One of the things most troubling about the American church is the lack of accountability of churches and their leaders. The last two decades of scandals surrounding the issues of abuse of power by church leaders have shown the devastating cost of this independence. At Horizon, our desire is that our church and our staff be connected to trustworthy people and structures that would protect our church and help us flourish as a church community. We have searched for over ten years for such a place for us to land and C4SO is the first place that seems to be what we want and need. Our pastor has had a relationship with Todd Hunter, the current Bishop of C4SO for over thirty years. He has been a wise, generous, and trustworthy mentor to Brad and a counselor to our church for the last 25 years. As well, our whole pastoral staff has already been deeply resourced by C4SO over the last decade. For these reasons, a natural affinity already exists between our church and C4SO. While no denomination or diocese is perfect, we sense real health in the leadership of C4SO and see a real opportunity in linking arms with them.

Besides appropriate oversight and accountability, we would now be able to further tap into the many resources a denomination can bring. These resources include: Access to resources for small groups, men’s, women’s, children and youth ministries. Access to HR training for our staff and volunteers Access to conferences, retreats, and podcasts. Access to health insurance Help with hiring future staff. A pathway for pastoral ordination would now exist. (As an independent church, we do not currently have a way for our pastoral staff to pursue ordination). Friendship and camaraderie for our pastoral staff Wisdom and counsel for difficult cultural issues that confront the church today Participation in a greater national and global mission of the church. (As part of this diocese we would contribute 5% of our budget to the diocese and its missional commitments)

The beauty of our church community is that many of our people come from different denominational backgrounds. This diversity provides a richness to our worship. For this reason, it is our conviction that people who currently worship at Horizon could continue to be a vibrant part of our church community and serve in any capacity, without the need to become Anglican. But because confirmation can be an important part of a person’s spiritual journey, Horizon would happily confirm those who felt drawn to more closely align to the Anglican tradition.

Horizon’s position on women in leadership mirrors that of C4SO and so would not need to change. Here are two links to the position of the diocese. Posture Regarding Women in Leadership Bishop Todd Hunter's Statement on the Ordination of Women

For those who have been here for more than fifteen years, you have seen how the Anglican Tradition has deeply impacted the structure of our Sunday morning worship. As such, we would not expect any significant change to our worship, though we would continue to use any resources from the Anglican tradition, as well all other parts of the whole body of Christ, that we think would help us worship God more fully.

There would be little to no change. Our church governance would largely remain the same, with only a few minor changes to our bylaws. Our church board would remain in place (though now it would be named as a vestry) and would have the same function. Joining C4SO would not affect the ownership of our building or land, as Horizon would maintain all rights to its property and resources. The Bishop would take on the responsibility to resource the church were we to need to find a new senior pastor.

Our current pastor is ordained as a priest with the ACNA/C4SO. Thus, our core theological commitments would not change at all. The reason we feel C4SO could be a good home for Horizon is its commitment to historic creedal Christian orthodoxy and orthopraxy.

The Eucharist - Our practice of the Eucharist (or the Lord’s Supper) would not change, as we have already adopted a sacramental approach to our practice of Communion over the last fifteen years. Baptism – Both believer (or adult) baptism and paedo (or infant) baptism are found in scripture and practiced throughout church history. Both forms of baptism have deep theological roots and have helped Christians live out of their baptismal identity. Historically, Horizon has dedicated our children and practiced believer baptism when people have made a decision for Christ. As other churches do, Horizon would now offer both forms of baptism for its members based on the theological conviction of the persons or families choosing to be baptized.