From the Rector:

       What is an Episcopalian?  What does it mean to be Episcopalian?  I can help in this definition by relating what happened at CREDO this summer.  The design for this clergy reflection and discernment event included two Eucharists over an eight day period of time.  The norm was Morning Prayer with sermon after breakfast and the day concluded with Evening Prayer or Compline.  Our chaplain and spiritual director was the Rev.  Mark Cannaday, who is the rector at Holy Trinity Church, Midland, Texas.  Mark said that the design for CREDO did not include daily Eucharist, but if we wanted he would arrange for a daily 7:00 a.m. Eucharist.  There was some general agreement and no disagreement.  Each day, at 7:00 a.m., about half of the group was present.  It was far more than Mark expected and sent him scrambling for additional bread and wine the first morning as we gathered.   The weekly celebration of the Holy Eucharist has become the norm in the Episcopal Church and the Eucharist is the heart of our worship even on weekdays. 

       This was not true twenty five years ago.  Morning Prayer on most Sundays and Holy Eucharist on first Sunday was the norm for many people.  Some parishes have celebrated the Eucharist on Sundays at an early morning service for many years, but the main Sunday service was Morning Prayer. 

       For most Episcopalians today, the norm on Sundays is the Holy Eucharist celebrated using the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.   The Zacchaeus Project found this to be true for better than ninety five percent of Episcopalians.  This is the first part of the answer to the question of what is an Episcopalian or what does it mean to be Episcopalian.  We share a love of the Eucharist and our spirituality is formed around weekly or more frequent communion.  The norm of these celebrations is the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.  Who could have predicted such high agreement on this Prayer Book and the changes that it brought to the Episcopal Church? 

       I cannot say this is true of the whole of the Anglican Communion.  It seems to be true of the Episcopal Church U.S.A. and it seems in my own experience to be true also of the Church of England.  The only difference in England has been the adoption of Common Worship(2000) as the norm for their worship.

       The norm is also the reading of large chunks of Holy Scripture on Sunday morning according to a regular plan of scripture reading called a lectionary.  The Eucharistic Lectionary is read and used in most Episcopal Churches.  Some are using an Episcopal Version of the Revised Common Lectionary.  It is not a major shift, but only a desirable adjustment.  The norm is that the Holy Eucharist includes preaching usually centered in the readings of that Sunday or feast day. 

       This forms the heart of what Episcopalians are.  We are Eucharistically centered.  The 1979 Book of Common Prayer forms the heart of our tradition and we are formed by a regular pattern of reading scripture.  Jim+  August 4, 2004