Who Are We?

An Apostolic People

The Anglican Church is built on the example we see in Scripture and in Church history of apostolic succession. This means that the blessing Jesus gave to the apostles has been handed down and multiplied through the ages. Each person has been called to be a part of their local church, and that local church is called to be part of the Church. To do that the Anglican Church groups each church into a diocese (some with physical boundaries and others based on mission). These dioceses then belong to a province.

So What About Us?

DIOCESE

Christ Our Redeemer is part of the International Diocese, whose mission is to bridge relationships around the world, and promote the spreading Gospel of Jesus Christ.

PROVINCE

We belong to the province of the Anglican Church in North America and internationally connected to GAFCON.

This body of world-wide Christians hold to the belief that we are to be about the business of Jesus Christ. We should be proclaiming the Gospel in word and deed. Showing everyone the redeeming love of their God and Saviour.

Christ our Redeemer is a Christ centered and Bible believing church that holds to the traditional teachings of the Church. We are guided by Holy Scripture and the Creeds, and practice the orthodox teachings and traditions of the Anglican Church.

We are a liturgical church, and our worship is based on the Book of Common Prayer. However, we understand that the liturgical form of worship is nothing without our hearts and minds being filled with the Holy Spirit and bringing us into an active and relational moment with our God.

Holy Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, is the culmination of our Sunday Worship, and because it was given by Jesus for His people, we allow any baptized Christian to partake of His feast.

Christ Our Redeemer is a church of love and mercy, and has been tasked to be a prayerful church. We have weekly prayer teams during church, and once a month have a special time after the service for more in-depth intercession. We also encourage anyone to send an email to us to add to our very active prayer chain.

What is an Anglican?

As an Anglican Church one of the first questions we are asked is “what is…(fill in the mispronunciations as you see fit)?” It is an unusual term that in many parts of America is heard. The simple answer is that we practice the style of worship and spirituality that was traditional to England (Angle). The text book definition is we are the “English expression of the Catholic Church.” The Church of England began as a split form Catholicism under the reign of Henry VIII. From that point on because of many different situations and rulers the Anglican Church began to borrow and learn from Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox teaching and spirituality. This means each parish and diocese can have a very different approach to how they worship. Some may be far more catholic or protestant, but they all are bound to Scripture as supreme, the Creeds, the liturgy found in the Book of Common Prayer, and the Thirty-Nine Articles. What is produced from this is a diverse body able to be “all things to all people” as we go proclaiming the Gospel of Christ.

A People of Books

One of the characteristics of Anglican worship is the use of books. We hold to the belief that our lives should be guided by Scripture, tradition, and reason in that order to keep us from straying from the truth that God has given us.

We believe that “all Scripture is breathed out by God.” And because of this is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). It is God’s written word, and a beautiful testimony of His love for His people. (Click on the Link for a list of free online sources)

The Book of Common Prayer is a collection of prayers and services that allows the church to worship together with the same guidance and focus. (Click link to learn more)

The catechism is a series of questions and answers that give instruction and teaching to the beliefs held by the Church and by Anglicans. In the ACNA’s catechism it has been intentionally designed to not just help people learn, but to guide them in how to build a relationship with our Lord.
(To be able to download a copy of the catechism click here)