who we are
WE’VE BEEN IN SAN ANTONIO FOR OVER 140 YEARS, PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS:
God loves you, RIGHT NOW.
You’re INVITED TO CHRIST’S TABLE.
You belong in the beauty of holiness.
We are a church that welcomes warmly, sings joyfully, rings bells loudly, kneels reverently, shares gratefully, and stands confidently in the grace & love of God
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Our Values
Every church is different. Learn a bit about the things that St. Paul’s what it is — the values that shape our common life together.
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The Big Picture
Where we fit in the larger context: the Episcopal Church, the tradition we inherit, our relations with other Christian traditions, and who we are today.
Our Values
BEAUTY
We celebrate creativity, the arts,
and the natural world as glimpses of God’s goodness.
Devotion
We practice ancient liturgies that engage the whole person, rooted in the traditions of prayer book catholics.
LEARNING
We grow in grace with open minds and generous hearts, cultivating curiosity and thoughtfulness.
SERVICE
We share Christ’s liberating love by caring for the bodies, minds, and spirits of our neighbors.
HOSPITALITY
We warmly welcome people on the margins to the center of our common life.
LEVITY
We believe in ourselves without taking ourselves too seriously, embracing joy and play.
The Big Picture
St. Paul's is a parish of the Diocese of West Texas in the Episcopal Church. This means that we belong to a branch of the Christian family that has its roots in the parishes of the Church of England in colonial America. At the time of the American Revolution, they became a newly independent church in a newly independent nation.
Through the Church of England, our story runs back to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, the Catholic Church of the middle ages, the undivided Church of late antiquity, and back to the community that grew up around the Apostles in the years after Jesus' earthly life.
We are a part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which means that the Episcopal Church is one of many independent churches that came out of the Church of England and remain in communion with it, and with each other.
In the words of the Nicene Creed we say in Mass, “we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church,” and we do not think that Church consists only of Episcopalians or other Anglicans. Despite the present divisions among Christians, we believe that the church is indeed one in Christ, and we work to make that oneness visible through friendship and cooperation with other Christians wherever possible.
Catholic and Reformed, ancient and modern, orthodox and inclusive, we encounter Jesus in scripture, honor the ancient tradition of his Church, embrace reason as the gift of God, and welcome everyone to join us.
Our Baptismal Covenant asks us to promise that we will strive for peace and justice among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being. It also asks if we will seeks and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves. To both of these, we respond in promise and prayer:
"I will, with God's help."
