon of the liturgy. -- Vashon Washington chsvashon@foxinternet.net
446. We are supported not judged. -- Ascension Cafe, Twin Falls Idaho bthom@idahodiocese.org
447. We believe that love without justice is cheap sentimentality. -- Carter Heyward
448. We believe that when God made the world and flesh, God said, 'It is good!' -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
449. We belong before we believe. -- Joanna Wragg jwragg@wraggcasas.com
450. We celebrate a Christmas Season and not just a Christmas day. -- Rt. Rev. Jack McKelvey BpJackM@aol.com
451. We change and transform lives in Christ without the Turn-or-Burn. -- Amanda Demers
452. We do liturgy with all our hearts and souls. -- Ascension Cafe, Twin Falls Idaho bthom@idahodiocese.org
453. We do not give simple answers to complex questions. -- Ascension Cafe, Twin Falls Idaho bthom@idahodiocese.org
454. We do not give simple answers to complex questions. Instead, we offer tools that help people develop a sustaining faith. -- B. Lance Moody
455. We do pomp almost as well as the Orthodox, but we're not so dour about it. -- Dr. Ford Elms hcc.elmf@hccsj.nf.ca
456. We don't claim an exclusive franchise on God. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
457. We don't deliver our theology in sound bites. -- Jane Dobosh jpdwrite@webspan.net
458. We don't get rid of our enemies; we love them as our friends. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
459. We don't have all the answers, and we welcome others who love the questions. -- The Rev. Wilifred Allen-Faiella Revwaf@aol.com
460. We don't quiz you on your beliefs before worshipping with you. -- James Handsfield jhandsfield@mindspring.com
461. We don't say 'we're right, and others are wrong.' We say, 'Peace be with you.' -- Dan Catchpole catchpole@gmail.com
462. We don't use clichés or undebatable dictums to mask the struggles we experience in this earthly journey -- The Rev. William V. Livingston >rector_bill@bellsouth.net
463. We eat, drink, and are merry, for we live in the Kingdom of our Lord Christ. -- Ken Guthrie EngTeecher@aol.com
464. We find our unity in shared worship, not in enforced agreement. -- Lou Poulain
465. We get to sing all the verses of the hymns -- The Rev. Karen Ann Campbell gardener58@verizon.net
466. We go boldly where no church has gone before! -- Patsy Duncan cowcatcher99@cableone.net
467. We have a faith not afraid to reason and reason not ashamed to adore. (Late Rt. Rev. Daniel Sylvester Tuttle) -- The Late Rt. Rev. Daniel Sylvester Tuttle, First Bishop of Utah and 13th Presiding Bishop, via The Rev. W. Lee Shaw WinstonLS@aol.com
468. We have an open door, an open font, and open rail. We'll meet you 100% of the way. -- Larry Salvadori salvadoril@kendallhq.com
469. We have full-bodied worship: Bow, kneel, sit, stand, kneel, hug, walk, and sometimes even raise your hands, cry, laugh, sing, shout, whisper, smell, taste, feel, touch, hold, see, and behold.. -- The Very Rev. Marilyn J. Engstrom Stmattsdean@aol.com
470. We have morning and evening service everyday 365 days every year and even though I miss some of the services it makes you feel good that our members worship every morning and afternoon especially in the Church of Melanesia. -- Henry Nin comdov@vanuatu.com.vu
471. We have the liturgical beauty of the Catholics combined with the local authority of the Southern Baptists. -- Cindy McLeod
472. We honor tradition but do not fossilize it. -- Lee Canipe Leecanipe@aol.com
473. We leave neither our minds, nor our hearts, nor our bodies at the church door. -- Larry Graham GraLawLe@aol.com
474. We may not have all the answers, but we have all the questions. -- Roy Murphy murphy@panix.com
475. We Nourish Spirits -- Ralph Spence RSPENCE406@aol.com
476. We partake of the wine too, not just the host. All one body we. -- Ernest Clay Ernest_Clay@hotmail.com
477. We promise not to throw the book at you. -- Leilani Nelson Leilani.Nelson@ecunet.org
478. We promise to welcome you in Christ's name. We will honor the gifts you bring. We will invite you into our community, or wish you well if you choose another path. -- Dorothy/Anne Crocker
479. We proudly wear ribbons of so many different colors. -- Mary Jane Herron HERA576@aol.com
480. We tackle issues that other denominations have neither the courage to face nor the theology to deal with. -- Patsy Duncan cowcatcher99@cableone.net
481. We use cool words like 'verger', 'thurifer', 'amice', 'warden', 'aumbry' and 'columbarium' -- John A. Merullo rockhopper@ev1.net
482. We view the bible as a 'Why To' not a How To' manual. -- Duke DuTeil duteil@austin.rr.com
483. We welcome the faithful, the seeker, and the doubter. -- Diana Smith dianas@mindspring.com
484. We worship God with class, art and joy. -- Alison Dingley dingleya001@hawaii.rr.com
485. We'll never tell you you have to believe in God the way we do to be a good person, but we can tell you how our belief in God makes the goodness in us. -- P. J. Howe howe@globe.com
486. 'Well, I thought you must be an Episcopalian, because you swear just like Governor Seward, who is a church warder.' -- Abraham Lincoln to General Reynolds, a Methodist
487. We're forgiven sinners and given Jesus' power to forgive. -- The Rev. Tom Rightmyer trightmy@juno.com
