What Are Anglicans Required to Believe for Church Membership?

Technically each person coming for confirmation should have a sponsor. Ideally it would be their godparents from their baptism, but, well... in real life that's often not the case. The idea is that the sponsor is someone who would have been a support for the person preparing for confirmation, that they would have prayed with and for them, that they would have mentored them in the faith, that sort of thing. In the confirmation service as I know it, the sponsors present the candidates to the bishop.

But sometimes they just don't have that relationship with anyone, in which case, as I said, I stand in as their sponsor and present them to the bishop.

seeking.IAM said:

Can someone explain this sponsorship thing to me? I have never experienced such a thing. How common is this as a requirement? Is is at the Bishops' discretion? Rector's? Congregational custom?

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The only thing the BCP 1979 requires is one or more people to present the candidates. In many places (including where I am) this has grown into the custom of each confirmand having a sponsor. This person is supposed to develop a relationship with the candidate, participate in the presentation, and stand with them as they are confirmed. There has never been any guidance from the bishop on the matter. So I suppose it's congregational custom based on local tradition that the rector (which is me) hasn't vetoed.

IN the Episcopal Church, at least in the USA a sponsor is an adult member who openly sponsors a confirmation candidate by publicly supporting and endorsing them. SO to enroll in confirmation class, I was told by this priest, I had to first find a sponsor. And being new in town, unknown, I knew no one to approach about that .

Now in college, my roommate and I started attending the Episcopal church off campus almost every Sunday. But as students there as no time to try to seek confirmation. After college, I moved away. SO I had hoped to continue that same involvement but found that the priest of that church was not particularly helpful, and it was the only Episcopal church in the area. He also told me that a person from a Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian or other Episcopal church can be accepted by transfer as a member, but for anyone else to become a member, they had to go through confirmation class, which to me was a giant brick wall with no way through, over or around.

Later in life, in a another state, I just started attending the Episcopal church and told a few people "Yeah I just moved here from out of state...." There was no questioning about my background, people seemed to not be too concerned. It was not like at say a Baptist church, or worst of all, a Bible church, where everyone wants to quiz a newbie about everything that they think and believe (if not to screen potential members, but to at least provoke an argument). Now I recently moved in the past two years from a very small town to a larger town near a big city, almost a suburb, so finding a nearby high church was easy.

I had submitted a membership card for the new directory, but when it came out, I was not in it.

Oddly enough, a lady there who did not seem to know my name came up after the service on week with another lady and referred to me "As the parishioner who donated the money for the charity event" the other lady thanked me for my generosity (it was not that much really I thought) but the fact that she used the term "parishioner" showed that she assumed by my frequent presence and donations to charitable outreaches that I must be a member I was also, for the longest time, on the Email list for one of the charitable committees but have not heard from anyone there in weeks either. SO I am not sure what is going on. Not that it matters, there are hundreds or perhaps thousands of charitable agencies that are starving for money and help. I particularly like what is happening at this church.

SO As I thought about it, the membership thing is no big deal. I have avoided membership for decades, I thought it would be OK to have my name on the membership list of this church, but in the end, does it really matter? no it does not. The work, the money, the charitable contributions will happen with or without my name on the list.

I wish I had someone like Paidiske in my spiritual life growing up. At least I am thankful and grateful that I met her on here.

Deegie said:

The only thing the BCP 1979 requires is one or more people to present the candidates. In many places (including where I am) this has grown into the custom of each confirmand having a sponsor. This person is supposed to develop a relationship with the candidate, participate in the presentation, and stand with them as they are confirmed. There has never been any guidance from the bishop on the matter. So I suppose it's congregational custom based on local tradition that the rector (which is me) hasn't vetoed.

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I cannot recall if the Rector formally presented us as candidates to the Bishop, but I now reckon he must have? If so, it made no impression on me. But there were no other sponsors standing with us confirmands during confirmation. It was not our custom in the largest parish in the diocese. I have moved now to a different diocese. I'll pay attention at the next confirmation to see local practice.

I haven't been to a ton of confirmations, and the ones I have were diocesan events, not in the parish. In those the presenter was the Rector maybe with the youth person if the parish had one (I was confirmed as an adult, but that's not very common is my understanding)

PloverWing said:

In at least some dioceses, there seems to be a difference between people baptized in the Episcopal/Anglican church, and people coming from other denominations. For people baptized in an Episcopal church, membership is as Deegie said, with confirmation not being required for membership. But my experience in the dioceses of North Carolina and New Jersey has been that people coming from other denominations were confirmed or received. Perhaps this depends on the local bishop?

(This comes up frequently, because in my area of the country, the Episcopal Church seems to be a sanctuary for Christians coming from other denominations. In North Carolina, roughly half our members were former Evangelical Protestants. In New Jersey, they're former Catholics. In both places, cradle Episcopalians are in the minority.)

