Frequently Asked Questions
We are Episcopalians. Our practices may be strange and perhaps
even uncomfortable for you at first. Here are answers to some of
the questions we hear from newcomers--or that we remember we
had when we became Episcopalians (most of us are not
"cradle Episcopalians"). For even more
information, check out our Glossary
page and our Links to other sites.
|
Questions
|
Answers
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| Do you really say the same
words every Sunday? Where does spontaneity come
in? |
There are variations, but we
do pretty much follow the script in the
Book of Common
Prayer during our public worship. Having a script allows
everyone, clergy and laity, to learn their parts and to
participate, and participation not only makes for great
worship, it expresses the meaning of being part of a
Christian community The texts used have developed
over a period of 2000 years and are deep enough and
subtle enough to be inspirational over a lifetime of
use. Spontaneity comes as we worship and study
individually or in small groups. |
| Why do you have Communion
every Sunday? Doesn't that cheapen it? |
We have
Eucharist (Communion) every
Sunday in celebration of Christ's resurrection on the
first day of the week. This practice dates from
the first century, and originated in the meals to which Jesus
invited all sorts and conditions of people. God's saving act reconciling
the world to himself is so important and yet so hard to
internalize that it bears repeating. |
| Can I take Communion? |
Yes! Not only are you
welcome, you are invited! It is the Lord's table, and He
invites you to it. |
| Do you really drink wine at
Communion? |
Yes we drink wine and eat
bread at Communion. If either presents a problem
for you, it is ok to take just the other. |
| How do I receive Communion? |
When you kneel or stand at
the altar rail, you will be offered a wafer of
consecrated bread and a sip of consecrated wine from the
common chalice.
The usual way to receive the bread is to place your
right hand in your left, and to extend your open palms
toward the server. To receive the wine from the chalice,
it is helpful if you guide the chalice from the base of
it to your lips. If you prefer to dip the wafer into the
wine, you may dip it yourself or you may hand it to the
chalice bearer to dip into the wine. Or you may choose
not to receive the wine.
If you do not wish to receive communion, you are
still invited to come to the altar rail to receive a blessing
from the priest. Please indicate this by folding your
arms across your chest. |
| Isn't sipping wine from a common cup
unsanitary? |
Those who have studied the question tell
us that this practice is no more dangerous than the
usual contact with other people, such as shaking hands.
We know of no instance where disease has been spread
through use of the common cup. If you are uncomfortable
with this practice, you may take bread only at
Communion. |
| You do a lot of kneeling,
standing and sitting. How do I know what to do
when? And what's it all about anyway? |
Traditionally, we have said
that we stand to sing, kneel to pray and sit to
listen. But sometimes we stand when we pray and
sit when we sing. And sometimes some people stand
while others are kneeling. What you are seeing is
a mixture of traditions, especially with respect to
prayer, where both standing and kneeling are considered
to be respectful postures. Don't worry getting it
"right." Episcopalians usually grant
others the independence of thought and action that they
expect for themselves. |
| What do I call the clergy? |
It varies, depending on the
person. Episcopal clergy may want to be called
"Father Jones" or "Father Joe" or "Ms" or "Mrs."
or "Mother" or "Mr." or
"Joe," or "Mary." The only way
to really know is to ask. There is one almost-certain
rule: Episcopalians never address their priest as
"Reverend." "The Reverend" is used as a title when
referring to a priest in the third person. |
| Where did the Episcopal
Church come from? |
Our church inherits many
centuries of catholic and apostolic tradition. Missionaries brought Christianity to England in the second
century. The faith flourished and became organized as the
Church of England in the 16th century. English
colonists brought the Anglican (English) Church to the
United States. After the American Revolution, it separated
from the Church of England and became known as the
Episcopal Church. |
| But King Henry the VIII was
your founder, right? |
Christ was our founder.
There was an English Christian Church from the second
century or so. What Henry and his Parliament did
was to declare that the English Church was again
independent from and equal to the Roman Church as had
been other national churches (the Greek and the
Ethiopian churches, for example) since the beginning. |
| I see people crossing
themselves. Am I expected to? What's it
mean? |
As with many Episcopal
customs, crossing oneself is optional. Making the
sign of the cross was used from the earliest times
to sanctify every action of daily life from morning to
night. Presently it usually signifies giving or
receiving a blessing. |
| Do you have a pope? |
No, in fact Anglicans have
no central authority as such. A worldwide Anglican
Church does not exist, at least not in the form that one
might think. There are nearly 40 independent Anglican
churches, none of which has authority over any other.
The Anglican Communion has no Pope, no Patriarch, no
overall director nor any Parliament or Congress
either. See
Anglican. |
| Then you're Protestants,
right? |
Not really, even though the
name of the Episcopal Church used to contain the word
"protestant." We like to think of ourselves as the
"via media"--the middle way-- between protestants and Roman Catholics. We are both
catholic and evangelical with roots going back to the
historic
Episcopate
of the Apostles. We are one part of the Holy
Catholic
and Apostolic Church. |
| What do you believe? |
The best way to find out
what Episcopalians believe is to participate in our
worship and join us in our work in the world. The three basic sources of
our beliefs are scripture, tradition and reason.
The
Nicene
and Apostles'
Creeds, two ancient and ecumenical professions of faith
second only to scripture, summarize these beliefs.
A more complete summary of our beliefs is found in the
Catechism
in the Book of Common Prayer. On a lighter note, you might
enjoy
Top 10
Reasons to be an Episcopalian by Robin Williams. |
| Do you have Sacraments? |
Yes. A sacrament is an
outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual
grace. The two great sacraments given by Christ to his
Church are
Baptism and Eucharist (Communion). Other
sacramental rites which evolved in the Church include
Confirmation, Ordination,
Holy Matrimony, Reconciliation
of a Penitent (confession), and Unction (healing). |
| Do you have private
confession? Are Episcopalians expected to go to
confession? |
Yes we have private
confession, which we call
Reconciliation of a Penitent,
and any priest can and will offer you this sacrament.
But we don't have confessionals and we don't require
private confession. Virtually every public worship
service we do contains a prayer of confession followed
by an absolution. |
| How do I join the Episcopal
Church? |
We expect all Episcopalians
to be Baptized.
Nothing more is required to participate in the life of
the church. If you want to be baptized, contact us to make arrangements. If you wish to make a
public, adult, affirmation of faith, you may choose to
be Confirmed at
the next bishop's visitation. If you were already
confirmed in a church in the apostolic succession, you
would instead be Received.
In any case, you always have the option of publicly
reaffirming your baptismal vows, even after
confirmation, if you so choose--but this is a highly
personal matter, and not in any way required. |
| How do I join Grace Church? |
It's simple: Let us know you want to be a
member, and we'll add you to our membership list. If you are a member of another church, we will
submit the transfer request to your former church. |
