Our Faith
A Life Aimed at Following Jesus
Episcopalians seek to follow Jesus. Ultimately our faith is rooted in basic Christianity that affirms that God was fully present in the person of Jesus revealing the authentic nature and character of God. The God that we encounter in Jesus is one of radical unconditional love.
Episcopalians aim to follow Jesus so we might be shaped and formed by God’s all embracing love. The ultimate "end” of this aim is to share and be living expressions of that love. We welcome you to join us on this adventurous journey!
A Life Centered in Living the Baptismal Covenant
Our Christian faith is shaped in response to God through our Baptismal Covenant. The first half of our Baptismal Covenant serves as a basic summary of our faith in a question and answer format. The second half then asks us how we will respond with our lives to this belief.
The first three questions of the Baptismal Covenant are centered in the earliest known confession of the Christian faith (beyond the New Testament confession, "Jesus is Lord”), the Apostles Creed. The next five questions are a call to a radical new way of life centered in: learning the faith, prayer, worship, repentance, evangelism, service and a compassionate justice filled life.
Take a look at the Baptismal Covenant.
A Life Marked by the Mission of God
Jesus revealed to us a God who is always seeking and reaching out to creation. The center of God’s life is characterized by "mission” – summarized by the latin phrase, "Missio Dei.” The church doesn’t have a mission; rather, God has a mission that the Church seeks to carry out. Episcopalians seek to participate in the movement of God’s love toward all people, recognizing that God is a fountain of sending love. This mission is expressed by our commitment to the five "marks” of mission. As Episcopalians we seek to:
- proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
- teach, baptize and nurture new believers
- respond to human need by loving service
- transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation
- strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth
The Five Marks of Mission were developed by the Anglican Consultative Council between 1984 and 1990, and have won wide acceptance among Anglicans worldwide. Learn more here.
A Life of Faith Given as a Gift from Generations Before Us
The Episcopal Church is one among many expressions of the Christian Church that traces its roots back to the earliest followers of Jesus. Like a "bucket brigade” the Church passes on the living water of this faith down through the ages. In this way each generation of Jesus’ followers are shaped into a new way of life, and then passes on that way of life to others.
The Episcopal Church is a part of the Anglican Communion, a large family of churches around the world that trace their faith history along the same pathways back through the early church in England.
Among these, The Episcopal Church traces its faith history back through the very beginnings of the United States. And, beyond that, as a part of the Anglican Communion, it is connected to the long history of the church in England which, in turn, is tied to the Christianity of Europe and from there, to the earliest Jesus-followers in Jerusalem.
Remembering and honoring all these connections to those who have gone before us helps us realize that our faith in Jesus is not our own. It is a gift given to us by God who has inspired and enabled a generation in each age to pass on this devotion and love for God.
Learn more about the national expression of the Episcopal Church.
Learn more about the international life of the Anglican Communion.
