There is great breadth of diversity in the Episcopal Church: we might be Anglo-Catholic, Evangelistic, Charismatic, conservative or liberal. But Episcopalians are first and foremost Christians. We believe God has created us, we proclaim and follow Jesus as Lord. We believe God is active in our day to day lives through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The church is the body of which Christ is the head and all baptized people are the members. The Church is a community of faith and commitment, not an organization like a club. We are part of the Anglican Communion, a fellowship of autonomous churches in communion with the Church of England.

All Anglican churches are drawn together by a common loyalty to:

• Scripture as the revealed Word of God;
• The historical Creeds of the Church as sufficient statements of Christian belief;
• The celebration of the seven sacraments of the Church with special emphasis on Baptism and Eucharist;
• The apostolic ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons in the life of teaching and service in the Church;
• Tthe use of scripture, Church tradition, and reason in matters of belief and practice.

In worship, Episcopalians sit, kneel, stand, sing, pray aloud, pray silently. Some bow and make the sign of the cross; others don't. We use the Book of Common Prayer, The Hymnal and (in many places) a service bulletin. These tools are designed to help us worship and pray together, something very important to Anglican Christians. Episcopal worship calls for the full participation of all the people. The Prayer Book (and the service bulletin) will guide you in what to do, what to say or sing. Our people are friendly and helpful. If you need help during the service, please ask someone for guidance.

Heraldry of our diocesan shield
The seal is placed in a “vesica piscis,” or pointed oval, conventionally representing a fish.

In the upper right of the shield (the shield’s own right) the pelican, symbol of the sacrifice of Christ feeding us with His blood, or of Mother Church feeding her young with its life blood.

On a blue field, the star from the Diocese of South Florida, representing Canopus, brightest star in the southern skies. In the lower half, wavy lines of white and blue represent the Gulf of Mexico, with a flaming sun slipping below the horizon in the golden sunset sky. Around this is a border showing the red cross and quartered colors from the arms of the mother Diocese of South Florida, indicating our common background and derivation.

Above the shield is the conventional bishop’s mitre resting upon the crossed keys, symbol of ecclesiastical authority and symbol of St. Peter, patron of the diocesan cathedral.

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