Core Values

Jesus and the Gospel

‘…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.’ (Romans 10:9 [show] because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (ESV)
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Christianity is first and foremost a Gospel – the ‘good news’ of the salvation accomplished for us by Jesus Christ. ‘Religion’ is about people working their way up to God, but the Gospel tells us that ‘for us and our salvation,’ God came down to us, that we may be ‘justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.’ This message of grace is at the center of all our thinking, the lens through which we view all of life.

Holy Scripture and Authority

‘All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness’ (2 Timothy 3.16 [show] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (ESV)
). ‘The Church hath power to decree rites or ceremonies, and authority in Controversies of Faith: and yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God’s Word written…’ Article XX, BCP 871.

The Scriptures of the Old & New Testaments are our infallible rule of faith and practice, the ‘God-breathed’ means by which we discern will of the Father, containing ‘all things necessary for salvation.’ Our preaching and teaching is based on the faithful exposition of the Bible, that our lives might be conformed to its life-giving message.

Worship: the Beauty of Holiness

‘…Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!’ Psalm 96.9 [show] Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
‘But you are chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him Who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.’  (1 Peter 2:9 [show] But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (ESV)
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It is ‘very meet, right, and our bounden duty’ to offer praise to our almighty and merciful God. Our worship, centered in the Holy Eucharist, is intended to evoke and prefigure the ceaseless worship of heaven. ‘Glory and worship are before him; power and honor are in his sanctuary,’ sings the psalmist, ‘Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth stand in awe of him.’ In this sense, biblical worship is always ‘high.’ Worship ought to reflect the glory and majesty of the One to whom it is offered, though necessarily, even our highest worship will only be a dim reflection of the glory of Him who covers himself in ‘light like a garment’ (Ps. 104.2 [show] covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent.
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Community

‘…we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.’ (Romans 12:4-8 [show] For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (ESV)
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While our culture may lift up the ‘rugged individual,’ in Christ we are called into a deep and authentic community which reflects the eternal relationship of love within the Most Blessed Trinity. Therefore we seek to ‘bear one another’s burdens,’ and to share one another’s joys as well, taking special care of our families and children.

The Anglican Way

We believe that the Anglican expression of the Christian Faith is in continuity with and a constituent member of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, ‘built on the foundation of prophets and apostles, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone’ (Eph. 2:20 [show] built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, (ESV)
). In our worshipping life structured by the historic Book of Common Prayer we have a ‘goodly heritage’ which binds us together with Anglican Christians around the world in an authentically catholic church, reformed and always reforming.

Ministries of Mercy

‘The Righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?” …And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (St. Matthew 25:37,40 [show] Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? (ESV) And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' (ESV)
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The Gospel calls us out into the world to minister to ‘the sick, the friendless, and the needy’ in our own community and around the world, recognizing that to serve anyone in need is to serve Christ Himself.

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As Anglicans, we understand what we believe to be best expressed through our worship and liturgy in the form of the Book of Common Prayer.

We affirm that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain all things necessary to salvation and are the rule and ultimate standard of Christian faith.

We are creedal Christians, meaning that we take the three great creeds of Christendom–the Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian–to be sufficient statements of Christian belief.

In addition to the Creeds and the Book of Common Prayer, Anglicans have long held to the doctrinal statements of the first seven ecumenical councils. While one will often see references to the fact that Anglicans affirm four councils (historically accurate) and the Elizabethan book of Homilies affirm the first six, by the 17th century the Church of England had affirmed the seventh council, despite earlier reservations. Since then Anglicans have affirmed all seven ecumenical councils in various dialogues with other Christians.

Of particular importance to Anglicans/Episcopalians is the Chalcedonian definition on the unity of the divine and human natures of Jesus Christ.

In regards to more contemporary concerns, such as creation and the environment, the Catechism of Creation serves a point of departure for reflection.