488. We're here for you. You can be truly you. You have space, and permission, to grow. -- The Rev. Roger Stokes roger.stokes2@ntnworld.com
489. We're high, low, broad, and sometimes wide. -- Tony Hitsman tonyhit@globetrotter.net
490. We've never had enough people to agree about any issue to prepare 'confessional' statements. Here again we are catholic, and not a denomination. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
491. We've set a place for you. -- Matthew G. Livingood mgl@livingood.net
492. What I like about the episcopal church is that they encourage us to develop our own ideas. I thik that that's cool, how they treat us like people with valid opinions instead of idiots that can only believe what others tell them. -- Anonymous 14-year-old
493. What other church will let a priest like me walk around in a dog collar and short trousers and flip flop, carrying a shiny black New Testament in my shirt pocket (Protestant evangelical), a Rosary in my trouser pocket Catholic traditional), and a CND Peace Cross around my neck (1960's till today, concern for political and social matters). I celebrate the Eucharist wearing maniples and facing East, and fiddle back chasubles, but with hand clapping and guitars, the singing every word of the service in 6 or 7 languages. I can be ministering to rapists as 4:30, and at 6:00, be shaking hands with the President of the Republic. What other church is richer spiritually and socially? -- Father Thomas Rowland, Church of Melanesia comdov@vanuatu.com.vu
494. What you will find inside the church is even better than any web site! -- Christopher Hart chart@voicenet.com
495. When asked if he was saved, Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple replied, 'I have been saved, I am being saved, I hope to be saved.' That understanding of faith, hope, and humility reinforces me as an Episcopalian/Anglican. -- Dean. George L. W. Werner, President of the House of Deputies gwerner@episcopalchurch.org
496. When I close my mind from worries, the liturgy carries me straight to Christ. -- Wendy W. Sopkovich WWWS@prodigy.net
497. When you count acolytes, Chalice bearers, ushers, greeters, nursery people, altar guild, choir, and so on, there are more people involved in an Episcopal service than in any other. And there are more opportunities to be involved. -- Donna H. Barthle
498. Whenever four Episcopalians gather, there is always a fifth. -- Bob Wyatt bwyatt@ang-md.org
499. Where a woman's place is in the House of Bishops. (No attribution) --
500. Where all may, some should, and none must. -- Lori Allen lorinda.allen@verizon.net
501. Where doubts are welcome and wounds are embraced -- Karl Lusk karllusk@earthlink.net
502. Where else but the Episcopal Church will I have the assurance that the significant events of my life will be magnified by such beauty and dignity? -- Michael P. Stephenson mikestep@att.net
503. Where else can I hear stupid jokes from tipsy priests other than a Diocesan convention? Then lead the youth delegation the following morning, breaking into convention singing with 50 other youth, followed by taking the bishop by the arm and dancing with him, leading to the entire confrence getting up and moving. Woohoo, I'll be an Episcopalian, cradle to grave. -- Maggie Thompson phishechicke@yahoo.com
504. Where else can you be considered a 'young person' until you are 50 years old? -- Lesley M. Adams ladams@hws.edu
505. Where else can you find news articles every day about your church struggling to live into God's commands? -- Bob Crystal Crys24634@aol.com
506. Where evolution is not only taught, it also happens! -- Rex Fliess rex@fliess.org
507. Where faith is caught, not taught. -- Tony Hitsman tonyhit@globetrotter.net
508. Where faith is God's gift to us, not our gift to God. -- Louie Crew lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
509. Where flesh is not something dirty, but what God became! -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
510. Where God forgives you as you forgive others. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
511. Where God is celebrated, not damned. -- June Maffin june@maffin.net
512. Where God is the only judge. -- Mike Harbin MHARBIN@OhioHealth.com
513. Where God is with you, not against you. -- Lori Allen lorinda.allen@verizon.net
514. Where God lets me be who She created me to be -- not who other people think I should be! -- The Rev. Teresa T. Bowden alohayouall@hawaii.rr.com
515. Where God loves you before you decide whether you love Her. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
516. Where God uses your face for Her own. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
517. Where God's unconditional love for all of us is celebrated every day. -- Sen. Marge Kilkelly
518. Where I can be myself. -- Ascension Cafe, Twin Falls Idaho bthom@idahodiocese.org
519. Where I've met the most interesting and courageous people, and they have introduced me to God. -- Barbara Cheney btc@SNET.Net
520. Where Jesus is ever present; underlying all the missunderstandings that go on amongst any congregation, Jesus is there. His presence is made known. The best thing about the Episcopal process is that the Church is a place of worship; only for the worship of God; all else, all worldly concerns other than prayer are laid aside. Our church is for Jesus. Thanks be to God! -- Gayle Szeredy silverstone@txcyber.com
