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. The
legacies of establishment, benefactor approaches to mission, and the ‘national church’ ideal
are 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 benefactor
model 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 thought
and practice, plus contemporary experience to craft a vision for mission that addresses the
church’s post-establishment, post-colonial context. With stories, practices and concrete
illustrations, Zscheile engages readers in re-envisioning what it means to be Anglican in
America today and sends readers out to build new relationships within their local contexts.