What is Anglicanism?
Anglicans are the third largest group of Christians in the world, and earth’s largest Protestant denomination. We are a global community of over 85 million people on six continents comprising over 165 countries. The largest Anglican Province is Nigeria, and the Global South (Africa, parts of Asia and the Southern Cone) comprise 70% of the Anglican Community.
As the writer Thomas McKenzie put it, “In the mid-twentieth century, the American version of the Anglican Church was a sleepy country club. Today, it’s part of an unexpected and amazing worldwide movement of God.”
St. Michael’s is an example of this active, growing, and fruitful fellowship. Most of us come from different expressions of Christian faith and have found a spiritual home together. We are Christians first, then Anglicans, a type of Christianity within the global body of Christ, including Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants. We love other expressions of the Christian tradition and pray for all churches "who call on the name of the Lord Jesus, their Lord and ours”.
“3 Streams” Worship
Most of the time, churches tend toward one of three “streams” of Christianity. The Evangelical stream focuses on the authority of the Bible and the vital importance of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Sacramental stream honors the wisdom of the historic church and the sacraments. The Charismatic stream enthusiastically emphasizes the presence of the Holy Spirit in the world today. Rather than viewing these streams in competition, we recognize that as the three streams flow into one river, we experience God more fully. We don’t need to choose between these ways of knowing God, because He meets us in all of them! Our embracing of this “3 streams” approach is also part of what drives our “Five-S” Values.
The structure of our service comes mostly from the Book of Common Prayer. Each Sunday, the Bible passages we read and prayers we say are also being echoed by millions of other Christians around the world. Learn more about our beliefs or our liturgy.
For us, Anglicanism represents the best of Christianity—a connection to believers past and present, a commitment to the authority of the Bible, and the call to proclaim the gospel and serve others within a variety of worship styles and ministries.
St. Michael’s is affiliated with the Anglican Diocese of the Upper Midwest under the leadership of Bishop Stewart E. Ruch III. The Diocese is part of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), and is affiliated with the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON).