People of the Way : Renewing Episcopal Identity

There is a renewed conversation about identity and mission in American Anglicanism today,based on the recognition that the church's context in the U.S. has dramatically changed. Thelegacies of establishment, benefactor approaches to mission, and the 'national church' idealare no longer adequate for the challenges and opportunities facing the 21st century church.But if the Episcopal Church is no longer the Church of the Establishment and the benefactormodel of church is dead, what is the heart of Episcopal mission and identity?Scholar and Episcopal priest Dwight Zscheile draws on multiple streams of Anglican thoughtand practice, plus contemporary experience to craft a vision for mission that addresses thechurch's post-establishment, post-colonial context. With stories, practices and concreteillustrations, Zscheile engages readers in re-envisioning what it means to be Anglican inAmerica today and sends readers out to build new relationships within their local contexts.

Dwight J. Zscheile is an Episcopal priest and assistant professor of Congregational Mission and Leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. He is co-author, with Craig Van Gelder, of The Missional Church in Perspective; editor of Cultivating Sent Communities: Missional Spiritual Formation; and associate priest at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in St. Paul.