The Episcopal Church, USA inspires believers and seekers with a slogan, “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You.” To join the Episcopal Church as a member, however, is a journey with several steps, including baptism and confirmation in the Church.
How to Become an Episcopalian
After an individual has attended an Episcopal Church for a while, she/he may decide to join the church for various reasons including marriage or personal conviction. The steps for joining the Episcopal Church are as follows:
- Share the desire to become an Episcopalian with the parish priest, an Episcopal ordained minister.
- The priest will instruct all interested Christians to attend introductory classes in Christian life and Epsicopal Church history, worship, tradition, and values-known as confirmation classes.
- If a seeker is not a Christian, he/she will first need to be baptized. Baptism is a Christian ritual symbolizing new life in Jesus Christ. After baptism, a seeker then begins the confirmation classes with the priest or other trained church member.
- After confirmation classes, a Christian will finally be confirmed, a worship service where the local bishop, a [priest in charge of a region of churches, lays hands on the individual and blesses him/her in the presence of the congregation.
How Long Does It Take to Join the Episcopal Church
The time between talking to the priest about joining and actually being confirmed varies based on many circumstances. Some churches hold confirmation classes once or twice a year, so that seekers may have to wait to begin that process.
In more traditional Episcopal Churches, baptisms and confirmations only occur on select Sundays throughout the church year.
Another variable can be the local bishop’s busy schedule. As a regional leader in the Episcopal Church, a bishop may be responsible for hundreds of individual churches. Usually, the bishop only visits a church or region once or twice a year.
Travel Necessary For Some to Join Episcopal Church
Some dioceses, collections of churches in a set geographic area, require new members to be confirmed in a cathedral, the bishop's home church and center for Episcopal worship and life in that region.
Diocesan confirmations are usually large events where members of every church in the region attend to support and rejoice in the newest members of the Episcopal Church. Many congregations pool rides or take a church van to save on costs, and the trip itself can be a great way to get to know other members of one's new church.
Timeline for Joining the Episcopal Church
How long the process takes will depend on individual circumstances as well as the church’s and bishop’s schedule. Ask the priest for a timeline of the new member process at the beginning of the process, and be aware that events may not always transpire as expected.
Special circumstances may be made if the priest knows about them ahead of time, but joining the Episcopal Church is never a fast process. Six months between asking to join and being confirmed is the fast track, given all the events and coordination necessary to make an eager seeker an Episcopalian happen on schedule.
Joining the Episcopal Church may take some time, effort, and coordination, but for the many Christians who call the Episcopal Church their spiritual home, the journey considered to be well worth the effort.
For more information about being Episcopalian, Episcopal Church History and Beliefs may be of interest. To learn more about daily devotions in the Episcopal Church, An Introduction to Morning Prayer in the Episcopal Tradition may also be enjoyed.
Source:
“Welcome Center,” Episcopal Church, USA. Available online through the Episcopal Church, USA’s website, April 15, 2010.
Melissa Roberts - A trained hospital chaplain, Melissa is a freelance writer, teacher, retreat leader, and spiritual director.
