When I went to my mom's church in April, I was shocked at how Protestant it seemed. Lots of singing instead of reciting the standard lines, no kneeling (heck, no kneelers to kneel on!), and an overall approach that reminded me of the one Lutheran service I attended (for a friend's daughter's christening). I leaned over to my mom midway through the service and asked her when she converted.

For as liberal as I am, I guess I'm a traditionalist when it comes to Mass. Mom promised to take me to an older-fashioned church next time I go out there. If I could find a church that would combine the style of service I grew up with and a liberal philosophy (willing to buck the Vatican), I'd attend Mass regularly instead of just once or twice a year.

If I could find a church that would combine the style of service I grew up with and a liberal philosophy (willing to buck the Vatican), I'd attend Mass regularly instead of just once or twice a year.

My Book-of-Common-Prayer-loving Episcopal heart agrees with you. My problem is that the old-liturgy/new liturgy split is also the conservative/liberal split. Makes it hard for a liberal Episcopalian to get her fill of Cranmer's exalted language.

(It may not have been, as it didn't have the lawn where Alanis was doing cartwheels, but the windows were identical.)

I think it probably wasn't. I don't recall exactly where, but I'm pretty sure Dogma was filmed in Pennsylvania somwhere, or something like that.

IIRC, as the son of an Episcopal priest, those who do not want to partake of the wine would just kiss the cup. Those who were sick (flu or cold or whatnot) would dip their wafer into the cup.

I'm a cynic who's studied too much Church history--I see all the changes in the service as making it more of a circus to distract the attendees instead of a way to draw them into the liturgy. All this concentration on knowing the latest melody for the "Lord, hear our prayer" and then ducking out immediately after communion leads me to think that the average parishioner doesn't really know nor care what the Church is actually teaching.

A friend and I made a pilgrimage to Red Bank, NJ one time (we didn't have the money to take a real spring break, so we road-tripped to the Quik-Stop). While we were driving, we saw the church they must have used for some exterior shots at the end and almost crashed the car.

I think I once read that Smith didn't actually film any of Dogma in Red Bank, but I can't find it anywhere one way or the other. You could've gone to his comic store.

The wine they used to use in my very Irish parish when I was an altar boy was sherry, which is fortified. It was always to fun to see the proportions of wine to water the various priests preferred. The old pastor emeritus would get cranky if you put more than a drop of water in his chalice.

You could've gone to his comic store.

We did. Walt Flanagan was working the counter. It was weird. The church we saw was just a ways down the street, IIRC.

I'm Googling now, out of curiosity. It says some small bits were filmed in Jersey, and the majority filmed outside Pittsburgh. I wish I could find the pictures I took!

the average parishioner doesn't really know nor care what the Church is actually teaching.

And thus it has ever been. Consider all the centuries in which sermons were preached in Latin to illiterate parishioners.

The Episcopal church I was (briefly) Altar Guild for used tawny port. I think most churches that use wine use fortified wine, because it doesn't go bad as quickly when exposed to air.

I think most churches that use wine use fortified wine, because it doesn't go bad as quickly when exposed to air.

Probably depends on the size of the church. I used to go to the cathedral here in SLC, and they went thru quite a bit - no real reason to worry about spoilage.