|
About Church of the Holy Communion
The Church
of the Holy Communion is one of the largest and strongest
parishes of The
Diocese of West Tennessee. We celebrated our 50 year anniversary
in 2000. St. Mary's Episcopal School, a college preparatory
school for girls nationally renowned for its scholastic excellence,
shares our property at the corner of Walnut Grove Road and
Perkins in the center of Memphis.
Church
of the Holy Communion is a community of faith that includes
more than 1,800 individuals.
Statement of Ministry and Affirmation
 Our
mission at Church of the Holy Communion centers on spiritual
growth that leads to personal and social transformation. Through
worship, sacraments, servant ministry, fellowship, prayer
and learning, we seek to restore all people to unity with
God and one another in Christ.
At Holy
Communion, spiritual growth takes many forms - from spiritual
formation for children to contemplative prayer gatherings;
from nurturing youth in their journey toward an adult faith
to honoring the wisdom and mature spirituality of our elders;
from small groups studying Scripture or poetry to weekly celebrations
of the Holy Eucharist; from tending to local issues of poverty
and education to tangible ministry with AIDS victims in Africa
and peace initiatives in the Middle East; from engaging noted
speakers in the Memphis area to sponsoring lectures by world-renowned
theologians from around the globe.
We also
believe spiritual growth includes engaging in meaningful and
respectful dialogue with people from different faith traditions,
and we believe this is possible only when adherents to different
faiths are able to honor the presence and activity of God
in each other's faith tradition. Thus, we worship in a community
that cherishes the revelation of God in Jesus, while being
strengthened by revelations of God in traditions that are
not our own. In a world which often seems reduced to shouting
at one another, we believe we are called to be a center that
promotes listening and understanding, where the community
can gather for respectful dialogue and challenging intellectual
inquiry.
Finally,
while recent debates in the larger society about sexual orientation
have caused pain and confusion for many, we affirm the full
inclusion of all people in the life and ministry of our parish
church. Further, we affirm that our baptismal vows to "seek
and serve Christ in all persons," to "love our neighbor
as ourselves," and to "respect the dignity of every
human being" apply equally to all people, regardless
of sexual orientation, race, gender, or ethnic origin. By
God's grace, we hope we show forth our faith "not only
with our lips, but in our lives;" and we pray that God
will increase in us the same unconditional love that God has
made known to us in Jesus Christ.
Click
here to view a complete text of our bylaws.
Click here
to view a complete text of our charter.
|
