From the Rector:

       What is an Episcopalian?  What does it mean to be Episcopalian?  If you asked this question to ten people, you would probably get ten different answers.  The hesitation to give a pat answer is part of the answer itself.  One man said that “no one can say what Episcopalians are...not even how to spell it.”  If one listens to some media reports, you come out with a picture of the church as ripped asunder with no unifying center.  That does not tell the truth about who we are.

       There are cohesive answers to these questions.  They were brought to light by the Zacchaeus Project funded by the Episcopal Foundation.  They point to our strengths and our weaknesses.  Zacchaeus can help us see our unity and reclaim our identity.  Over the next several weeks, I will explore this topic and help redefine who we are and what it means to be an Episcopalian.

       A second survey, Hartford Seminary’s Faith Communities Today (FACT), studied several thousands of congregations in all major Christian denominations in the U.S.A. This survey received reports from over seven hundred Episcopal congregations.  Episcopalians have the clearest sense of identity of any of the mainline denominations.  In the view of this report, the strength of Episcopal identity relied upon a clearly defined and broadly affirmed set of doctrinal and worship traditions. 

       This was verified by the Zacchaeus Project done by William Sachs and Thomas Holland.  They came up with four key findings.  The first key finding speaks to our question:

Episcopalians are committed to worship and an Anglican tradition that binds them in Christian community and forms a spiritual framework for personal growth and ministry.

In fleshing out the meaning of this key finding, Sachs and Holland said:

The Prayer Book and the liturgy emphasizing the Eucharist have become core dimensions of Episcopal identity. Over 95 percent of respondents in both independent surveys and interviews agreed that the Eucharist, liturgy, and the Prayer Book were central to the lives of their congregations. Most Episcopalians see these practices as central to their lives and to the life of their congregation.

Ninety nine percent said that the Eucharist is central to the life of their congregation.  Ninety five percent said that the Book of Common Prayer is central to the life of the congregation.  Ninety five percent said that prayer is central to the life of the congregation.  Eighty two percent said that the Bible is central to the life of their congregation. 

       There is a strong agreement on the Eucharist, the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, on the importance of prayer, and on the place of the Bible.  In describing who we are as Episcopalians, this is an important part of the answer.  Today, these four items are assumed and agreed upon by a very high percentage of Episcopalians.  “In seeing and encountering Jesus, Episcopalians are finding a deep pattern of commitment to Him and to the Church through sacramental liturgy and worship practices.”  Jim+ July 21, 2004