October Book of the Month: The Anglican Way

The Anglican Way by Thomas McKenzie
October 2025 Book of the Month

When you step into worship at an Anglican Church for the first time, it can feel like walking into a story that started long before you arrived. There are prayers you didn’t write, rhythms you didn’t invent, and words that echo with centuries of the faith. The Anglican Way by Thomas McKenzie is a guide to that story. It’s not a dusty manual or a theological lecture—it’s more like a friend showing you around the house, pointing out the windows and doors, and helping you see how everything fits together.

One thing that’s important to say up front: we don’t force anyone to “be Anglican.” Instead, we want invite you into the tools of the Anglican tradition—tools that can help you grow in maturity, deepen your discipleship, and anchor your life in the gospel. Anglicanism gives us a rhythm, a grounding, a way of being Christian that is not rigid but richly formative.

McKenzie writes as a pastor who knows that most of us aren’t looking for academic jargon—we’re looking for clarity, grounding, and a sense of belonging. In this work, he helps us see how Anglicanism is less about “style” and more about a way of following Jesus: rooted in Scripture, shaped by worship, and sent into the world on mission. Gosh, what a vision that we can get behind for the local church!

This is a book we’ve recommended for years because it makes the Anglican tradition approachable and practical. And it’s especially timely now—we’ve chosen it as our Book of the Month because later this month we’ll be offering an “Anglican 101” class here at Redeemer, and this book will serve as a resource for that course.

If you’ve ever wondered why we confess every week, why we pray written prayers, or why we celebrate Communion so often, this book is a wonderful place to start!

Highlights from the book:

• Scripture Everywhere
  Anglican worship doesn’t just sprinkle in Bible verses—it’s saturated with them. McKenzie shows how our prayers, liturgy, and even silence are designed to draw us back to the Word of God again and again.

• Worship That Shapes Us
  One of the treasures of Anglican life is the rhythm of liturgy. McKenzie reminds us that worship isn’t entertainment and it isn’t a performance. It’s a formative practice that slowly, steadily trains our hearts to love God and love neighbor.

• Breadth and Balance
  The Anglican tradition has always made room for different streams of Christian emphasis—evangelical, catholic, charismatic. McKenzie calls this a “generous orthodoxy,” a way of holding truth with humility and openness.

• Sacraments as Encounters
  Far from being empty rituals, Baptism and Eucharist are places where Christ meets His people. McKenzie’s simple yet profound way of describing the sacraments makes them come alive with beauty and meaning.

• Faith Lived Outward
  The Anglican Way is not only about what happens on Sundays. McKenzie emphasizes how our worship overflows into daily life—justice, compassion, witness, and joy.

SUMMARY:
The Anglican Way is short, clear, and deeply encouraging. It doesn’t just explain Anglicanism—it invites you into it. This isn’t about choosing a label or joining a club; it’s about being formed into the likeness of Christ through the rhythms of Word, sacrament, prayer, and mission.

It’s also worth saying that Anglican churches don’t all look the same. Some are “low church,” with a simpler, more pared-down approach to liturgy. Others are “high church,” leaning into the fullness of traditional ritual and ceremony. Most live somewhere in between. Our church doesn’t necessarily include every aspect of traditional Anglican worship in our Sunday services, but we do draw deeply from the Anglican tradition—its prayers, its rhythms, its sacraments—as a way of grounding ourselves in Christ.

If you’re curious about why our church prays the way it does… if you want to understand the bigger story behind our Sunday liturgy… or if you simply long for a deeper, rooted faith—this little book will be a gift to you.

Redeemer, my hope is that we continue to grow as a people shaped by Scripture, grounded in worship, and sent with joy into the world God loves.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Drew

Fr. Thomas McKenzie was a priest in our own province, the Anglican Church in North America. In August of 2021, he tragically died in a car accident. Just a month earlier, we had the privilege of hosting him at Redeemer for a talk (via ZOOM) on this very book. His words continue to serve the Church he loved, and it’s an honor for us to learn from his legacy.