521. Where Manna is baked fresh daily, never freeze dried! -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
522. Where mucking about is an art form and where those who wish to clean it up are viewed as indelicate. -- Bill Easter paques@mindspring.com
523. Where our mind, soul, and body unite with the God who made them.... -- Karl Lusk karllusk@earthlink.net
524. Where our priest can dress up in fancy outfits. -- Ascension Cafe, Twin Falls Idaho bthom@idahodiocese.org
525. Where the only requirement at Communion is that you be hungry! -- The Rev. Phillip Wilson phillipwilson@mindspring.com
526. Where the priesthood of all believers has a good chance of including everyone, including people of all shapes, sizes, ages, colors, and abilities. -- Barbara Cheney btc@SNET.Net
527. Where the road to Easter is never a shortcut, but you always get there. -- Barbara Cheney btc@SNET.Net
528. Where the word of God is a person, not a book. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
529. Where there is freedom to think, to have doubts, and to be a full human being. -- The Rev. Robert Cromey twocromeys@earthlink.net
530. Where two or three are gathered, there will be fine wine and lively conversation. -- Ascension Cafe, Twin Falls Idaho bthom@idahodiocese.org
531. Where wholeness and holiness are 2 sides of the same coin. -- Barbara Cheney btc@SNET.Net
532. Where you don't have to hang up your brain up at the door. -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
533. Whether Queen or Beggar, Bishop or Editor, CEO or unemployed, we share the same meal at the altar where heaven and earth join in Sanctus, and kneel (or stand) side by side whether in Canterbury Cathedral or the hut chapel of St Philip, Khartoum, Sudan, as equal sinners saved by loving grace, with absolutely no distinctions, aided by Mary, Francis, John the Beloved, Mary Magdalen, Nicholas, Lucy, Martin, Sebastian, Stephen, Jonathan Daniels, Janani Luwuum, and those who have spread light for 2000 years that at the unique name of JESUS every knee should bow. -- Canon James Rosenthal StNicholasMyra@aol.com
534. Whole families (be they traditional or non-traditional) attend. -- The Rev. Karen Ann Campbell gardener58@verizon.net
535. With Yogi Berra, Anglicanism says, 'If you come to a fork in the road, take it' -- Craig Oehme craigoehme@hotmail.com
536. Women are born in God's image. -- Sally Bucklee s.bucklee@worldnet.att.net
537. Women can be pastors and ministers, but only in the Episcopal church can they be priests. -- Donna H. Barthle
538. Worship in our lovely catacomb! -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
539. Yes, the Anglican Communon is quite messay, but it's just so loveable. -- ++Desmond Tutu
540. You are accepted as family immedately and always have someone to turn to -- Edward L. Tatro, Jr. WhiteBirch05@aol.com
541. You don't have to be right, just honest. -- Rt. Rev. Jack McKelvey BpJackM@aol.com
542. You don't have to harbor and dwell on all your sins. That's why we have an altar in Episcopal churches. Take them there and leave them! -- Lutibelle/Louie lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu
543. You don't have to pass a 'litmus test.' -- Nigel Renton nrenton@insdra.com
544. You don't have to swim to get baptized. -- Char Vinik char@allsaintsfl.org
545. The 1979 Book of Common Prayer: What an incredible blessing it is! -- Greg Lynch jgljack@apci.net
546. It is always tea-time somewhere in the Anglican Communion -- John Leech johnrleech@yahoo.com
547. Episcopalians believe in prayer, but would practically die if asked o pray out loud. -- Garrison Keillor
548. Episcopalians, who love to sing in four-part harmony are the sort of people you could call up when you're in deep distress. If you are dying, they will comfort you. If you are lonely, they'll talk to you. And if you are hungry, they'll give you tuna salad! -- Garrison Keillor
549. Episcopalians usually follow the official liturgy and will feel it is their way of suffering for their sins. -- Garrison Keillor
550. Episcopalians drink coffee as if it were the Third Sacrament. -- Garrison Keillor
551. Episcopalians believe in miracles and even expect miracles, especially during their stewardship visitation programs or when passing the plate. -- Garrison Keillor
552. Episcopalians are willing to pay up to one dollar for a meal at church. -- Garrison Keillor
553. Episcopalians still serve Jell-O in the proper liturgical color of the season and Episcopalians believe that it is OK to poke fun at themselves and never take themselves too seriously. -- Garrison Keillor
554. You know you are an Episcopalian if you hear something really funny during the sermon and smile as loudly as you can. -- Garrison Keillor
555. You know you are an Episcopalian if donuts are a line item in the church budget, just like coffee. -- Garrison Keillor
556. You know you are an Episcopalian when you watch a Star Wars movie and they say, 'May then Force be with you,' and you respond, 'and also with you.' -- Garrison Keillor
557. You know you are an Episcopalian when it's 100 degrees, with 90% humidity, and you still have coffee after the service. -- Garrison Keillor

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