Anglican Visitor Journey · Step 1 of 5
New to Anglicanism? Start Here
Discover a Christian life rooted in Holy Scripture, shaped by the ancient Creeds, nourished by the sacraments, and ordered through common prayer.
You may have arrived here from an evangelical church, a Reformed congregation, Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, or no church at all. You may be drawn to the beauty of Anglican worship but unsure what Anglicans actually believe.
You may be looking for a Christian faith that is biblical without being rootless, historic without being frozen in the past, sacramental without being superstitious, and reverent without becoming cold.
Those are honest questions. You do not need to hide them when you visit St. Andrew's.
Anglicanism is not simply a worship style, a preference for old prayers, or a compromise between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. At its best, the Anglican way is an integrated Christian life. It brings together Holy Scripture, the ancient Creeds, the sacraments Christ gave His Church, the Book of Common Prayer, pastoral care, daily prayer, Christian fellowship, works of mercy, and ordinary faithfulness in the home and the world.
The goal is not to make people fascinated with Anglicanism. The goal is to form faithful disciples of Jesus Christ within His visible Church.
The foundation
The Anglican Way Begins With Jesus Christ
Anglicans confess the faith of the historic Christian Church: one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; Jesus Christ fully God and fully man; His death for our sins; His bodily resurrection; His ascension; the gift of the Holy Ghost; one holy catholic and apostolic Church; one Baptism; the resurrection of the body; and the life of the world to come.
This faith is not invented by a denomination. It is summarized in the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Creed of St. Athanasius because those Creeds faithfully confess the teaching of Holy Scripture.
At St. Andrew's, the Bible is the supreme and final authority for Christian faith and life. Article VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles states that Holy Scripture contains all things necessary to salvation. Anglican tradition does not stand above Scripture. It receives Scripture within the worship, teaching, and common life of the Church that preserved, proclaimed, and prayed it from the apostolic age.
“Your word is truth.”
Jesus prayed to the Father, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17, NKJV).
The Anglican life is saturated with Scripture. We hear it read in worship, pray it in the Psalms, confess its teaching in the Creeds, hear it preached in sermons, and read it through the Daily Office.
Rooted and reformed
Reformed and Catholic, Without Being Roman
The word catholic means whole, universal, and according to the whole faith. Anglicans use it in the Creeds to confess the one Church of Jesus Christ across nations and centuries. It does not mean that Anglicans submit to the Roman papacy or accept every doctrine developed in the medieval Western Church.
The English Reformation sought to reform the Church according to the Word of God while preserving what belonged to the ancient and undivided Church. The English Reformers rejected teachings and practices they believed contradicted Scripture. They also refused the idea that the Church had to begin again from nothing.
That is why historic Anglicanism is often described as reformed catholic Christianity. It is reformed because Scripture judges the Church and because the Gospel of grace stands at the center. It is catholic because the Church did not begin in the sixteenth century, and because Christians are not free to discard the apostolic faith, the Creeds, Baptism, Holy Communion, the historic ministry, or the common worship of the Church.
A pattern for the whole week
More Than a Sunday Service
Many people first encounter Anglicanism through liturgy. They notice the Prayer Book, vestments, kneeling, set prayers, weekly Holy Communion, and the Church calendar. Those things matter, but they belong to a larger life.
The Pattern of Acts 2:42
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (NKJV).
The Anglican way carries this pattern into the whole week. Sunday worship leads into Morning and Evening Prayer. The Church year teaches us to inhabit the life of Christ. Fasting teaches the body to say no to disordered desire. Feasting teaches gratitude. Confession teaches honesty about sin. Absolution directs us to the mercy of God in Christ.
Fellowship keeps us from turning Christianity into a private spiritual project. Works of mercy train us to recognize and serve Christ in our neighbors.
Bring your questions
What You May Find Here
People come to Anglicanism with different gifts, convictions, questions, and wounds. St. Andrew's does not ask you to hide your background. These short guides explain what may feel familiar—and what may be different.
Coming from an Evangelical or Reformed church?
Evangelical and Reformed Christians often arrive with good instincts that Anglicanism should honor, not mock. They love the authority of Scripture, the necessity of conversion, the finished work of Christ, preaching, personal prayer, evangelism, and the need for living faith.
Anglicanism does not ask you to abandon those convictions. It invites you to place them within the fuller life of the Church.
A personal relationship with Jesus Christ is essential. But the New Testament never presents that relationship as “Jesus and me” apart from His Body. Christ saves us into a people. St. Paul says, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually” (1 Corinthians 12:27, NKJV).
The sacraments do not compete with faith. They are gifts Christ appointed to strengthen faith. Liturgy does not replace heartfelt prayer. It gives the heart biblical words and trains our desires. Tradition does not cancel Scripture. Faithful tradition helps us hear Scripture with the whole Church rather than treating private interpretation as infallible.
The Anglican answer to shallow emotionalism is not dead formality. It is truth prayed, grace received, and holiness lived.
