For Newcomers
Who are we at St. Ann's?
St. Ann's is one of Nashville's oldest congregations, but it is very progressive, accepting, and vibrant in spirit. Though our worship is formal, it is not stuffy. Our community welcomes people regardless of who they are. Dress for services is flexible, ranging from shorts or jeans to "corporate casual" to "Sunday best."
What is the Episcopal Church?
As an Episcopal Church, we at St. Ann's are a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion numbering more than 70 million people. Anglicans represent a broad spectrum of theological and social opinions, from very conservative to very liberal. They trace their history to the Church of England.
There are more members of the Episcopal Church or the Anglican Communion in the world than there are Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, or other churches with which you may be familiar. We are, in fact, outnumbered only by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
How do Episcopalians worship?
We do use strange words sometimes, and you might not be familiar with all the ways we worship. As Anglicans, we incorporate elements of both the Protestant and Catholic traditions in our worship and church structure.
How do I become a member?
For Episcopalians, life in Christ is a journey that begins at birth and extends beyond death. Some Episcopalians may have sudden experiences of God's grace that bring them to desire greater union with Christ. For others, the process may be quite gradual. Some Episcopalians may indeed have a sense of having been "saved" at a particular moment. Others, because they were baptized into the Church as infants, may feel that they were never "lost." Many people coming to the Episcopal Church as adults may be quite tentative about their need for a spiritual life and may have serious "issues" about the form of Christianity they were reared with or came to know in others. For such people, years may go by before they finally realize that the life in Christ has become central to their being.
We do not insist that everyone undergo the same experience, though we believe that we are all on the same journey of Christian formation, the journey of more than a lifetime. One does not, therefore, "join" our Church on the spur of the moment. The Episcopal Church marks the Christian journey with two rites: Holy Baptism and Confirmation. And we at St. Ann's require that all adults who wish to become full members undergo the Catechumenal Process, an extended period of prayer, study, and reflection.
