What is Anglican? Part 3: A Global Church

The Anglican church exists around the globe.  There are Anglican churches on every continent in countries such as Rwanda, Nigeria, Egypt, Singapore, Myanmar, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Norway, and many more. We are community that not only enters into worship with those who came before us (see What is Anglican? Part 1: Ancient Roots) but with the whole world. We all worship together as one church. Worldwide there are over seventy million Anglicans, and most of them are not in the western world.

In the Anglican church, we believe that everybody is to worship God together as one people, followers of Christ who have been redeemed by God's grace. This community emphasis is increasingly important in the western world where individualism is destroying communities. The Anglican church represents a lively tradition that can interact with the culture around it without being compromised by that culture. The Book of Common Prayer, which we all use to worship, has been translated into many languages, and the music and style of a worship service can be altered to fit the cultural norms of any global setting.

We believe that Jesus Christ died for the whole world, and because of that, the Church is not limited to one national identity.  The Church is a far richer place when we interact with believers of other cultures. We believe that it is important to support our brothers and sisters in faith around the world by praying for them regularly, by giving money to churches in need, and (when possible) visiting churches of other nations to offer support and to learn from them.  If you want to learn more about the Anglican Church of the Advent's international ties, please contact me at adventpastor@gmail.com.

What is Anglican? Part 2: People of the Book

The Anglican church is liturgical.  Liturgy is the order of worship for a church, and every church has some kind of liturgy.  The Anglican Liturgy is written in the Book of Common Prayer, which was formulated by Thomas Cranmer during the English Reformation almost 500 years ago.  Anglicans all over the world worship together using the Book of Common Prayer. Though the Book of Common Prayer has been updated many times in past 500 years, almost the entirety of the liturgy  in the book remains interconnected with Scripture.  One of Cranmer's major goals in reforming the Roman Catholic prayer book was to eliminate anything that was not founded in Scripture. 

What is in the Book of Common Prayer?
The bulk of the book is literally prayers to God.  Many of these prayers form a worship service.  During a traditional Anglican worship service, the congregation hears four readings (often called "Lessons"): one from the Old Testament, one from the Epistles, one from the Gospels, and a Psalm.  Often the Lord's Prayer is recited, and one of the creeds of the Church (such as the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene) is said in unison by the congregation in order to regularly affirm their faith.  The pinnacle of an Anglican service is communion, and it is always last in the service because everything else in the service points to this special act of worship.  All of these, along with prayers for every occasion, can be found in the Book of Common Prayer.  If you are interested in finding out which Book of Common Prayer I recommend and how to use it, contact me at adventpastor@gmail.com. 

What is Anglican? Part 1: Ancient Roots

     The Anglican church has been built on ancient roots. We are a church that is shaped by Scripture as the word of God. In the Anglican church, we also value the past and the history of the church. We believe that wisdom and true faith has always existed in the church and that we are a part of a much larger picture that involves the whole history of the Church from the dawn of creation through time to the present day.
    We are shaped by the traditions and wisdom of the church both through time and throughout the world. We do not cling to our traditions for their own sake, but we believe that the traditions we follow express the Gospel of Christ. They allow people to submit themselves to something other than themselves and what they want.
     Following the traditions of the historical church can take many forms.  Some of these forms are visible in our worship, in the use of a liturgy, prayer book, and often icons in our worship.  Sometimes following the traditions is invisible in the Anglican church, such as the use of doctrines and prayers from the early church.  We seek to affirm and proclaim the gospel with the church through time to the present day world.

What do we mean by the "church through time"? 
Hebrews 12 says,"we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses ."
This means that those who have died and gone before us in the faith are alive in Christ and worshipping Him with us.  When we say the Sanctus during worship ["Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.  Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna in the highest"] we are proclaiming it with all of the heavenly realm.  During communion, we "join our voices with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven."  Many of our practices and beliefs were set into place long before us, and we continue to hold to those because of their truth in Christ.  When we say "church throughout time," we are affirming our place in a rich and complex history that has preceded us and will continue long after we are gone.

Who are we?

Welcome to the Anglican Church of the Advent blog. We are a church plant that desires to reach into the dark places of Columbia, MO, and share the light of Christ. The following points will give an idea of what that means in more detail.

• We are a missional expression of the Anglican Church. What does this mean? It means that we are committed to the worship of God because we were made to give God glory. It also means that we are committed to mission because we believe that all Christians are called to share the reconciling love of Christ to the world.
• We are committed to discipleship because we believe that all people are called, not to just come to Christ, but to be transformed in our knowledge and habits to become more like Christ.
• We are committed to service to this community and the least of this community. A church that does not care for the poor and the poor in spirit has lost the heart of Christ.
• We are committed to community.  We are called to love one another and be in community with one another through hospitality, worship, prayer, and service.
• We are a work in progress at this time, both as people in need of a savior and as a church plant.

If you want to be involved with planting a church or are just curious about the church, please email me at adventpastor@gmail.com. Also, the events posted on this blog are open to anybody who would like to come. Your presence and input is wanted and needed. We can also use prayer that God will show us the mission that is already being done through the Holy Spirit in Columbia and how we can enter into that mission.