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Who We Are
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A COMMUNAL CHURCH:
We believe that the Church is not a congregation
of individuals, but that we are all one in the person of Jesus Christ
and that together we proclaim the Good News of God's love for the entire
world in his name. We also believe that this unity extends to the whole
worldwide Church.
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A BIBLICAL CHURCH:
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God reflecting the many
centuries and writers in their experience of God. Episcopalians hold the
Bible to be the most important Book of the Faith. However, Episcopalians
are not Fundamentalists and tend to look at Sacred Scripture within its
historical context, allegorically (as did the early Church) and as metaphor.
We would say that the Bible is true without always being historically or
scientifically accurate.
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A TRADITIONAL CHURCH:
We affirm the place of the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds as statements
of Faith handed down from the Early Church as well as the writings of
the Early Church Fathers (and occasionally Mothers!) Our liturgical life
comes to us from The Book of Common Prayer (1979), a descendant of the
English Prayer Books and the Liturgies of the Early Church. Our Church is
governed by Bishops who are Successors to the Apostles and who guard the
teachings of the Church as was the governance of the early church, and
are the foundations of faith on which we are to build.
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A SACRAMENTAL CHURCH:
We believe that the love Jesus Christ is given to us through
"outward and visible signs" or sacraments, especially Baptism
and The Holy Eucharist (Communion, the Lord's Supper). We also
celebrate the Sacraments of Confirmation, Marriage, Ordination,
Anointing of the Sick, and Ordination. Our Sunday Eucharist is an
affirmation of our unity in Christ, "One Bread, One Body," and that
we are called to go into the world to be the Body of Christ in the
name of Jesus.
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A PROPHETIC CHURCH:
We believe that we are called to faithfully proclaim God's gracious
love for all people and to work for justice in the world especially
the poor, the marginalized and the outcast.
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A THINKING CHURCH:
We believe that God gave each of us a brain to use rationally.
We believe God reveals the Divine to us not only through the Bible
and the Church but also through Science, Literature, and Beauty.
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A PERSONAL CHURCH:
We believe that each person is valued by God, and that the
spiritual journey of each of us contributes to the growing faith
of our Christian family.
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