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My pleasure. FReepmail me any time, all I can tell you is the sort of roundabout way we got where we are, but maybe it will help you some. I would collar Mad Dawg too if you can catch him -- he's much more knowledgeable than I.

The old Catechism was a bit XXXIXish for a high churcher, but it contains some very good bits:

"My duty towards my Neighbour is to love him as myself, and to do to all men as I would they should do unto me: To love, honour, and succour my father and mother: To honour and obey the Queen, and all that are put in authority under her: To submit myself to all my governors, teachers, spiritual pastors and masters: To order myself lowly and reverently to all my betters: To hurt nobody by word nor deed: To be true and just in all my dealing: To bear no malice nor hatred in my heart: To keep my hands from picking and stealing, and my tongue from evil-speaking, lying, and slandering: To keep my body in temperance, soberness, and chastity: Not to covet nor desire other men’s goods; but to learn and labour truly to get mine own living, and to do my duty in that state of life, unto which it shall please God to call me."

St Mary's Swansea is a beautiful church. The old English churches are magnificent. You have to kind of look around to find anything this beautiful in the U.S.

Oh my goodness, I had no idea that you had posted that beautiful photo while I was off searching the Internet for St. Mary's Swansea! Thank you for posting it!

I'm sorry to be such a bore about my Welsh ancestry, lol. I am giggling like a kid right now.

I don't know what XXXIX (39ish) refers to but the language in my Catechism didn't mention the Queen. I probably would have laughed instead of gulping and tearing up when the Bishop blessed me.

I had been baptized in a high church, attended the first 10 or so years in a moderate-high church, then we moved again and attended a lower very politically active Church. The News at 6 Walter Cronkhite intoned sermons were dreadful and I resented the harping on current politics but the music kept me focused on the Word. That's also where I took Catechism classes which seemed to counter all the political hardball sermons.

Then again another move and my Mother insisted on returning to a high church, much smaller congregation with an old guy Priest who sometime lapsed into Latin, truly a church of “bells and smells.” If I hadn't taken Latin in school I would have been completely lost.

I don't recall when the Catholic Mass changed from Latin to English nor when when Catholic hierarchy decreed that no meat Fridays were no longer required but my Mother would always say “Well we're not Catholic so we shall continue eating fish on Fridays.” Ack! LOL!

I remember fainting one time in the middle of Mass. We always fasted before Mass and combined with the heavy incense and every 30 second kneeling, standing, kneeling and genuflecting which I irreverently labeled “bobbing and dipping” I suddenly saw bright shiny lights followed by darkness and the hard wooden bench.

The Bible Belt Midwest was not the friendliest place for Episcopalian kids. I loved the formal services and music yet most of my school friends had no clue what an “Episko-peliCan” was.