A little bit of history
500 years ago, the Anglican Church was born in England, heavily influenced by both the Catholic Church and the Protestant movement.
As a result of our history, many Catholics feel very familiar in Anglican worship: our priests wear special robes for worship, there are certain prayers we say every single Sunday, and our services follow an ancient pattern of prayers, readings, preaching and Communion.
Many Protestants too feel a strong connection with Anglican worship: our prayers are filled with references to Scripture, we read aloud from the Bible at every single service, and our preaching is deeply rooted in the Word of God.
Because the British took the Anglican tradition around the world with them as they built their Empire, this is truly a global Church. In our congregation, we have many members who were Anglican in their home countries, before they came to Canada: in the Caribbean, Fiji, South East Asia, Africa, Pakistan and the Indian sub-continent, Britain and the United States.
We are an incredibly diverse Church, all united as brothers and sisters in Christ through our shared Anglican tradition.
Why do you say the same prayers every Sunday?
Some people new to the Anglican Church may feel that our services are almost identical each week. For Evangelicals, this may seem strange, but that same-ness is a very beautiful gift that Anglicanism has to offer.
Each week, the liturgy (the order of the worship service) stays remarkably the same, even while we change. Some of the prayers that we say every Sunday are hundreds of years old (even though the language is modern) - they're profound enough to have lasted through a huge breadth of life circumstances and all kinds of moments in history. They're that deep. Their constancy is why they are so powerful: they remind us of the constancy of God, who remains close to us every day of our lives, through good times and through bad.
While the prayers don't change, the meaning that we read into them deepens over time. As we pray them throughout our lives, these prayers sink into our bones. They help us to pray even when we no longer know what to pray for, or even how to pray at all. They help us get through very tough times in our own lives.
Over time, the prayers change us, very quietly and very gently, and help us grow in faithful trust in God and as passionate disciples of Christ.
I'm a Catholic (Orthodox / Evangelical / etc) - can I take Communion?
In the Anglican Church of Canada, everyone who is baptized is welcome to take Communion. But we won't ask for your baptismal certificate at the door! At St. George's, everyone who feels called is welcome to come forward at Communion. If you'd like a blessing instead of Communion, just fold your arms over your chest. For more information about Communion at St. George's, click here.
If you would like to become an Anglican, we offer Confirmation for those who have not yet been confirmed in any Christian tradition. For those who were confirmed in another tradition, we offer a rite of Reception, when we formally receive you as an Anglican. You can read more about that here.