The Episcopal Way  

The Christianity which we proclaim, the faith which we hold,
is not just the bare letter of the Gospel, but it is the life of Christ,
present in every age in the lives of the saints,
Christ's life down the centuries. —
A. M. Allchin

Our roots are in the Celtic and Benedictine traditions of spiritual life — the common prayer of communities, day by day, week by week, shaping belief and action. In the 16th century, that tradition expressed itself in Thomas Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer. The tradition continues now among 85 million people throughout the world and here at St. Aidan’s, Portland.

Here are a few elements of our way.

  • We serve and engage our society

  • Our engagement primarily takes place in the daily life of our members

  • The grounding for our life is common prayer, in which we experience God

  • The integration of our life is in reflectiveness and community

  • We accept complexity, ambiguity, and paradox in our thinking about God, creation, and humanity