An Overview of the Anglican Communion

How St. Aidan's is part of the Anglican Communion

St. Aidan's is a local church in Kansas City within the Diocese of the Upper Midwest within the Province of the Anglican Church in North America, recognized and in communion with the Global South Provinces of the world-wide Anglican Communion. From a bottom up relationship: local churches link to a Diocese with a Bishop linked to a national Province comprised by a House of Bishops (representing all the national Dioceses) led by a first among equals, an Archbishop.

The Anglican Communion - Global http://www.anglicancommunion.org/index.cfm · Anglicans are a kind of Christian rooted in ancient forms of worship and church order governed by Bishops. · The Anglican Communion consists of over 85 million people on six continents · Anglicans comprise 38 self-governing Provinces · Each self-governing Province represents a particular country or countries governed by an Archbishop alongside a House of Bishops (regional leaders within the Province who represent dioceses, a group of regional parishes or congregations). · Anglican churches are in more than 165 countries. · All Anglicans share common forms of governance, ancient & modern ways of worship (Prayer Book), a global Daily Office of fixed scripture readings and prayers, historic creeds and documents (located in each country’s Book of Common Prayer). · Among notable Anglicans, Florence Nightengale, shaper of modern nursing, Jennifer Worth, (author of her memoir, Call the Midwife); Abolitionists William Wilberforce and John Newton, author of Amazing Grace; Literary giants C.S. Lewis, T.S. Eliot, John Donne, and John Keats; Theologians N.T. Wright, J.I. Packer, Richard Bauckham, Os Guinness, John Stott, Alister McGrath, Lancelot Andrewes (oversaw the translation of the King James Bible); Martyrs Hugh Latimer, Thomas Cranmer, Nicolas Ridley, William Laud, many others; Author, Evelyn Underhill; Fr. Andrew White, Vicar of Baghdad; contemporary worship song writers Matt Redman and Tim Hughes; Nicky Gumbel framer of the Alpha Course; Revivalists George Whitefield, John & Charles Wesley, founders of Methodism, passed this present life as Anglicans. · A simple history of the Anglican Church can be accessed at the following link:http://www.patheos.com/Library/Anglican/Origins/Beginnings.html

The Global South Anglican Provinces http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Anglican_Future_Conference Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans North America (FCA): http://fca.net/ Global Anglican Fellowship Conference (GAFCon): http://gafcon.org/ · Global South Anglicans make up 25 of the 38 Anglican Provinces (Africa, most of Asia & two Oceania Provinces). · Nigeria, the largest Province in the Anglican Communion, is comprised of some 20 million Anglicans. · Global South Anglicans make up 70% of the entire communion. · The Anglican Communion is, thus, richly diverse in cultures and by a vast majority, theologically conservative (faithfully submitted to scripture as read by the historic Church).

North American Anglican Province: Anglican Church of North America http://www.anglicanchurch.net/ · The Anglican Church in North America Province unites some 100,000 Anglicans in nearly 1,000 congregations across the United States and Canada into a single Church. · It is an emerging Province in the global Anglican Communion. The Most Rev. Foley Beach is the Archbishop of the Church and Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh. · The Anglican Church in North America was initiated at the request of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCon) in Jerusalem, June 2008 and formally recognized by the GAFCon Primates – leaders of Anglican Churches representing 70 percent of the active Anglicans globally – on April 16, 2009 after a thorough examination of the Anglican Church's leadership, organizational structure, proposed constitution and proposed canons. Thus, the global Anglican Church called the ACNA into being.

The Anglican Diocese of the Upper Midwest http://www.midwestanglican.org/ · The Anglican Diocese of the Upper Midwest is a group of churches and church plants organized into four deaneries: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Greater Chicago, and Greenhouse. · A deanery is a smaller cluster of regional churches led by a Dean. The Dean is under the direction of the Bishop. · Why deaneries? Because we have a vision to not only plant churches, but also multiply dioceses. · St. Aidan’s is part of the Greater Chicago deanery where our Bishop is also our Dean.

St. Aidan's Anglican Church - Kansas City, MO www.staidanskc.org Sacraments · That faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all – St. Vincent of Lerins · Catholic means “whole / universal” and is not limited to Roman Catholic. Anglicans are reformed catholics (neither Roman nor Eastern Orthodox while affirming the one, holy, catholic, apostolic Church). · Governmental structure of bishop / priest / deacons · Sacraments, symbols, liturgy · The Great Tradition – creeds, councils, writings of the Church Mothers and Fathers. Scripture · Holy Scripture and biblical preaching as of first importance · Gospel centered – Christ as the center of all life. · Inviting others to follow Jesus – sharing our faith in word and deeds · Missional / apostolic expansion – acts of charity, discipleship, church planting, mission Spirit · Life lived in the power, gifts and fellowship of the Holy Spirit