Bishop Jones has described Methodism as “The Extreme Center,” but but I’m not sure this is what he meant:
The Methodists are sort of the in-between church – not as formal as Episcopalians, yet not as rollicking as Baptists. “Methodists are frustrated Baptists who’d like to be Episcopalians,” said Lucy Mattie Trigg. That is: they’d like to whoop and holler, but they are not deaf to the clarion call of upward mobility.
-From Being Dead is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies’ Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral
Don’t make fun of me, this was read to me by my mother, who (as an ex-cemeterian) was given this as a gift. Hysterical. It hits a little close to home, too. At my seminary, there were a good number of Methodists who ended up Episcopalian (and a good number of Episcopalians who could out-Rome all but the most ardent Catholics).
On another note, I really enjoyed Annual Conference this week. Bishop Palmer is an astounding preacher.
