GROUNDHOG DAY[FEB 2, 2019]

HENRY VIII & The Church of England

The Anglican Communion of local Churches is one of the most important Christian denominations worldwide, with about 100 million members in almost every country on earth. About 2 ½ million Americans are members of The Episcopal Church, the American member of the Anglican Communion.

During the colonial era, Anglicans were perhaps the largest denomination in the country, but we lost many members during the Revolution, in which a significant number of Anglicans remained loyal the British cause and left the country for Canada, Bermuda or other areas.

Nevertheless, many of the country's founders – Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Paul Revere, Patrick Henry, Madison, Monroe, Hamilton

– were faithful members of The Episcopal Church who regularly attended service, served on parish vestries (administrative boards) and found spiritual strength in the words of the Book of Common Prayer and the distinctive Anglican approach to living biblical Christian lives. Wait, you've heard they were all deists? Well, deism isn't another word for atheism. It's a theological view that emphasizes human responsibility and reason rather than dogmas and miracles which was a popular perspective in the 18th century.

Centuries of thought and prayer have gone into putting together some beautiful, and we believe true, words of prayer: centuries of devotion have gone into customs and ceremonies which are beautiful, and we believe helpful. But like a great wine or an even greater novel, our Episcopalian charms may take a bit of getting used to.

You can rest assured that there won't be any snake-handling at an Episcopal service, nor will you be subjected to a lengthy sermon about who to vote for. No one will check out your political or social perspective before letting you in. It is important to remember that worldwide, over 80% of the world's Christians belong to one of the four major "liturgical" traditions, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans or Lutherans, all of whose members worship more or less as we do.

We worship God because we believe God deserves our respect and love. Worship is simply the best response to God's love, and a church service is an effective and time-honored way of carrying out this behavior[By the way, one often meets people who claim they don't believe in God. It might be worth asking what God it is that they don't believe in