ABOUT
Who We Are
In 1898, when Ponca City was only a few years old, a small group of Episcopalians began gathering to worship according to The Book of Common Prayer, thereby planting the seed that would later grow into our parish of Grace Episcopal Church. Today, well over a century later, we still continue the fellowship and worship that they began and have passed down to us across the many generations.
We are a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma and a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
We are a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma and a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
What We Believe
As Episcopalians, we hold the Nicene Creed and the Apostles' Creed as sufficient and authoritative statements of the Christian Faith.
More specifically...
More specifically...
- We believe that there is one living and true God. And in the unity of this one God, there are the three Persons of the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
- We believe that the Son is the Word of God, eternally begotten of the Father. In the Incarnation, the Son took human nature upon himself in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, such that the divine and the human natures were perfectly joined together in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus Christ is therefore fully God and fully human.
- We believe that Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross, was buried, and then rose again on the third day, before ascending into heaven. He did all this in order to reconcile his Father to us and to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.
- We believe that the Holy Scriptures contain all things necessary to salvation, and are comprised of the canonical Books of the Old and New Testament. We call the Holy Scriptures the "Word of God" because God inspired their human authors and because God still speaks to us through them. We understand their meaning by the help of the Holy Spirit, who guides the Church in the true interpretation of the Holy Scriptures.
- We believe that the two great Sacraments given by Christ to the Church are Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. The Sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, and are thus the means by which God works within us for our salvation.
- We believe that the Church is the Body of Christ, of which Jesus Christ is the Head, and is comprised of all those who have been baptized in the Name of the Trinity.
- We believe that the Church is governed by the historic three-fold order of ministry of bishop, priest, and deacon, which is maintained by the apostolic succession of bishops.