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That was a barrier for me, one among several... I was baptized and confirmed in the Methodist church, but down here in Central Florida's Episcopal diocese, they wanted me to be confirmed by their bishop.

Lutherans (ELCA) do not require those who have undergone confirmation, to undergo confirmation again, so when I joined the ELCA, I was just received on confession of faith.

FireDragon76 said:

That was a barrier for me, one among several... I was baptized and confirmed in the Methodist church, but down here in Central Florida's Episcopal diocese, they wanted me to be confirmed by their bishop.

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I came to the Episcopal Church by way of the United Methodist Church. I also was confirmed by my Episcopal Bishop. I welcomed it as a statement of a new beginning, a commitment to a new body of Christ, and a sign that I wasn't UMC anymore. I did not see confirmation as a barrier, but had they asked me to be baptized again as some denominations require, that would have been a stopper for me. I would view it to be a renunciation of my Christian walk up to that point. Plus, I had been baptized by my dad who was a UMC pastor, so there is that. Then there is that thing about "one baptism for the remission of sins." I view baptism as the entrance into Christianity and confirmation as the entrance into the Episcopal Church.

RileyG said:

@Paidiske Forgive my ignorance, but are people only confirmed in the Anglican Communion, at least in Australia where you are, when they are 18+?

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No; historically it tended to be something you did at about age 12 or so. There's no hard and fast rule.

RileyG said:

Is confirmation considered an essential sacrament or rite?

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It's not a sacrament. I wouldn't say it's considered essential, but it's considered normative, that someone who has been baptised as an infant should come to publicly claim that faith as their own.

I was 28 when I was confirmed, because I hadn't been before and the church made it clear that they wouldn't ordain me without it! But I had been baptised as an adult.

The Priest here at the confirmation class (all adults) said that we will have 22 adults and teenagers to be confirmed or received by the bishop.

In regard to sponsors, all youth (12-17 year olds) will have one or more sponsors, either parents, godparents...in fact as their class meets separately from ours, they include the sponsors regularly
In our class we have several married couples, and several lifetime confirmants who are just taking the class as a refresher, or to gt out of the house one night a week. Adult sponsors will be limited to spouses pretty much, in which one spouse is already a confirmed member and the other is not.

The Priest reviewed the BCP Confirmation service with us, and all it says is that one person (the priest, I assume) will say to the Bishop "I present these people for confirmation"

As for beliefs, the Nicene Creed pretty much sums up the basis of all of it.

Well, that sounds like it's nicely sorted for you, then!

I was confirmed in my Anglo-Catholic church on Sunday. I needed to have a sponsor to ‘present’ me to the bishop. As I have no family in the area as I recently moved, I asked one of clergy and he was happy to do it.

It went well

The Priest presented all of us for confirmation. The kids went first, accompanied by parents grandparents relatives Then the adults accompanied by spouses, family Then there was me

We each got a certificate which was nice and otherwise, it was a nice service to cement my involvement in the Episcopal church , something I have always wanted.

Welcome to the (slightly odd, but good-hearted) family.

I have noticed that even after confirmation, the Episcopal church is more of an "Observe and be inspired" church and less of a "get involved " church.
I have seen that trend over the years. Perhaps that is why, sadly, membership numbers are decreasing. It seems to be a common thread in Episcopal congregations

AESTHETICS (The most important thing to me) at the Episcopal church (high church) are about a 10 out of 10. Aside from Latin Mass in St Peter's at the Vatican, nothing is more beautiful or inspiring than an Episcopal high church.
BUT when it is over, the best thing to do is go home and come back a week later.
As for activities outside of the services, having a sense of "church family", projects etc that is about a 2/10

Last year, I was supposedly on one of the groups that handles special events, holiday meals, parties etc and after one month, ghosted. They had a "Volunteer Sunday " where all the committees and groups set up tables after the service, to share information about what they do and solicit new members for their groups Wanting to be involved, I certainly attended and made the rounds. at the end, I signed up for the one that handles special events, parties, fundraisers, decorations and such. I gave them my EMail address and phone number everything was good for about a month, then nothing.
I spoke to a few people on the committee about why I was no longer getting EMails or phone calls and they said they would look into it. The last thing I heard was that one leader quit and another person took over. It was about that time that all My Emails started getting returned with a message saying "This email account accepts messages only from known contacts" I asked someone about it, she promised to look into it and I never heard back.


SO yesterday They announced that we are coming up soon on "Volunteer Sunday" in a couple of weeks, and everyone should attend to see where they can volunteer.

I have already decided not to even go that day , so as to not say anything about offering, being turned down, getting disappointed/angry and so on
If they need help, they can come and ask me. I already offered, was turned down, and will not pursue that dead end street again.

Recently, the congregation's homeless feeding ministry has been revamped too. They are still soliciting funds, but not food or volunteers. Not sure why.


