Anglican Identity & Worship

Anglican tradition traces its roots to the early days of the church, when Augustine of Canterbury brought the gospel to the British Isles. We are a Catholic Church, meaning that we hold to the same Christian faith of the early, undivided church. To be Catholic does not necessarily mean to be in communion with the Roman Catholic Church, but refers to a gospel vision of God and humanity as revealed by Jesus Christ. This gospel is for all people, and for every aspect of our humanity – mind, body and soul. Nothing that makes us human is left out of our salvation through Christ Jesus. To affirm this is what is is to be Catholic.

Importantly, Anglican tradition is also a Reformed Catholic Church, meaning that we have passed through the Protestant Reformation. During the Medieval period distortions corrupted the church. The Church of England sought to reform itself according to the Holy Scripture and the tenets of the early church. This continues to lead us to place importance on the authority of the Word of God, and to work to make it unmistakable that salvation comes to us by grace through faith and in Christ alone.

Finally, we are a charismatic church. We want to be open to and expectant of the Holy Ghost doing extraordinary things in and through and among us. These three streams - the Catholic, the Evangelical, and the Charismatic - unite what it means to be Anglican.

Nothing that is Christian is excluded.

As a community of believers our liturgy is drawn from the Book of Common Prayer which confirms our identity. Every Sunday we follow the same pattern that countless other Christians throughout the centuries and around the world have followed, and still follow. Our celebrations involve the whole congregation: everyone takes part, and it involves the whole person, united in body, mind, soul. The essence of Anglican worship is to encounter God, to glorify him, and to be changed by him. We come each Sunday, open to and expecting this to happen - join us!