ABOUT OUR PARISH
St Luke’s Anglican Church Mission Statement
The mission that we embrace together is the necessary consequence of the faith that we affirm together.
We Affirm Together
We affirm together that Jesus Christ is Lord. That is the first and final affirmation Christians make about reality. He is the One sent by God to be Lord and Savior of all: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4) Christians are people ahead of time, those who proclaim now what will one day be acknowledged by all, that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Philippians 2)
We affirm together that we are justified by grace through faith because of Christ. Living faith is active in love that is nothing less than the love of Christ, for together say with St. Paul: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2)
We affirm together that all who accept Christ as Lord and Savior are brothers and sisters in Christ. Evangelicals and Catholics are brothers and sisters in Christ. We have not chosen one another, just as we have not chosen Christ. He has chosen us, and he has chosen us to be his together. (John 15) The only unity to which we would give expression is unity in the truth, and the truth is this: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4)
We affirm together that Christians are to teach and live in obedience to the divinely inspired Scriptures, which are the infallible Word of God. We further affirm together that Christ has promised his church the gift of the Holy Spirit, who will lead us into all truth in discerning and declaring the teaching of Scripture. (John 16) We recognize together that the Holy Spirit has so guided his church in the past. In, for instance, the formation of the canon of the Scriptures and in the orthodox response to the great Christological and Trinitarian controversies of the early centuries, we confidently acknowledge the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who led the Church through her Traditions.
We affirm together that we are best described as Evangelical Catholics. Ministry ordered in apostolic succession or the priesthood of all believers. Sacraments are real symbols of God’s true means of grace. The Lord’s Supper is a eucharistic sacrifice or memorial meal to be offered for the sins we have committed. We are fed the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus at every Eucharistic meal. We affirm the rightful place of Mary and the saints. Baptism is a sacrament of regeneration and our entrance rite into all the blessings of Christ and His church.
We hope that you join us in this mission, as all are welcome to be one with us in Christ Jesus.
THE MOST REV’D. CHANDLER HOLDER JONES, SSC
The Most Reverend Chandler Holder Jones SSC is Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Eastern United States and Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Province of America.
A native of Surry County, North Carolina, and a graduate of Emory and Henry College (BA) and Duke University Divinity School (MDiv), with graduate studies at Dominican House of Studies, Washington, DC, he has been priested for twenty-five years and has served congregations in Virginia, Maryland, Florida, and Georgia. He has also studied English literature at Exeter College, University of Oxford, England, and Anglican history at the King’s School, Canterbury Cathedral. A convert to the Continuing Anglican Church movement, he has been a Continuing Anglo-Catholic for over thirty years. He was consecrated to the Episcopate as Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese in 2010 and was elected Bishop Coadjutor in 2019. He became Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese in July 2021. He has been married for twenty-one years to Megan Baskwill Jones - together, they have four children.
Fr. JeffREY steel
Fr. Jeffrey is the priest-in-charge at St. Luke’s Anglican Church and has been ordained since 1998. He is married with 9 children and two grandsons. Fr. Jeffrey is passionate about his faith and teaching the Gospel. As part of this passion, he moved to England in 2004 and later completed a Ph.D. at St. Andrews University, Scotland. He wrote on the theology of the sacrifice of the Mass in the Theology of Lancelot Andrewes, using him as an ecumenical voice with the Roman Catholic Church in sacrifice. He currently holds a full-time position at VITAS as Bereavement Manager for Volusia/Flagler/Putnam counties. When he’s not working or serving the church, Fr Jeff’s deep passion is surfing. He is in the water as much as possible and is always looking forward to the next surf trip. He is available and reachable by the contact details provided if you ever need him.