All Saints' Church is a dynamic, growing and lively church in the Anglican/Episcopal tradition. Considered "family sized", belonging to All Saints' can be compared to being in a large family. Many of our founding families are still here, however we do have a healthy mix of new folks too.
The worship life at All Saints' is best described as Anglo-catholic casual. We use the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and the Hymnal 1982. We use the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible and follow the Revised Common Lectionary. Our Sunday Eucharist is a sung liturgy, occasionally with incense. On Wednesdays, we have a casual, contemplative Eucharist in our Upper Room Chapel. Here we offer a time of intercessory prayer, laying on of hands and anointing for healing. We offer the daily offices of Morning and Evening Prayer, as well as a daily mass, every day except for Friday. We also have special services during the year to commemorate particular events in the life of the church. We pride ourselves on being a warm and friendly church and are always willing to welcome strangers into our fold!
All Saints' Church is a conservative and theologically orthodox congregation. We affirm the infallibility of scripture, its relevence for our life today, and understand it to be the rule of life for the Christian. We do not feel that scripture is ever outdated or irrelevant.
At All Saints', we hold to the following theology:
1) The Lordship of Jesus Christ, His Virgin Birth, His vicarious death, His glorious bodily Resurrection and His Ascension to the right hand of God. We believe that Jesus is the only Son of God, fully God, fully man, and without sin. We believe saving faith in Jesus Christ is essential to salvation.
2) The Holy Trinity - one God as revealed in Trinity of Persons and unity of Being, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are co-eternal, co-equal and altogether one Almighty God.
3) The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as containing all things nessesary to salvation.
4) The Holy Eucharist as the central act of Christian worship (It is also called the Holy Communion, the Divine Liturgy, the Supper of the Lord, or the Mass). We believe that Jesus is truly present: Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the consecrated elements. We further hold that in order for a person to receive Holy Communion at our church, they need to have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, be baptized with water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and have prepared themselves spiritually.
Many of the recent innovations of the Episcopal Church we do not accept, namely: same sex blessings and the ordination of active homosexuals. We hold fast to the "faith once delivered to the saints" and hold that homosexual practice is not of God's design for His children and therefore sinful. We welcome all persons, even those who struggle with this particular sin, just as we welcome any repentant sinner. God's love is for everyone, especially those who are struggling to serve Him.
All Saints' Church is involved in the Diocese of Springfield's pilot program "Yes, These Bones Can Live" orchestrated by Acts 29 Ministries. We are an affiliate of the Anglican Communion Network and the American Anglican Council. We share a special relationship with Nashotah House Theological Seminary where most of our former clergy were educated. We are active in missions, evangelism efforts, the Cursillo movement, the catechumenate, Alpha and community outreach. There is always something going on as we try to spread the Kingdom of God on earth.
Would you consider joining us? We are ready to have you come and share in our life as we seek to serve the Lord Jesus and make His love known to all the nations - beginning right here in Morton.