Coming from Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy?
Roman Catholic and Orthodox visitors often recognize much that is familiar: the Creeds, bishops, the Church year, sacramental worship, reverence, ancient prayers, and a serious understanding of the Church.
They will also find important differences. Historic Anglicanism receives Holy Scripture as the final standard of doctrine. It does not accept papal supremacy or papal infallibility. It rejects transubstantiation as a required explanation of Christ's presence in Holy Communion, while still confessing that faithful communicants truly partake of Christ's Body and Blood in a heavenly and spiritual manner. It reforms practices that obscure the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ or compromise His unique mediation.
Anglicanism should not be presented as a temporary stop on the way to Rome or Constantinople. It claims to stand within Christ's catholic Church, reformed according to Scripture and continuous with the faith and worship of the ancient Church.
Unchurched, de-churched, or returning after a long absence?
You do not need to understand every word, gesture, or doctrine before you attend. You are welcome to come, listen, pray, and ask questions.
You may find Anglican worship unfamiliar at first. That is normal. A service that has been received rather than invented around the personality of the minister will take time to learn. No one is expecting you to perform. Follow the service as you are able. Stand, sit, or kneel with the congregation when comfortable. If you lose your place, listen. The words will become familiar through use.
You may also carry wounds from a former church. St. Andrew's cannot promise a parish without sinners. No church can. We can promise that Christian leaders and members remain accountable to the Word of God, that repentance is not a slogan, and that the Church's life should always lead us back to Jesus Christ rather than protecting pride, manipulation, or abuse.
Questions are not threats. Honest questions are part of catechesis, the Church's patient work of teaching people to follow Christ.
Worship, prayer, formation, and service
The Main Parts of Anglican Life
Anglican life joins Sunday worship to daily prayer, sacramental grace, sustained Christian formation, fellowship, mercy, and vocation.
Worship on Sunday
Sunday is the center of the Christian week because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. God gathers His people, speaks through His Word, receives their prayers and praise, feeds them in Holy Communion, and sends them into the world.
St. Andrew's worships Sundays at 4:00 PM. A weekly fellowship meal follows so visitors can meet people, ask questions, and begin to be known.
The Daily Office
Morning and Evening Prayer order the day around Scripture, confession, praise, intercession, and thanksgiving. They do not replace personal prayer; they give it a stable biblical framework and unite us with the prayer of the Church.
Holy Baptism and Holy Communion
Baptism is the sacrament of Christian initiation. God visibly signs and seals His promises, grafts the baptized into the Church, and calls the baptized person into a life of faith, repentance, worship, and obedience.
Holy Communion is the sacrament of spiritual nourishment. It is not a repetition of Christ's sacrifice. His offering for sin was made once for all. In the Supper, faithful Christians truly participate in Christ and receive the benefits of His saving work.
Catechesis and Formation
Discipleship does not end with a first profession of faith. Christians need sustained teaching in Scripture, doctrine, worship, prayer, ethics, and service.
Catechesis prepares the unbaptized for Baptism, baptized Christians for Confirmation or reception, parents to form their children, and every Christian for mature participation in the life of the Church.
Fellowship, Mercy, and Vocation
Christian formation is tested in love. We learn to forgive real people, bear burdens, give generously, care for the poor, welcome strangers, visit the sick, raise children, honor marriage, work honestly, and serve our neighborhoods.
The parish is not an escape from ordinary life. It is where ordinary life is offered to God.
Faith in Ordinary Life
St. Paul urges Christians to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1, NKJV).
Anglican formation carries worship into the home, workplace, neighborhood, and every vocation God has given us.
Enter the Rhythm of Prayer
Morning and Evening Prayer are open to newcomers. Join online, listen at first, and let Scripture and common prayer teach the pattern over time.
Your first steps
Where Should I Begin?
Begin by coming to worship. You do not need to settle every question before you walk through the door.
Come to Worship
Join us Sunday at 4:00 PM. Come as you are, follow the service as you are able, and let the words become familiar through patient participation.
Stay and Be Known
Stay for the fellowship meal. Introduce yourself to the priest or another member. Tell us your background, what brought you, and the questions you are carrying.
Enter the Common Life
Join Morning or Evening Prayer, continue through this visitor journey, and ask about catechesis and the path toward Baptism, Confirmation, reception, or committed membership.
Do not rush, but do not remain permanently at the edge.
Christianity is not a product to sample from a safe distance. Jesus Christ calls us to repent, believe the Gospel, receive His gifts, and take our place among His people.
Come and See
St. Andrew's Reformed Episcopal Church serves Peoria, Glendale, and the surrounding West Valley. We gather for worship on Sundays at 4:00 PM and share a fellowship meal afterward.
Come as a visitor. Bring your questions. Open the Prayer Book. Hear the Scriptures. Pray with us. The Anglican way is best understood not merely by reading about it, but by entering the worship and common life of the Church.