Church of the Risen Christ

Pastoral Greetings in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ!

Church of the Risen Christ is a welcome home for those who have been marginalized by the church. We are dedicated to our relationship with Christ Jesus our Lord.

"So yet here you have an order for prayer much agreeable to the mind and purpose of the old fathers."

-From the Preface of the First Book of Common Prayer, 1549

We extend a welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, filthy rich or dirt poor. We extend a special welcome to those who are carrying newborns, skinny as a rail or could afford to lose a few pounds.

We welcome those who can sing like Andrea Bocelli or like myself, can’t carry a note in a bucket. We welcome those who are “just browsing”, just woke up or just got out of jail. We welcome those who have perfect attendance pins since they were a child and those who haven’t been in church since little Joey’s baptism. We welcome those who are straight or LGBTQ+. We welcome those that are certain where they belong and those still searching.

We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems or you’re down in the dumps or if you don’t like “organized religion”, we’ve been there too.

We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or because grandma is in town and wanted to go to church.

We welcome those who are inked, pierced or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers and doubters, bleeding hearts…and you! A hearty Christian welcome is extended to you!

WELCOME HOME

-The Rev. Fr. Justin L. Gates

Rev. Fr. Justin L. Gates, Priest

This Faith Community is...

A Praying Church

We believe in a living God who answers prayer. Each Sunday God’s people gather to call upon God’s name. God’s people pray to the Father through Jesus Christ, our Lord in acknowledgment of the Holy Spirit. All liturgy is prayed ’through Jesus Christ, our Lord’, whom we worship, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

A Bible Believing Church

Each week, God’s people not only gather to call upon God’s name but also to hear God’s Word. The Holy Scripture is central to Anglicanism. Those who gather hear a reading from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the New Testament (Acts, Epistles, Revelation) and the Gospels. Just as Jesus lived by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God, likewise his people are so to live (Matt. 4:1-3). If God is to be worshipped in Spirit and in truth, then knowledge is crucial (John 4:24) .

A Gospel Believing Church

The gospel is the great burden of the Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:14-15). Article VI of the Thirty-nine Articles is eloquent on this point: ‘Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. This expression of Christianity holds to the Biblical understanding of the plight of humankind before a holy God who in sovereign love has graciously provided a way back to himself through the sending and sacrifice of the Son, and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit (Rom.3:23; 5:1-5). Humanity needs more than a teacher and a dose of enlightenment. We need a Saviour who is also Lord of all (1 Tim. 2:5). God needs to do for us what we cannot in our fallen state do for ourselves. In other words, God shows grace (Eph. 2:8-10)

A Traditional Church

A traditional Anglican church of the One, Holy, and Apostolic Church instituted by Our Lord Jesus Christ. In our worship, we profess the orthodox Christian Faith by joyfully proclaiming the timeless Gospel of our Saviour and celebrating the seven Holy Sacraments as received in the canonical Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Church Fathers. In our services we use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer which contains prayers and affirmations of Faith dating to the beginning of Christianity and the traditional Anglican liturgy. This liturgy has been continuously used since it was first published in 1549.

A Confessional Church

We confess as proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture the historic faith of the undivided church as declared in the Apostles and the Nicene creeds

A Missional Church

We believe that no one is excluded from the love of God through Jesus Christ.

Our mission is founded on the expression of this good news. All of us are called to return to God’s embrace and to recognize God’s unconditional love.

We seek to preach and practice God’s words of love and grace for all. We are a mission focused church, reaching out to all and inviting them to experience the Grace of God.

Resources

BIBLE

PRAYER

At St. Francis we use the King James Version and the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, both with the Apocrypha. An online format is available to you to follow with us by clicking the link below.

King James Bible

New Revised Standard

Apocrypha

PRAYER

Daily Prayer Resources

1928 BCP - Daily Office

Cradle of Prayer

Common Prayer

HYMNS

PRAYER

LITURGY

The 1940 Hymnal

LITURGY

Education

LITURGY

We use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Click the link below and you can join us online and follow along!

1928 Book of Common Prayer Resources

New to the Anglican Tradition?

Education

St. Mary the Virgin Theological Seminary

For those drawn to a life of spiritual leadership and service, and for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of Anglican theology, St. Mary’s offers a path to profound personal and professional growth. To learn more about our program or to explore enrollment options, please visit the school website.