ABOUT US

About Corpus Christi Anglican Church

Corpus Christi

It’s not just a place in Texas! Corpus Christi, (Latin for “The Body of Christ”) reminds us of our heritage and connection to the historic church. The phrase commemorates the church as the body of Christ and the sacraments as the means of God’s grace that constitute this body. There is a beautiful verse from a 2nd Eucharist prayer which says, “Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and became one, so let Your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Your kingdom” (Didache, 9). We are common, ordinary people, and in Baptism and the Eucharist, we see God creating and constituting a new people for His glory from all stations, seasons, and walks of life. This is what Corpus Christi is about: becoming a common people, in common prayer, for uncommon transformation.

Some History

While Virginia began shutting down in March 2020, we invited people on a Zoom call to share about a new church plant that God had placed on our hearts to serve Kingstowne, Franconia, and Springfield. It began as the Franconia-Springfield Mission, starting with solely virtual events and finally moving to in-person events by the summer of 2020.

THE VISION

COMMON PEOPLE IN COMMON PRAYER FOR UNCOMMON TRANSFORMATION.

We live in a part of the country that is driven, product-oriented, highly educated, and fast-paced; however, if the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we are all human. We have all experienced some amount of grief and loss, strains on mental health and difficulty in relationships, and the constant repetition of the phrase “Hey, you’re muted!” At Corpus Christi Anglican Church (“CCAC”) we want to experience uncommon transformation. That kind of transformation requires uncommon processes; in other words, we must learn to live at a different pace with different kinds of rhythms in our pursuit of knowing God.

When we read Acts 2:42-47, the early church grew slowly by opening the Scriptures together, praying in common together, partaking of the sacraments, sharing the message of Jesus with others, and reaching out to the needs of others with generous hearts. We are common people, both in our ordinariness and unity. We join in common prayer through the tradition outlined in the Scriptures and the liturgy in the Book of Common Prayer. As our catechism says, “[We] worship with a structured liturgy because it embodies biblical patterns of worship, fosters reverence and love for God, deepens faith in Jesus Christ, and is in continuity with the practices of Israel and the Early Church.” (To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism, #245). This way of growing is an old and tested way, though it is slow and even arduous and inconvenient. It is this uncommon kind of transformation we seek in prayer and in community that is substantive and lasting.

OUR NETWORKS

We belong to the Anglican Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic (our Diocese) which is a part of the larger Anglican Church in North America (our Province).

Vision for 50 Churches

Corpus Christi Anglican Church is part of a broader effort within our Diocese to plant 50 churches by the year 2030. As a new church we are already praying about where we might help begin a new work for the spread of God’s kingdom.