What does Anglican mean?

The word “Anglican” means that we trace the beginnings of our church to the Church of England and the Reformation of the 16th Century. The Anglican Church was founded upon the basis of the Word of God as contained in the Bible and the patterns of worship recorded there. Many of the traditions that you see in our services today actually go back thousands of years to the very beginnings of the church itself- just after Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. By keeping these ancient traditions we are able to have deep roots into the way the Christian church has always worshipped God. At Desert Mission Anglican Church we blend these ancient traditions with contemporary styles of worship creating a time of relevant and exciting worship with a firm foundation in the Scriptural and traditional history of the church.

Why do we read prayers and repeat things a lot?

The words we say as part of our worship services are collectively called “liturgy.” Our liturgy comes from a book called The Book of Common Prayer. There are many different forms of this book throughout the world, but all of them have their roots in the first Book of Common Prayer written in 1552. You can think of The Book of Common Prayer as a sort of songbook. Just like a hymnal or songbook helps everyone to worship by singing together, The Book of Common Prayer allows everyone to worship together in other ways. One reformer put it this way, “If all of the people could pray some of the time, the way some of the people pray all of the time, we would not need a book of prayer.”

However, the Prayer Book is not comprised of made up words. 80% of the Book of Common Prayer is taken word for word from the Bible, 10% is paraphrased from the Bible, and the last 10% are teachings based on the Bible. In fact, the use of liturgy itself comes directly from the Bible. The words that we say at Communion are the words that Jesus himself used at the Last Supper. In the book of Revelation we see a glimpse of heaven and everything there is saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” There are many other examples of the use of liturgy in the Bible, so using liturgy in the church helps us to worship in a way patterned after the way people in the Bible worshiped.

The Bible tells us that every person who knows Christ is a part of a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9). Because of this fact, in the Anglican Church the Priest or Deacon leads the service, but it is the people who actually perform the worship. In fact, the word liturgy means “the work of the people.” We are not a church where one person stands up at the front and does all of the worshipping; everyone who comes is an active participant in the worship of God. Our liturgy is a tool we use to help this happen.

Liturgy also helps us to remember God’s Word and God’s promises. Because we say the same words each week, after awhile we start to have them memorized. Having these words stored in our memory gives us a jumping off point to our own prayers during the week. It really helps during those times when you just don’t know what to pray or what to say to God. Sometimes saying some of the words and prayers that we have memorized will help us get started.

To summarize, our liturgy is based on the Word of God in the Bible. Do not misunderstand: The Book of Common Prayer is not the Bible and should not be seen as such. The Bible is the God-breathed Word of God; The Book of Common Prayer is just the tool that we have to help us use the Bible in our worship.

Why do we use symbols like candles and the cross?

There are symbols everywhere. Wedding rings symbolize the union between a husband and wife, stop signs keep us from crashing into each other, our flag represents our country, etc. These symbols help to communicate a certain message. Symbols in the church are no different. Symbols help us to remember things that we need to remember, keep our focus where it is supposed to be, and point us toward God in our worship. For instance, we use candles on the table at Communion to represent the light of Christ and remind us that Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12).” The cross at the center of the church reminds us of the amazing sacrifice that Jesus made for us and keeps us focused on the fact that our reason for worship is what he did for us on the cross.

Like most of the things that we have talked about already, symbols used in church have their roots deep into Ancient Christianity and even into Old Testament Judaism. When you read both the Old Testament and the New Testament you will see the use of symbols everywhere. The use of symbols in the church again allows us to worship in a way patterned after what we see in the Bible.

 Why does the Pastor dress like that?

In both the Old Testament and the New Testament the leaders of worship have worn special clothes to set them apart. These clothes are worn to show that the ministers are representing someone greater than themselves.

Our pastor wears a white robe (called an alb) to point away from himself and towards Christ. It is white to represent the glory and light of Christ’s resurrection. The colored piece of material on top of the alb is called a stole. It represents the “yoke” of Christ. Matthew 11:28-30 records Jesus saying, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” The stole serves as a reminder of whom we serve, namely Christ.

The minister also wears special clothing at other times during the week. This is his uniform, just like policemen, firemen, and nurses wear uniforms to designate their special jobs. The special collar that our minister wears symbolizes the neckbands that used to be placed around the necks of slaves in ancient times. This serves to show that he is serving Christ and not himself.

What is the Eucharist (or Holy Communion)?

People have written very large books on this subject, so this is just a brief summary. Basically, the Eucharist or Holy Communion is the way that the church follows the commands of Jesus at the Last Supper. When he finished dinner, Jesus blessed bread and wine, gave thanks to God, and gave it to his disciples. He told them “Whenever you do this, do it for the remembrance of me.” Through the Eucharist (which means “thanksgiving”) we give thanks to God for what he did for us and we remember Christ’s sacrifice for us. This is a big deal; it is more than just a time to remember what happened 2,000 years ago. We believe that through the Eucharist we actually spiritually take part in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice.

