The Church of the Reconciliation is an Episcopal Church, established in the town of Webster, MA almost 150 years ago. We are a Christian church which honors as the three basic sources of our faith: the Holy Scriptures, human reason, and Church traditions. We are an apostolic faith, meaning that we trace the ordination of our bishops back to the apostles and the early Church. We are a sacramental faith, meaning that we believe in baptism and the Holy Eucharist as established by Jesus, to provide outward signs of an inward grace. We believe that the Bread and Wine, consecrated during the service of Holy Eucharist (the Mass), contains the true presence of Christ. Our Orders of Ordained Ministry (clergy) include bishops, priests, and deacons. Both men and women may be ordained, and married clergy with children is commonplace.
The Episcopal Church in the United States was established after the Revolutionary War. It grew out of the Anglican Church in Europe, which was established in the early 1600s (the Protestant Reformation) and brought to America during colonial times. The Anglican Church broke away from the Roman Catholic Church at that time, but we still maintain many of the same aspects of liturgy and religious tradition from our Roman Catholic roots.
The Episcopal faith encourages us to make our own interpretation of the Bible, guided by the Holy Spirit, and the traditions of the Church. With a few exceptions, found in the Nicene Creed, we are not told what to believe. The Book of Common Prayer is the foundation of how we pray, and contains all the liturgical services we use. We follow a very democratic form of church government on national, diocesan, and parish levels. There is no Pope or one leader who makes the rules. Church decisions are made with input from bishops, priests, and the people of the church.
In late 2020, Church of the Reconciliation entered into a joint relationship with our brothers and sisters of Zion Lutheran Church in Oxford, MA. Sharing Priest-in-Charge Pastor Michael Bastien, we have common ground in our ministries and outreach, faith, and love of God.
Useful Links
Forward Day by Day Meditations – A daily devotional by Forward Movement, an official agency of the Episcopal Church
Church of the Reconciliation 