St. Paul's Anglican Meets The 700 Club

This morning we attended services at St. Paul's Hammersmith, the parish Anglican church just up the road. We were attracted by proximity but also by the promise of a vibrant youth and family program. The service delivered, but not quite in the way we expected. The youth program exceeded all expectations. Olivia ended up in a classroom with 20 other bouncing 8-year-olds which did some sort of Bible story play in which Olivia was chosen to play Jesus (a role that suited her very well). Meredith and Cecily were with 21 children their ages and a couple of teachers who handled the energy of the group adroitly. The girls thought the biscuits and juice were fantastic. All three girls want to go back next Sunday, which is a good sign. Mom and Dad are not so sure. This is an ANGLICAN church, but if they even own a Book of Common Prayer, it's hidden somewhere. What was in evidence was a praise band playing guitars, a screen overhead on which lyrics were projected and on which the pastor showed a clip of Antiques Roadshow as part of his sermon . All the ministers sported untucked shirts over faded jeans and longish hair with no robes, ties or crucifixes in site. The whole thing was incongruous given beautiful neo-gothic setting of the building. We came away bemused that the American Episcopal church outdoes the Anglican mother church in its adherance to the formalities, and we were struck by just how open the Anglican communion is to services and approaches of all kinds, regardless of form. The size of the congregation suggests this is the face of the modern church, but it may have been too much for us.