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Selected quotes from, 101 Reasons to be Episcopalian, by Louie Crew
"We don't quiz you on your beliefs before worshipping with you."
"We have a faith not afraid to reason and reason not ashamed to adore."
"The Prayer Book bids us to come to God's table for strength and renewal, not for solace and pardon only."
"When asked if he was saved, an archbishop replied, "I have been saved,
I am being saved, and I hope to be saved.' That understanding of faith,
hope, and humility reinforces me as an Episcopalian."
"Where a woman's place is in the House of Bishops"
"Asking questions about our faith is expected. In the Episcopal Church,
God doesn't get upset if I wonder why some things are as they are. And
God doesn't get upset if I suggest that some things should not continue
as they are."
"Ours is the perfect church for people who are not perfect"
"I love the fact that I can have stimulating conversation and yet
disagree with the priest, or even the Bishop, and not get kicked
because it is all right to use your mind and not be a rubber stamp for
anyone. Christ died to save us from our sins, not our minds."
"We don't have all the answers, and we welcome others who love the questions."
"We leave neither our minds, nor our hearts, nor our bodies at the church door."
"We find our unity in shared worship, not in enforced agreement."
"God loves you, and there's not a thing you can do to change that"
"Being an intelligent, strong woman is not a drawback in the Episcopal Church."
"Where God's unconditional love for all of us is celebrated every day"
"In the Episcopal Church doubt is so okay that we name some parishes "St. Thomas."
"We welcome the faithful, the seeker, and the doubter."
"Because it's one religion where laughing at our own absurdities is a
basic spiritual discipline and we're invited to rejoice in how much we
have still to learn of God instead of how much we know."
The Episcopal Church taught me that Jesus came to challenge, not just
comfort: to overturn, not maintain: to love, not judge: to include, not
cast aside."
"Episcopalians try to love with the heart of Christ, think with the mind of Christ, and act as if we were the body of Christ."
What is the Episcopal Church About?
The Episcopal Church is made up of between two and
three million worshipers in about 7500 congregations across the United
States and related dioceses outside the US .
An Outline of Faith
Commonly called the Catechism from the Book of Common Prayer, page 844 - 862
http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/
Concerning the Catechism
This catechism is primarily intended for use by parish priests, deacons
and lay catechists, to give an outline for instruction. It is a
commentary on the creeds, but is not meant to be a complete statement
of belief and practice; rather, it is a point of departure for the
teacher, and it is cast in the traditional question and answer form for
ease of reference.
The second use of this catechism is to provide a
brief summary of the Church's teaching for an inquiring stranger who
picks up a Prayer Book.
It may also be used to form a simple service;
since the matter is arranged under headings, it is suitable for
selective use, and the leader may introduce prayers and hymns as needed.
| Human Nature |
God the Father |
The Old Covenant |
The Ten Commandments |
| Sin and Redemption |
God the Son |
The New Covenant |
The Creeds |
| The Holy Spirit |
The Holy Scriptures |
The Church |
The Ministry |
| Prayer and Worship |
The Sacraments |
Holy Baptism |
The Holy Eucharist |
| Other Sacramental Rites |
The Christian Hope |
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What makes us Anglican?
Hallmarks of the Episcopal Church
The Episcopal Church, having its roots in the Church of England, is
also an Anglican Church. Like all Anglican churches, the Episcopal
Church is distinguished by the following characteristics:
Protestant, Yet Catholic
Anglicanism stands squarely in the Reformed tradition, yet considers
itself just as directly descended from the Early Church as the Roman
Catholic or Eastern Orthodox churches. Episcopalians celebrate the
"Mass" in ways similar to the Roman Catholic tradition; yet do not
recognize a single authority, such as the Pope of Rome.
Worship in one’s first language
Episcopalians believe that Christians should be able to worship God and
read the Bible in their first language, which for most Episcopalians,
is English, rather than Latin or Greek, the two earlier, "official"
languages of Christianity. Yet the Book of Common Prayer has been
translated into many languages, so that those Episcopalians who do not
speak English can still worship God in their native tongue.
The Book of Common Prayer
Unique to Anglicanism, though, is the Book of Common Prayer, the
collection of worship services that all worshipers in an Anglican
church follow. It’s called "common prayer" because we all pray it
together, around the world. The first Book of Common Prayer was
compiled in English by Thomas Cranmer in the 16th Century, and since
then has undergone many revisions for different times and places. But
its original purpose has remained the same: To provide in one place the
core of the instructions and rites for Anglican Christians to worship
together.
The present prayer book in the Episcopal Church
was published in 1979. Many other worship resources and prayers exist
to enrich our worship, but the Book of Common Prayer is the authority
that governs our worship. The prayer book explains Christianity,
describes the main beliefs of the Church, outlines the requirements for
the sacraments, and in general serves as the main guidelines of the
Episcopal life.
Scripture, Tradition, and Reason
The Anglican approach to reading and interpreting the Bible was first
articulated by Richard Hooker, also in the 16th Century. While
Christians universally acknowledge the Bible (or the Holy Scriptures)
as the Word of God and completely sufficient to our reconciliation to
God, what the Bible says must always speak to us in our own time and
place.
The Church, as a worshiping body of faithful
people, has for two thousand years amassed experience of God and of
loving Jesus, and what they have said to us through the centuries about
the Bible is critical to our understanding it in our own context. The
traditions of the Church in interpreting Scripture connect all
generations of believers together and give us a starting point for our
own understanding.
