What are Anglicans?
Above all else, Anglicans are Christians. Globally, Anglicans are the third-largest body of Christians in the world with about 80 million members. Anglicans come from more than 50 nations, multiple languages, people groups, and races – all united by our love for the One Lord, Jesus Christ.
The name ‘Anglican’ has its roots in the ancient Anglo-Saxon history of England, the Angles being among the first peoples to receive the Gospel in England. Today in more than 18 nations Anglican churches use this term in their name as a way of remembering that the faith is both ancient and ever-new as it goes out to all peoples of the world.
Where Do Anglicans Come from?
Anglican life, worship, and devotion combine three streams of the past and present history of Christianity:
We belong to the long history of the Church in every place. Hence, we identify with the Church ‘catholic’ or ‘universal.’ God’s Holy Spirit has never [we added this test] his Church but has continued to lead and guide it. From that long tradition, among other essential matters, we have learned to take seriously the central place of the Sacraments in our lives.
We also recognize the Church has sometimes gotten off-track. Hence, we are also ‘reformed.’ The Protestant movement, of which we are assuredly a part, called the 16th century Church to return to the primacy of the Word—written, read, preached, and inwardly digested. To these things we are highly (and daily) committed.
During the 18th century, from the Protestant Reformation, also developed what we today call the Holiness movement. It reminded the Church of two very important things. First, we are agents in the world for God’s love for the poor. Second, each individual Christian is called to live and witness daily in the power of the Holy Spirit. Hence, we Anglicans are also seeking to be ‘Spirit-filled.’
All three streams are grounded in the Gospel. We seek to keep these streams, with God’s help, refreshing and enlivening our Christian life and worship
How Do We Worship?
We worship the Triune God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our Sunday morning services have both structure and spontaneity: structure in that we use the Prayer Book to guide our services; spontaneity in that each Sunday we are listening to new music, new Scriptures (often the very same ones that Lutherans, Roman Catholics, and Presbyterians are using on a given Sunday), and always there is time for individual prayers and needs to be voiced by the church. Our early service uses the Prayer Book in traditional language. Our later service uses the modern language version of the Prayer Book.
How Do We Relate to Each Other?
The Church is more than just a group of people who believe the same things and who happen to inhabit a common space briefly on a Sunday morning. Believers are unified in the common bond of serving and loving the Lord Jesus Christ. They are also committed to loving and serving each other.
So, we share life together: food, fun, fellowship, and instruction. These happen not only on a Sunday morning, but also (as folks desire it) during the week at sessions of prayer, teaching, and study. These take place in-person and via Zoom. There is always a place for newcomers at St. Thomas. You have the freedom to explore, and learn, and become as involved as suits your life and growth in Christ.
What Do We Believe?
The core of what we believe was summarized 1500 years ago by a monk named Vincent from Lérins. After he had traveled all around the known Christian world, he returned to Gaul (modern France) to write:
We believe, “what Everyone, Everywhere, has Always Believed” in the Church
In specifics, we Anglicans believe in the Three Creeds, The Thirty Nine Articles of Religion, and the BCP 1662. These links can give you the specifics.
Since 2008, Anglicans from around the globe have used the Jerusalem Declaration as a helpful summary of our faith in modern times.
For our instruction in families and classes we also have a helpful new volume: To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism
The name ‘Anglican’ has its roots in the ancient Anglo-Saxon history of England, the Angles being among the first peoples to receive the Gospel in England. Today in more than 18 nations Anglican churches use this term in their name as a way of remembering that the faith is both ancient and ever-new as it goes out to all peoples of the world.
Where Do Anglicans Come from?
Anglican life, worship, and devotion combine three streams of the past and present history of Christianity:
We belong to the long history of the Church in every place. Hence, we identify with the Church ‘catholic’ or ‘universal.’ God’s Holy Spirit has never [we added this test] his Church but has continued to lead and guide it. From that long tradition, among other essential matters, we have learned to take seriously the central place of the Sacraments in our lives.
We also recognize the Church has sometimes gotten off-track. Hence, we are also ‘reformed.’ The Protestant movement, of which we are assuredly a part, called the 16th century Church to return to the primacy of the Word—written, read, preached, and inwardly digested. To these things we are highly (and daily) committed.
During the 18th century, from the Protestant Reformation, also developed what we today call the Holiness movement. It reminded the Church of two very important things. First, we are agents in the world for God’s love for the poor. Second, each individual Christian is called to live and witness daily in the power of the Holy Spirit. Hence, we Anglicans are also seeking to be ‘Spirit-filled.’
All three streams are grounded in the Gospel. We seek to keep these streams, with God’s help, refreshing and enlivening our Christian life and worship
How Do We Worship?
We worship the Triune God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our Sunday morning services have both structure and spontaneity: structure in that we use the Prayer Book to guide our services; spontaneity in that each Sunday we are listening to new music, new Scriptures (often the very same ones that Lutherans, Roman Catholics, and Presbyterians are using on a given Sunday), and always there is time for individual prayers and needs to be voiced by the church. Our early service uses the Prayer Book in traditional language. Our later service uses the modern language version of the Prayer Book.
How Do We Relate to Each Other?
The Church is more than just a group of people who believe the same things and who happen to inhabit a common space briefly on a Sunday morning. Believers are unified in the common bond of serving and loving the Lord Jesus Christ. They are also committed to loving and serving each other.
So, we share life together: food, fun, fellowship, and instruction. These happen not only on a Sunday morning, but also (as folks desire it) during the week at sessions of prayer, teaching, and study. These take place in-person and via Zoom. There is always a place for newcomers at St. Thomas. You have the freedom to explore, and learn, and become as involved as suits your life and growth in Christ.
What Do We Believe?
The core of what we believe was summarized 1500 years ago by a monk named Vincent from Lérins. After he had traveled all around the known Christian world, he returned to Gaul (modern France) to write:
We believe, “what Everyone, Everywhere, has Always Believed” in the Church
In specifics, we Anglicans believe in the Three Creeds, The Thirty Nine Articles of Religion, and the BCP 1662. These links can give you the specifics.
Since 2008, Anglicans from around the globe have used the Jerusalem Declaration as a helpful summary of our faith in modern times.
For our instruction in families and classes we also have a helpful new volume: To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism
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