[AnAmericanMother]

Well, the Methodists around HERE sure aren't like that! They are mainline Protestant, and what ritual they still have is drawn directly from C of E (which was aggressively anti-Catholic at the time the Methodists split off.)

Many of the Methodist churches have abandoned even that. My grandfather-in-law was a Methodist minister, and a very holy and good man too . . . but his church didn't even use the liturgy in the back of the Methodist hymnal. It was a pretty standard Protestant service, with the sermon rather than the Eucharist being the center of the worship service.

[Cold Heat]

I noted earlier that the UMC is not tightly organized. Various churches that I have attended all have different liturgical devices that are allowed within the UMC.

The one we use here is the Eucharist.

My father in law is a retired Methodist minister as well.

Yes, I married a preachers kid.

I have no objections to the rituals. I am very uncomfortable in most of the protestant churches except for the UMC. I have never sensed any anti-catholic mentality, but I do know that idolatry is not acceptable within the UMC family, as I stated. But I have never witnessed anyone publicly saying anything against a catholic. Not ever.

Well, maybe a joke or two.:-)