What is a Presbyterian church like?

Yes, I know this will probably not end well. Anyway, there's a gay friendly Presbyterian church near where I live. I'm not Christian and would never actually go, but I wondered what they're services are like. I've only been to the services of three different denominations: Baptist, which is boring and sedate and seems to last forever; Pentecostal, which is full of shouting and people speaking in tongues & rolling around on the floor; and Catholic, which has lots of fun rituals, high drama, and lovely art. Which one is a Presbyterian service closest to?

• I will just go ahead and "Oh, dear" myself to get it over with.

  OP

• The gay ones serve croissants and Merlot at communion. The priest wears drag and carries a purse instead of incense. All the alter boys are cute and wear knee pads.

  Ciaran

• It's closest to Baptist. I go to a Presbyterian church.

• I think the church started in Scotland, so they wear kilts and eat sheep lungs mixed with oatmeal.

• lots of meetings and lay people discussing doctrine.

• Presbyterian's are a mixed bag. Some are progressive, some are regressive. It's much like Methodist. Presbyterian service is no fluff. No kneeling, no pomp and circumstance, just stand up to sing hymns. Some readings are congregational participation. The communion is not done real often, and varies church to church. Sometimes you walk up to the altar and dunk bread in juice, some churches have single servings passed through the pews. The Presbyterian church is often times stark in design, neo classic all in white. A cross at the altar is about the only decorative accent.

• Boring.

• It sounds boring. If I ever went the church route again, it looks like the Episcopalians or Ecumenical Catholics would be the best fits for me.

  OP

• OP, try one of those hillbilly churches where they handle snakes. Good times.

  Rock%20N%20Roll%20congregation%20

• A Methodist service minus the Jello.

• [quote]A Methodist service minus the Jello. But with coffee and doughnuts in the courtyard after Sunday School before Church.

• OP, if you like "bells and smells," try a high-church/Anglo-Catholic Episcopal congregation.

• The nutty thing about Presbyterianism is the concept of "the elect. " Basically, they believe that God is Omnipotent, He selects you For heaven before you're even born, And nothing you doing life can change that. They believe you should still be good and do good works, but they acknowledge that you can be a murderer and still going to happen. I find this nutty.

• [quote]I find this nutty. Ah, good old predestination. [quote]Calvin defines predestination as "God's eternal decree, by which he compacted with himself what he willed to become of each [person]. For ... eternal life is foreordained for some, eternal damnation for others." So predestination is an act of God's will through which God elects or chooses those whom God calls to faith and thus to eternal life, and through which God chooses those who will not receive faith. Other theologians have seen in predestination only a positive calling to eternal life. Still others have seen it as God's foreknowledge of who would choose faith. Funny how God seems to pre-select mostly Presbyterians, isn't it? I could never understand that concept either. As far as the services, imagine a zoning commission meeting with singing and organ music, only nowhere near as exciting.

• LOL, R14. I was raised Cumberland Presbyterian -- they broke away because they rejected predestination, but they were every bit as dull.

• The main Presbyterian body recently voted to reject gay marriage within the church, so I don't know how gay friendly that church really is, OP. They only recently approved allowing gays to serve as ministers, deacons, elders, and trustees. Also, there are many smaller, more conservative presbyterian groups that do not allow gays to serve in any capacity at all.

• Here's all you need to know, OP.

  http://youtu.be/uMoeh3rOcjs