OUR ANGLICAN HERITAGE
What does it mean to be Anglican?
Anglican Christianity is rooted in the ancient faith and practice of the first century church. This faith was carried forward by those who brought Christianity to the British Isles in the earliest years of the faith, then renewed by the English Reformers centuries later. Anglicanism has been about the work of making disciples for over 500 years and has expanded into a worldwide church.
One of the pillars of this heritage is a rich worship experience, characterized by:
- holistic worship: we participate using all of our senses, our mind, our bodies, and our emotions;
- beauty: we have a deep appreciation for art and music, the goodness of God’s creation, and the varied tapestry that is God’s family;
- Word and Sacrament: we hold together Scripture and the Eucharist as of equal importance for the life of the church;
- liturgy: we intentionally follow a particular pattern in our worship together. This pattern is drawn from the Book of Common Prayer, a rich resource used for centuries by Anglicans around the world. Read more about the prayer book.
Anglican worship draws from the great “three streams” of the church.
- We are nourished by the stream of the sacred: the faith and tradition handed down generation after generation in the church.
- We are grounded in the evangelical stream that upholds the authority and supremacy of Scripture for our life and practice.
- We are empowered by the stream of the Spirit, believing that God can and does work extraordinary things in our lives through the Holy Spirit.