Anglican?

"ANGLICAN" MEANS THAT WE TRACE OUR christian HERITAGE BACK TO THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

Missionaries brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to England in the time of the Apostles. Alongside the rest of the undivided Church (because there were no "denominations" for the first thousand years of her history [click here for a lecture course on early church history taught by Fr. Ben]), the Anglican Church grew up, practicing the ancient pathways of daily prayer and the regular celebration of Holy Communion with a liturgy that was given shape by the Apostles themselves (Acts 2:42, 1 Cor 11). For century upon century, the Church took root across the Land, each generation handing down the Deposit of the Faith to the next.

Succumbing to some of the corruptions of the 14th century, the Anglican Church was purified when the winds of Reformation blew (1517 - 1559). Unlike the church on the continent of Europe however, the Church in England wished to retain from Holy Tradition whatever was agreeable to Sacred Scripture. So whereas, for instance, in Switzerland they wanted to be done with things like Liturgy and Bishops all together, the Anglican Church kept those things which could be shown to be believed:

IN ALL PLACES, AT ALL TIMES, BY ALL CHRISTIANS.

In this way, the Church of England was a more "moderate" Reformation: Being both catholic AND reformed. Traditional, and renewed.

When the American colonies grew, they brought that Anglican faith with them, and after the Revolutionary War, re-organized themselves politically on American soil; disassociating with England, and establishing what became called "The Episcopal Church". For two centuries, The Episcopal Church faithfully continued this historic way of being a Christian.

Beginning in the 1960s though, little by little The Episcopal Church began to depart from traditional Christian teaching and this led to the breaking away of many faithful congregations, who then in 2008 re-organized as "The Anglican Church in North America" (ACNA), in order to create a home that would continue to foster the Anglican legacy of traditional worship AND radical adherence to the teaching of Sacred Scripture, no matter how unpopular.

Today the ACNA has about 110,000 members within >1000 churches in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.  We are a province of the Global Anglican Communion, which consists of 85 million Anglicans (the largest protestant body in the world!), most of whom live in the Global South.

And this is who we are, here in the Auburn-Opelika area: A branch of that one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, seeking to know God, to love him, and to obey him.

Liturgy

If you have never worshiped with the liturgy of the Holy Eucharist, it might seem strange at first. But this way of worshiping God is ancient—it has its roots in the church in the times of the apostles, who gathered to pray “the prayers” (Acts 2:42), which meant the inherited Jewish liturgies. This liturgy still provides the structure of our service.

Can I receive Communion at The Good Shepherd? If you are a Christian who has been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and if, as our prayer book says, you "truly and earnestly repent of your sins, and seek to live in love and charity with your neighbors, and intend to lead the new life, following the commandments of God, and walking in his holy ways," you are welcome receive Holy Communion, whether you are a member of The Good Shepherd or not.

The liturgy we use at The Good Shepherd comes from the 2019 Book of Common Prayer, which is the liturgy of the Anglican Church in North America.

You can find the 2019 Book of Common Prayer online here, and you can buy your own copy here.