What does it mean to be an Episcopalian?
A common joke about Episcopalians says, “No matter what you believe, you can always find at least one Episcopalian who agrees with you.”
This tongue-in-cheek statement is one way of saying that we find unity in diversity. What binds Episcopalians together is the way in which we worship, rather than a set list of beliefs. While we hold the ancient creeds of the church to be central to our lives of faith, we also understand that thinking, prayerful people of faith can arrive at totally different points of view about most issues. We find our unity in breaking bread together and worshipping the risen Christ, not in uniformity of belief, gender, ethnicity, political perspective, sexual orientation, or just about anything else that doesn't have to deal with believing in the Holy Trinity. We strive to provide a safe space for all to worship and grow in faith while acknowledging and celebrating our differences.
As Episcopalians, we are part of the worldwide Anglican Communion and understand ourselves to be the via media--the middle way--between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Our worship style maintains striking similarities with the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. However, the ways we think and make decisions in our church has much in common with our Protestant brothers and sisters.
Membership in the Anglican Communion allows us to share a common heritage with the Church of England and other Anglicans around the world. We see this bond most clearly in our Companion Diocese relationship with the Diocese of Lui in South Sudan. Through this relationship, Christians from Missouri pray for, raise funds to support and regularly visit our brothers and sisters in South Sudan, who also make trips to Missouri and pray regularly for us.
Who we are as ECM
Episcopal Campus Ministry strives to provide a welcoming community for students and young adults as we learn about ourselves, our majors, our faith and our world.
Worship, community, study and service form the core of our ministry. As Christians, prayer and worship clearly take center stage, but friendship, fun, fellowship and food ground us and bind us together as we learn and stretch our individual boundaries through the college experience.
We value diversity and ecumenism, seeking out opportunities to work with other groups on campus for both service and worship. For instance, we have worked with the Jewish Student Organization to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Week; with the Catholic Student Organization to pray the Stations of the Cross on Campus; with Koinonia from the United Methodist Church to provide “Ashes to Go” on Ash Wednesday; and with a large coalition of interfaith and international student groups to raise money for AfriCare.