The Eucharist is what we call a Sacrament. A sacrament is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. In other words, a sacrament is something physical. It is something that we can touch and see but there is a spiritual side to it also that we cannot see or touch. A sacrament helps us to better understand what is going on spiritually, by giving us something that we can understand and take part in physically.

Because we believe that the Eucharist is a special time for those who belong to Christ (Christians) to commune with Christ, the Eucharist is only open to baptized believers in Jesus. The sacrament would not mean much to someone who does not first of all know Christ. Those who are not baptized believers are welcomed and encouraged to come to the front when everyone else does, but we would ask that instead of receiving the bread and the wine if they would cross their arms across their chest and our Pastor will say a quick blessing over them instead.

As mentioned before, there is so much more to the Eucharist than what can fit here. The Eucharist is a grand mystery of the church and one of the main features of our Sunday worship. The Eucharist helps us to look back to what Christ did on the cross 2,000 years ago, it helps us to look forward to Christ’s return in the future, and it helps us to look out in mission as we proclaim the Gospel through the sacrament.

The main reason that we participate in the Eucharist is because Jesus told us to. It is not just a symbol, not just a fellowship meal, and not just another part of the service. It is a glorious mystery through which we can respond to what Christ has done for us and relate with him directly. This can be a bit confusing because there is nothing like this in the world outside the church. Desert Mission is a comfortable place for you to learn more about these things, and we are confident that you will find beauty, majesty, and power in the Eucharist just as we do.

What is the church calendar?

In order to show that all that we do throughout the year focuses on Christ, the church has arranged a calendar organizing the year around events in the life of Christ. This too can be traced back hundreds of years. This calendar helps us to keep everything we do Christ-centered and also helps us to better understand and experience the events of his life.

Different colors are used to denote each season. The Minster’s stole and the altar colors reflect the color of the season. The major seasons of the church are:

• Advent- This season is the first season in the church year coming four weeks before Christmas. It is a season of expectation of both the birth of Christ as celebrated at Christmas and his coming again someday in the future. The color used is purple or blue, the color of royalty, to represent the coming of the King.

• Christmas- This season comes in the last part of December. It celebrates the birth of Christ. The color is white, symbolizing joy, purity and truth.

• Epiphany- The name of this season comes from the Greek word for “appearing.” Observed right after Christmas, during this season we remember Christ revealing himself to us. There is a focus on growth during Epiphany, so we use green for the color.

• Lent- This season is the forty days before Easter. It reminds us of Christ’s forty day temptation in the wilderness where he fasted and prayed in preparation for his ministry. The color is purple for penitence and expectation.

• Easter- During this season we remember Christ’s resurrection and all that he did on earth until his ascension. This is the most important season of the church year. White is used here to remind us of the glory of the resurrection and the purity from sin that came through Jesus’ sacrifice.

• Pentecost- This is the last season of the church year. The color red is used on the day of Pentecost, and then green is used during “ordinary time,” a time of growth, to represent the color of living things and God’s creation. It begins just after Easter and lasts until we begin a new Advent season in December. This season emphasizes Jesus’ ministry, including his miracles and teachings.

How does the Anglican Church differ from the Roman Catholic Church?

This is a common question, and there are many differences. Too many to list here, however here is a brief history to highlight the more significant distinctions.

Much of what we believe is different from the Roman Catholics. There are differences in both worship and theology. For instance, we do not recognize the authority of the Pope as the Catholics do. The Anglican Church has its roots in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Therefore, we believe most of the same things as other Protestant denominations including the Baptists, Presbyterians, and Methodists. Of course, there are some differences between the Anglican Church and these other denominations (that is why there are different denominations), but they are primarily the same. Although some of the things that we do in the Anglican Church are more similar to the Roman Catholic Church than other denominations, we are distinct and very different.

Since most of the liturgies that are found in the prayer book are handed down mainly from the 4th Century (some of them were used even earlier), and since approximately 80% of the prayer book is directly from the Bible, there will be a similarity in all churches that use liturgy, whether Roman Catholic, Anglican, or Orthodox. Also, many of the ceremonial actions that are performed during a service are found in Jewish services (tabernacle, temple, etc.) and would have been familiar to all of the Apostles (albeit, during the persecution and scattering of the Church, many of the ceremonies could not be carried out). At the time there was still a form that was used, even in house churches, that followed the “words of institution” offered by Jesus at the last supper and the consecration of the elements.

