To be an Anglican is not to embrace a distinct version of christianity, but a way of being “merely christian.” An anglican is one who follows Jesus as Christians have throughout history and continue to do throughout the world. We don’t see our way as the one and only way of following Jesus but one that embraces the unity and diversity within the whole of the Christian Church. 

The roots of the Anglican Church go back to the 2nd century in England and it specifically emerged as a tradition out of the protestant reformation in the 16th century. 

We value putting scripture, worship and mission into the hands of everyday people in tangible ways. We worship as those who are global and local, ancient and modern as we are devoted to “the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

A good summary of an Anglican is a follower of Jesus who is committed to:

Scripture - The Holy Bible is the authoritative Word of God. The 66 books of the Old and New Testaments alone contain all things necessary for salvation in Jesus Christ.

Sacraments - There are 2 sacraments that were given directly by Jesus to his followers: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We follow the way of Jesus and his instructions for his church to be united with him through these miraculous and effective signs. We also treasure the 5 sacraments practiced by the church: confirmation, ordination, marriage, absolution, anointing of the sick.

Creeds - The early church recognized the need to summarize what Christians believe in statements called “creeds.” These creeds, established by Scripture, were used as outlines to teach people the faith and to safeguard its essential truths. We have received these 3 creeds: The Apostles’ Creed, The Nicene Creed, The Athanasian Creed.

Customs - Like a good wine our customs and traditions as a church are well-aged. Though we don’t believe the church is without error we recognize the wisdom of the church through the ages which provides stability and inspires humility within us. We recognize the first 5 centuries of the united church, including the 4 general councils, to guide for faith and practice. With Jesus as the head of the church we embrace the 3-fold order of ordained ministry that emerged within the apostolic era and continues today as bishops, priests and deacons. We worship together with one voice using the Book of Common Prayer and we uphold the 39 Articles of Religion as our statement of faith.