Not a real priest.

Nope, he's not. I've known that ever since the first time that he came to substitute at church. He sounded a little too much like a tent revival preacher. And, hey, the white chasuble thing he wears has really pointy sleeves, which reminds me of the KKK outfits.

Anyway, he was subbing for the regular priest today. And after sitting through a particular boring sermon (in which he tends to mention things which I simply don't believe - and would like to think that others in the church don't believe either - all the answers in the Bible aren't found in Revelation!), we had communion. Now, communion in an Episcopal church is different than communion in a Roman Catholic church.

In an Episcopal church, anyone can take Communion. In the Roman Catholic church, you can take Communion if you're a part of the Roman Catholic church or any of the Orthodox churches, although you are urged to respect your own faith traditions. Others in the Christian faith are welcomed at Communion and are encouraged to receive a blessing during this special part of the Mass. Of course, we all pray for true Communion in the fullness of time. (For more on this, go here.)

In any case, you can also receive a blessing at an Episcopal church, the same as you would at a Catholic church. I've been doing this at this Episcopal church for years. Today, evidently, was different.

I went to receive my blessing, as I always do and was completely passed over. He lingered with the bread in front of me, as if waiting for me to 'change my mind' and then moved right past me. He served others, but he refused my request for a blessing!

It is possible that he hasn't been an active priest in years that he completely forgot what people did when they want a blessing (you cross your arms over your chest, in an X shape). I don't think he truly did it out of malice, but I'm mad. I'm furious. It's a good thing that he's not often at church, because if he were, I'd never go back.

In any case, I'll be mentioning something to the senior or junior wards on the vestry the next time I see them. I feel that if I didn't let someone know, he could do something similar to a visitor and they would never come back. It's that kind of important, and hey, let's face it: this church needs all the people to attend that it can get. This guy isn't helping anything.