All Saints Anglican Church

Today we worshiped with the community of All Saints, an Anglican church found near the Spanish Steps and Piazza di Popolo. This church is in communion with the Old Catholic church and also hosts an Italian mass every Sunday night. The church was small but strangely, as soon as we stepped in I felt like we were in England. I knew that it would be an interesting worship experience as we were removed by denomination and nationality from this congregation, and I was excited to see how it worked out.

The service was very formal, with about five people presiding and a small quartet leading all the music. Since members of the Italian congregation were present that morning, part of the prayers and lessons were in Italian. The preacher, however, was a woman without any hint of an accent, British or otherwise. Her sermon was brief, but extremely passionate. The congregation is about to reevaluate its direction and she encouraged the congregation to be involved and earnest, especially as they also prepare for Lent.

Much of the liturgy was very similar to traditional Lutheran LBW worship. I even recognized most of the tunes. It was strange to be so theoretically removed from a congregation and so technically similar. As if to drive the point home, after the service we greeted the preacher (who is actually an American) and she warmly invited me to preach while I'm here. Later, I will join her, the chaplain of All Saints, and other Protestant seminarians in weekly Eucharist and fellowship. Finally, a group of colleagues!

Interestingly, my husband and I both still felt like the American Catholic church had the best sense of acculturation; however, they have the advantage of at least having denominational contacts. All Saints has a strong sense of self in the context of the city and a very passionate staff, which certainly helps. I look forward to getting to know them all better in the weeks to come.