Who we are

St. Michael and All Angels

St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church is a parish of The Diocese of the Rio Grande, which is part of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

Our mission statement:

St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, a welcoming community of faith in the Anglican tradition, invites all God’s people to seek spiritual growth through a life of prayer, study, stewardship, and fellowship, in order that we may be transformed by the love of God in our midst and sent out to serve others.

St. Michael’s is traditional in worship, structure, and basic theology. But our atmosphere is informal and open, with plenty of room for seekers of all kinds. We strive to include all people in our community, our worship, our many ministries, and our leadership. St. Michael the Archangel, our patron saint, is known as a warrior who defended heaven. We follow his example and seek to champion the good.

The Diocese of the Rio Grande

Our diocese is comprised of all the Episcopal congregations in New Mexico and parts of Texas (El Paso, Trans-Pecos and the Big Bend). St. Michael’s, like all Episcopal congregations, elects delegates to represent us in the diocese. The diocesan offices are located in Albuquerque. Find out more by visiting the diocesan website.

The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion

As part of the Anglican Communion worldwide, our origin is The Church of England. When in the 16th century the Pope refused to grant King Henry VIII an annulment of his marriage (for political reasons – annulments of monarchs were common at the time), the already independent-minded Christian church in England parted company with Roman authority. Thus we reclaimed the early and traditional church model of church governance by a fraternity of bishops, without a central authority figure. The Church of England continued with bishops, sacraments, the priesthood, and all other traditions of the historic Christian church.

Eventually, however, it took on some of the theological perspective of the Reformation, such as the translation of scripture and worship into the language of the people, the primacy of individual faith and conscience, a somewhat democratic form of church governance, etc. As Anglicans, we therefore consider ourselves to be both Catholic and Protestant, which is why many married couples of mixed religious backgrounds find an affinity with us.

Wherever England established colonies, the Church of England was present. When those colonies became independent nations, the Anglicans there established their own independent church governance, but retained bonds of affection with the Church of England and other Anglicans around the world. Thus, Anglican churches are especially strong in the United States, Australia, Canada, India, and Africa, and other places with English roots. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, but holds no authority over independent branches of the Communion such as the Episcopal Church.

Today, because of population growth and efforts in evangelism and indigenous leadership, the typical Anglican is no longer a privileged and educated Anglo. She is a poor woman of color. The Anglican church is booming in the two-thirds world of the Southern Hemisphere, and tends to be more socially conservative, evangelical, and charismatic than its northern counterparts. This has led to some tensions in our communion, especially around the status of homosexual persons.

St. Michael and All Angels is very typical of the Episcopal Church in the United States and other Anglicans in the Northern Hemisphere, with a progressive view on theology and social issues. For more information on the Episcopal Church, visit thier website, www.episcopalchurch.org. For more information about the Anglican Communion, visit their website, www.anglicancommunion.org.

Our Parish History

St. Michael and All Angels began as a mission of St. John’s Cathedral in 1950. On the occasion of our 50th anniversary, we produced a history of our church.

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