Category: About Holy Cross

Information for newcomers, visitors

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About Holy Cross Believing and Belonging

Membership at Holy Cross

We welcome a newly baptized member of the Household of God.
We welcome a newly baptized member of the Household of God.

Membership means different things in different churches. In the Episcopal Church it’s very simple. To be a member you have to be baptized and you have to have your name recorded on the membership rolls of the church. That’s all! You’re in! If you haven’t been baptized, the vicar will be glad to discuss baptism with you. If you were baptized in a different denomination, the Episcopal Church accepts your baptism; baptism is once-and-for-all, we don’t rebaptize.

On another level, membership is not so simple.

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Holy Cross: Part of the Larger Church

Holy Cross is part of the Episcopal Church, which is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Like Roman Catholics, we have sacraments, bishops and priests, the Eucharist on Sunday, and many other traditional elements. On the other hand, we have no centralized authority like the Pope, women share equally in all roles in the church (including bishop and priest), clergy may marry (our vicar has a wife and two grown children), and there is in general great leeway for individual beliefs and interpretations.

We have further information that you may find helpful in exploring what you will find at Holy Cross if you come from either a Protestant or Roman Catholic tradition.

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Baptism at Holy Cross

Bishop Arthur Walmsley prepares to chrismate a newly baptized infant.
Bishop Arthur Walmsley prepares to chrismate a newly baptized infant.

Often parents of new babies or young children in the area inquire about baptism. The Episcopal Church baptizes infants and children as well, of course, as adults. Holy Baptism is a sacrament of commitment to the life of Christ. It constitutes membership in the Church, the Household of God, and entitles one to receive Holy Communion and the other sacraments. In the case of children who are too young to make the baptismal commitment on their own, this is done for them by their parents and godparents.

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Marriage at Holy Cross

Marriage is a sacrament and a life, not just a wedding.
Marriage is a sacrament and a life, not just a wedding.

So you’re planning to get married! That’s wonderful. In the Episcopal Church, Holy Matrimony is a sacrament involving a solemn, lifelong commitment. Part of this commitment is the expectation that the couple–or at least one of them–will be an active member of the faith community, at Holy Cross or elsewhere. Marriage in the Episcopal Church also entails a course of preparation. At Holy Cross that means meeting with the Vicar to explore and discuss important areas of the marital relationship–working out differences, handling finances, raising children, sex, roles, expectations. It also involves planning the ceremony and talking about the meaning of its various parts. We want to work out a wedding that speaks to the couple’s values and dreams, while being consistent with the theology of Christian Marriage in the Episcopal Church.

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Funerals at Holy Cross

The Burial of the Dead is one of the traditional “acts of mercy” required of Christians, and Holy Cross is glad to help families bid farewell to their loved ones, whether or not they have prior connections to the parish or the Episcopal Church. It is our strong preference to have funeral services at the church, not at a funeral home. The church and Parish Hall are available for visitations prior to the service itself. We are also glad to officiate at graveside committal services.

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