Resources for New Episcopalians

New Episcopalians can find information and answers in foundational texts, introductory books, and the official Episcopal Church website. Key focus areas include understanding the Baptismal Covenant, using the Venite.app at the Google Play Store https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.venite&hl=en_US or the Apple Store https://apps.apple.com/us/app/venite-app/id1502034358  or Forward Day by Day through Forward Movement for daily prayer, and exploring parish newcomer classes or sessions dedicated to preparing persons for Holy Baptism, Confirmation, Reception, or Reaffirmation.

Essential Foundational Resources

• The Book of Common Prayer (BCP): The 1979 edition is the heart of Episcopal worship and theology. You can view it online at https://nwtdiocese.org/digital_faith/documents/3275013
• Forward Movement: Publisher of Forward Day by Day, available as an application at https://apps.apple.com › app › forward-day-by-day & https://prayer.forwardmovement.org/home    and various resources for learning more about the faith. https://forwardmovement.org/
• Bible Translation: The Episcopal Church generally uses the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) or the NRSV Updated Edition (NRSVUE). Simply select it as your preferred version at https://www.biblegateway.com/

Recommended Reading for Beginners

• Walk in Love: Episcopal Beliefs & Practices by Scott Gunn and Melody Shobe: A guide that explains the "why" behind Episcopalian practices.
• Your Faith, Your Life: An Invitation to the Episcopal Church by Jenifer Gamber and Bill Lewellis: An excellent overview for newcomers.
• Episcopal Questions, Episcopal Answers by C.K. Robertson and Ian S. Markham: A Q&A formatted guide to beliefs.
• Inwardly Digest: The Prayer Book as Guide to the Christian Life by Derek Olsen: A guide to understanding the BCP.
• Faith Rules: An Episcopal Manual by Ian S. Markham with Samantha R.E. Gottlich
• Those Episkopols by Dennis R. Maynard 
• Walk in Love: Episcopal Beliefs & Practices by Scott Gunn & Melody W. Shobe
• The Episcopal Handbook: Revised Edition by Church Publishing Incorporated (Compiler) 
• Welcome to the Episcopal Church: An Introduction to Its History, Faith, and Worship by Christopher L. Webber (Author) & Frank T. Griswold III (Foreword) 
• A People Called Episcopalians: A Brief Introduction to Our Way of Life (Revised Edition) by John H. Westerhoff III & Sharon Ely Pearson
• An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: A User-Friendly Reference for Episcopalians by Robert Boak Slocum and Don S. Armentrout
• Welcome to a Life of Faith in The Episcopal Church by Megan Castellan.

For Those Who Wish to Deepen Their Faith & Practice

• Church Publishing Incorporated includes the imprints of Morehouse Publishing, Divinity & Discourse, Church Publishing, and Seabury Books and offers a wealth of titles for a variety of readers. The site’s Author List includes over 500 authors and the Subject Index includes 24 distinct areas of interest. Learn more at https://churchpublishing.org/
• Church’s Teachings for a Changing World (Vol. 1-9) by various authors includes: The Episcopal Way, The Episcopal Story: Birth & Rebirth, Church Meets World, Companions on the Episcopal Way, Gathered for God, and more. 

Online & Digital Resources

• The Episcopal Church: Official site with information on beliefs, social justice, and church structure. Episcopal Church website
•  An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church includes over 3300 entries from the book listed above. https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/
• What We Believe:    https://www.episcopalchurch.org/what-we-believe/
• eCP (Electronic Common Prayer): Created by Church Publishing Incorporated, eCP provides interactive access to the liturgies of The Episcopal Church according to the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). It includes searchable indexes for the Psalms, Canticles, Collects, Prefaces, and Prayers from the BCP, and the home page provides links to the worship calendar for the Church, highlighting the Propers for the day for both the Eucharist and Daily Office. The biblical texts are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and are drawn from The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). Search for the app at the App Store or Google Play with the title electronic Common Prayer.

Periodicals

• The Anglican Digest: https://anglicandigest.org/
• The Living Church: https://livingchurch.org/the-living-church-magazine/
• Episcopal News Service: https://episcopalnewsservice.org/

NOTES

Our church maintains an excellent lending library in the Deacon Judy Cole Library and Parlor adjacent to the Narthex as you enter the double red doors to enter the church. Two large bookcases are full of books with new and classic titles.

If you have suggestions for additional resources, please share them with Fr. Nick McDonald, Assisting Priest, who maintains this list on the church website at nickmcd@spbtl.com