Theologically, one of the main differences between the Anglican Church and Roman Catholic Church is what is believed to happen at the consecration of the bread and wine. The Anglican Church believes that at the “epiclesis,” or the moment when the Divine interacts with the material, Christ’s Divine Presence is present in the bread and wine. The Roman Catholic Church believes that the elements literally turn into the flesh and blood of Jesus (called transubstantiation) and therefore you are actually eating His flesh and drinking His blood. This is addressed quite thoroughly in Article XXVIII of the 39 Articles of Religion of the Anglican Church. It quotes in part, “Transubstantiation (or the change of the substance of Bread and Wine) in the Supper of the Lord cannot be proved by Holy Writ; but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions.” There is more, and you can find these Articles on pages 867-878 of the Prayer Book.

Other theological differences which are practiced by the Roman Catholic Church include the doctrine of Purgatory (covered by Article XXII), the saying of Masses for the dead (covered by Article XXXI), prayer to Mary or the Saints, the doctrine of the sinless life, Mary and perpetual virginity, and many others.

The Anglican Church does believe in the reconciliation of a penitent (generally known as confession, yet in a different context than the Roman Catholic Church), and baptism of infant children (provided that parents and godparents bring them to a confession or affirmation of faith when they are of age). These ceremonies were also practiced in the early Church.

Do I have to remember all this stuff?

The simple answer is: No! The most important thing for you to know is that Jesus Christ sacrificed his life on the cross for you and died for your sins. Because of this you can enter into heaven by asking for forgiveness of your sins and letting Christ take leadership in your life. If you have not accepted Christ as your Savior and Lord you can right now, right here, through prayer. All you have to do is ask for his forgiveness, ask him to take control of your life, and ask him to come into your heart. If this is something that you would like to do please pray for these things. If you would like to share your decision with us, we will celebrate with you and give you tools to help you grow in your faith!

Everything that we do in our worship is to glorify Jesus Christ for the Good News of his Gospel. The Gospel is the most important thing, everything else (the liturgy, the symbols, the clothing, etc) are just tools to help us in our worship and help us grow in our knowledge and love of Christ. Come to know Christ first and foremost before anything else. We hope the elements of our worship will help you achieve this and that they can become elements of your worship too.

What are the Three Streams?

Throughout history there appear to be three primary streams of expression within the Church. One has focused on the Word of God, another the Spirit of God, and the other on the sacraments. The tendency of church bodies through the ages has been to build on one of these to the exclusion and, at times, suspicion of the others. Some churches would be strong in the proclamation of the Word while neglecting the sacraments. Others would celebrate the Spirit and His gifts while neglecting the proper teaching of the Word. And others would faithfully offer the sacraments while neglecting to train their members in the necessity for every believer to study the Bible. But at certain times and in certain places there have been church families that have sought what we have come to see as the deepest place in God’s heart. They have endeavored to see all three streams present and merged into one mighty river. It is a Church such as this that we dream of becoming.

Desert Mission Anglican Church is built upon the clear teaching of the Bible. We encourage people to seek daily time with God in prayer and Bible study where they are instructed and formed by the Scriptures. The nucleus of DMAC is the small groups where members and friends gather regularly for further study of the Bible and for mutual encouragement, prayer, support and ministry. In corporate worship, truth is preached in a relevant and applicable way so that everyone, young and old, committed and curious, seasoned disciple and new follower of Christ are taught the undiluted Word of God. Desert Mission Anglican Church celebrates the presence of the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ and not only welcomes the gifts that He gives, but seeks to minister according to the giftedness of the individual believers. Corporate worship is celebratory and demonstrative. Biblical choruses accompany great hymns as a musical expression of the hearts of the faithful who gather regularly to worship God. Drama and other forms of the arts are used as acts of worship and as tools for communication of God’s word and love. While a predetermined order is used for the form of public worship, it is but a guideline that is readily adjusted to conform to whatever the leadership discerns God to be doing on a particular occasion. In keeping with the Reformed tradition, worship is done by the people and not for the people. It is a church where everyone is a minister, a priest before the Lord; and this not only on Sundays but all through the week as well.

We also celebrate Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These two sacraments that Jesus commanded the Church to offer are tangible reminders of His great promises that He would make a way for us to belong to Him and that He would provide everything that we need to grow in Him. As a result, these are not offered sparingly or privately but repeatedly and openly. In baptism there is the reminder for believers that we have been chosen by God to belong to Him. It also serves as a reminder that, in response, we have chosen to identify with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is also the reminder to go into the entire world and tell of His gracious love and redeeming work on the cross. In the Lord’s Supper we remember the great offering that Jesus made for the world in giving His perfect life as a sacrifice for our sinful lives. We celebrate His promise to be with us forever and find in the bread and wine a picture of His nourishing, healing, empowering presence. It, too, focuses us upon the command and need to tell the world of Jesus’ redeeming love. As a result, while faithful to minister to the needs of her members, this church is always to be ready and eager to reach out to the world that He loves and for which He gave His life.

Three streams, One faith.

That is the picture that we see of the kind of church that God desires. That is the kind of church that, by His grace and in His strength, Desert Mission Anglican Church is becoming.