AS for involvement in a church family, my friend runs a missionary Baptist church (A historically black church) and I have been amazed how appreciative they have always been, not to mention accepting, of any offers I have ever made to be involved there. They accept the whitey with open arms. They love to include everyone
I would say that the social/participation aspect there is a solid 8 of 10 but sadly the aesthetics of the worship service are a 3 at best and I am not in agreement with their theology as much as with the Episcopal church


BUT This was something I had already known about the Episcopal church, even before my confirmation. It is not a close knit, or a "get involved in and participate" type of church . It is a go and be very inspired, leave as a more peaceful, loving person type of church It is a church of great beauty, great aesthetics, intelligent leadership and mostly educated congregants. It is a great place for an introvert, but when one wants to be an extrovert, mmmmm not so much I have never felt a sense of acceptance on a personal level therein, but always a sense of inspiration and spiritual awakening like nothing else.


I bring this up because of a most interesting event last weekend in one of the parks. I noticed several pop up tents, awnings and shelters had been set up and a gathering of people, enjoying the summer were already outside for a Saturday festival of sorts. A common summer event here. As I approached the park, I saw a van opened up with a young lady struggling to load cases of water onto a wooden platform wagon. this was a block or so from the event. I offered to to help her as she was struggling and she politely thanked me and explained that she was running late and needed to get all the water to the tent. SO I helped her, we got everything loaded quickly, I helped her get into the event, since it had started already, no vehicles were inside, and we took several cases of water into the space for her organization. When we got there, everyone thanked me and introduced themselves, they were Very friendly and seemed to appreciate my efforts, as a total stranger, to make life easier for someone else.
Which is what they were doing. They were giving away free snacks and free water to everyone and anyone who was there.

Their organization was a local Atheist/Free thinking organization.

Hmmmm so the atheists were appreciative of my help, while my own church would not even accept my volunteering for a planning committee.....(initially they seemed eager to have my help)

What is wrong with this country? no scratch that...what is wrong with the church?

Anyway I spoke to my friend at the Missionary Baptist church. They are going back to doing Thanksgiving meals this year and yours truly will be helping to serve there. I met him semi-professionally, years ago, I was the "go-to" guy at our company which was how we crossed paths.
One guy at our business told me "They look at you as a rock star there...you are like gold" Well, I don't know about that, but I have been very successful. Likewise, in professional associations, hobby circles, I seem to be well liked. And I have a reputation for being helpful and being a problem solver.

That does not happen in religious circles for me, and never has.

At work, I am that guy everyone works. I turn down work every week because I cannot be two places at once.

At church, I am the guy no one wants. Interesting. Always been that way. A church is not a social circle where I fit in. But that is ok. If I want to help others there are many non religious organizations out there who seem eager and appreciative of my efforts.

I'm really sorry to hear that's been your experience.

For what it's worth, the conversation I dream about having - which hardly ever happens - is when someone in the congregation comes and says they'd like to help out more, what could they do? And we talk about their gifts, experience, personality, etc, and find them something they enjoy.

It sounds as if your church is incredibly badly organised... which does happen... but maybe some disorganised committee isn't the best place to start?

It seems like the situation you're describing might be more about how your particular church is managed rather than something common across the denomination. As Paidske mentioned, it sounds like there might be some disorganisation.

My church, on the other hand, is quite structured. They frequently reach out to everyone for help, sending out emails and they have lists at the back of the church for people to write their names down to volunteer for various events. There are always plenty of activities going on, and I've personally been involved in workshops for local kids, the annual May Fayre, helping out at a funeral, and serving as an altar server once a month. There's always a clear system for volunteering, and it makes it easy to get involved.

@RickardoHolmes, I'm sorry to hear about your experience as well. Is there a different Episcopal church you could try? That one doesn't sound like the churches with which I've been familiar over the years. Most of them tend to love to have volunteers because there are never enough people to get all the work done.

There are some definite organizational problems. One is a blanket asking for volunteers then not including those who do. Another is parking. This church is a considerable drive away, but it is the closest high church. I wasted time in a traffic jam, bad weather, and arrived only to be unable to even find a place to park. Even the parking area and street parking was all taken.

And the attendance was not that high based on what I saw on the video feed.

The next step is to start attending a high church that is even further away, and is known to have little activity outside of the mass which is ok It will involve a drive of about 1 1/2 hours each way.

The best option, the one that seems like the most desirable, is to simply go back to attending only at Advent/epiphany season like I used too. I know of a few others who do that, and that negates the frustration of having to trek there weekly only to find too many transportation barriers and it also saves on fuel and sometimes parking, as the parking garages that are 8 blocks away charge for parking. (Drive 45 minutes, pay $8 for parking, sometimes, walk 6 blocks to the service.)
I think going at Advent, arriving early (like 2 hours early,) hang around the town, attend the service, and go home is the best option at this point. Advent is my favorite season, I would not want to miss that, but since there seems to be too many barriers elsewhere, I say that a longer drive may be in order.