Who Are We?

St. Mary's Episcopal Church is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida and The Episcopal Church nationwide. Episcopal comes from the Greek word Episkopos meaning Bishop.

We are a Christian church guided by our bishops, served by our priests and deacons (as ordained ministers) supporting the work and witness of the majority of our ministers, the baptized members of our church.

As a part of the Episcopal Church, St. Mary's is also part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which has 70 million members in countries circling the globe. The Anglican Communion began with the Church of England, but has spread well beyond its English roots.

What Do We Believe?

We believe first and foremost that we can best come to know God, our creator, through a relationship with his son, Jesus Christ. And, along with Anglicans around the globe, we at St. Mary's therefore hold the traditional faith of Christians through the ages. The clearest statements of what we believe is to be found in The Apostle's Creed and The Nicene Creed. These two-thousand-year-old creeds (or short statements of faith) are held to be true by billions of people around the world today.

As a church, we emphasize the mystery of encountering God in worship. We believe all people are called to be ministers and to serve God, his Church and the community in which they live. You can find a fuller statement of what we believe here online.