Episcopalians believe that every Christian must
build an understanding and relationship with God’s Word in the
Bible, and to do that, God has given us intelligence and our own
experience, which we refer to as "Reason." Based on the text of the
Bible itself, and what Christians have taught us about it through the
ages, we then must sort out our own understanding of it as it relates
to our own lives.
What to Expect When You Visit
Worship in the Episcopal Church
Sunday is traditionally when Episcopalians gather for worship. The
principal weekly worship service is the Holy Eucharist, also known as:
the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, or Mass. In most Episcopal
churches, worship is accompanied by the singing of hymns, and in some
churches, much of the service is sung.
Worship Styles
Episcopalians worship in many different styles, ranging from very
formal, ancient, and multi-sensory rites with lots of singing, music,
fancy clothes (called vestments), and incense, to informal services
with contemporary music. Yet all worship in the Episcopal Church is
based in the Book of Common Prayer, which gives worship a familiar
feel, no matter where you go.
Liturgy and Ritual
Worship in the Episcopal Church is said to be "liturgical", meaning
that the congregation follows service forms and prays from texts that
don’t change greatly from week to week during a season of the
year. This sameness from week to week gives worship a rhythm that
becomes comforting and familiar to the worshipers.
For the first-time visitor, liturgy may be
exhilarating...or confusing. Services may involve standing, sitting,
kneeling, sung or spoken responses, and other participatory elements
that may provide a challenge for the first-time visitor. However,
liturgical worship can be compared with a dance: once you learn the
steps, you come to appreciate the rhythm, and it becomes satisfying to
dance, again and again, as the music changes.
The Holy Eucharist
In spite of the diversity of worship styles in the Episcopal Church,
Holy Eucharist always has the same components and the same shape.
The Liturgy of the Word
We begin by praising God through song and prayer, and then listen to as
many as four readings from the Bible. Usually one from the Old
Testament, a Psalm, something from the Epistles, and (always) a reading
from the Gospels. The psalm is usually sung or recited by the
congregation.
Next, a sermon interpreting the readings appointed for the day is preached.
The congregation then recites the Nicene Creed
written in the Fourth Century and the Church’s statement of what
we believe ever since.
Next, the congregation prays together--for the
Church the World, and those in need. We pray for the sick, thank God
for all the good things in our lives, and finally, we pray for the
dead. The presider (e.g. priest, bishop, lay minister) concludes with a
prayer that gathers the petitions into a communal offering of
intercession.
In certain seasons of the Church year, the
congregation formally confesses their sins before God and one another.
This is a corporate statement of what we have done and what we have
left undone, followed by a pronouncement of absolution. In pronouncing
absolution, the presider assures the congregation that God is always
ready to forgive our sins.
The congregation then greets one another with a sign of "peace".
The Liturgy of the Table
Next, the priest stands at the table, which has been set with a cup of
wine and a plate of bread or wafers, raises his or her hands, and
greets the congregation again, saying "The Lord be With You." Now
begins the Eucharistic Prayer in which the presider tells the story of
our faith, from the beginning of Creation, through the choosing of
Israel to be God’s people, through our continual turning away
from God, and God’s calling us to return. Finally, the presider
tells the story of the coming of Jesus Christ, and about the night
before his death, on which he instituted the Eucharistic meal
(communion) as a continual remembrance of him.
The presider blesses the bread and wine, and the
congregation recites the Lord’s Prayer. Finally, the presider
breaks the bread and offers it to the congregation, as the "gifts of
God for the People of God."
The congregation then shares the consecrated bread
and the wine. Sometimes the people all come forward to receive the
bread and wine; sometimes they pass the elements around in other ways.
All Are Welcome
All baptized Christians, no matter age or denomination, are welcome to
"receive communion." Episcopalians invite all baptized people to
receive, not because we take the Eucharist lightly, but because we take
our baptism so seriously.
Visitors who are not baptized Christians are
welcome to come forward during the Communion to receive a blessing from
the presider.
At the end of the Eucharist, the congregation
prays once more in thanksgiving, and then is dismissed to continue the
life of service to God and to the World.
Episcopal Church Governance
"Episcopal" means "bishop" in Greek, and the
Episcopal Church is governed in part by its bishops. The basic unit of
ministry in the Episcopal Church is the "diocese," or a region of a
reasonable number of Episcopalians. Each diocese is presided over by a
"diocesan bishop" who may have help from a variety of other kinds of
bishops, depending on the circumstances.
The Diocesan Bishop chooses and ordains priests
and deacons to serve the "parishes," or congregations, of the diocese,
which carryout the ministry of the diocese in their local communities.
The priests lead the parish in worship, make decisions related to the
sacramental life of the parish, and in general, supports the ministry
of the worshiping Christians there.
The Episcopal Church is governed by a Constitution
and a set of laws (known as "canons") which it establishes for itself
by Convention, but the diocesan bishop is the ecclesiastical (or
"church") authority in his or her particular diocese. The bishops of
the Episcopal Church have no jurisdiction outside of their dioceses, so
they meet together twice per year to pray and make decisions about the
life of the Church. Every nine years, the Church elects a "Presiding
Bishop" who represents the Episcopal Church in the Anglican Communion
and "presides" over meetings of the bishops, known as the "House of
Bishops."
Every three years, delegations (or "deputations")
from all the dioceses, along with the House of Bishops, gather to
worship and pass legislation for the Church. This General Convention is
where broad decisions are made about policy and worship, as well as
revitalizing the Christian community for ministry "back home."
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