Editor’s note: Here at Anglican Compass, we feature content from low church to high church, as long as it’s written with both clarity and charity. Even if you would never consider an “ad orientem” Holy Communion in your own church, I invite you to read about how and why Fr. Ben Jefferies has made the…
Bautismo Infantil: ¿Por qué los Anglicanos Bautizan a los Bebés?
¿Por qué bautizar a los infantes? El verso lema anglicano para niños tendría que ser: “Dejen que los niños vengan a mí y no los obstaculicen, porque a tales pertenece el reino de los cielos”. Comenzando muy temprano en la vida de la Iglesia cristiana, los niños cristianos fueron vistos como miembros de la comunidad…
¿Qué Creen los Anglicanos sobre la Santa Comunión?
¿Qué creen los Anglicanos acerca de la Santa Comunión? Esto puede ser difícil de precisar. En primer lugar, porque la Santa Comunión tiene muchos nombres: Sin embargo, la Santa Comunión se describe en el Artículo 28 (XXVIII) de los Treinta y Nueve Artículos de la Religión. Esto ofrece una visión de lo que los Anglicanos creen acerca de…
REVIEW: “Blessed, Broken, Given,” by Glenn Packiam
How does the Christian table meal shape us as individuals and as the church? Why is bread at the center of Jesus’ meal? What does this have to do with feeding a spiritually and physically hungry world? Glenn Packiam, associate senior pastor and Anglican Priest serving at New Life Church, Colorado Springs, has written a…
How to Receive Communion, Part 2: A Practical Guide
My last post discussed receiving communion by faith, and was more about our understanding of the spiritual aspects of communion. This post is just plain practical. We all want to reverently receive communion, not get in anyone’s way or spill anything, and to not have any surprises. But the surprises and spills will happen. Even…
How to Receive Communion, Part 1: Receiving with Faith
The first time I visited an Anglican church, I was afraid to go forward for communion for two reasons. If you are visiting an Anglican church for the first time, you may feel the same. So here is what we believe is happening during communion in this post, and then in the next post, some…
Why Every Church Should Have Weekly Sunday Communion Like the Anglicans Do
There was a long period where many Anglican churches didn’t have communion every Sunday. They would have morning prayer for a few weeks, and then a Holy Communion once a month or so. But a movement called Parish Communion successfully restored the tradition around the world. Today, most (but not all) Anglican churches celebrate Holy…
I Don’t Want a Celebration of Life, I Want a Burial Service
When I die, please don’t call my burial service a Celebration of Life. Don’t get me wrong, I hope that people will want to celebrate my life. I don’t want this to replace my Christian burial. No, bury me according to the rites of a Christian. I want to be one more brother in Christ,…
Holy Communion: A Rookie Anglican Guide to the Eucharist
Each Sunday, in churches across the Anglican tradition, the faithful come forward to receive a piece of bread and a sip of wine, being told that these are the body and blood of Christ. It is an ancient practice that traces back to the words of Jesus himself. So, what happens during a liturgical service…
Confirmation: A Rookie Anglican Guide
What is Confirmation? Confirmation is a church practice that falls into the category of what the Anglican Catechism calls “rites and institutions commonly called sacraments.” Along with Confirmation, there are four others like it: Absolution (confessing one’s sins and receiving forgiveness in the presence of a priest), Ordination, Marriage, and Anointing the Sick. These practices,…
Another Surprise Baptism Brings Sudden Appearance
I am leading a tour group of pastors through the Holy Land. Our group is about a dozen clergy, spouses, some dedicated lay people from their churches, and a father with his teenage son. A few days into the trip, the father and son asked if the young man could be baptized here in Israel. Wow….
Collect Reflections: The First Sunday after the Epiphany; The Baptism of Our Lord
This post, in addition to being a part of Rookie Anglican, is part of a series on the Collects of the Christian Year (ACNA), called “Collect Reflections.” If you’re just jumping in, make sure to check out the introductory post, “Announcing Collect Reflections.” All Collect Reflection posts can be found here. Epiphany-what? Sadly, the time for saying “Merry…
