You Are Not Alone I remember what struck me most about my first experience with Anglicanism and the catholic faith and liturgy. It wasn't the beautiful language, the sacraments, or the sense of awe and mystery (although these affected me greatly!). Rather, it was something more simplistic and common: the use of "we" and "our" in the liturgy. As an evangelical (my upbringing until age 22), I had always lamented the lack of community and togetherness. I don't mean some sort of mushy touchy feely stuff, but a real spiritual kinship and community of support. Sure, we had the mixer type activities, but spiritually everyone was so far over the place I never felt I had any connection to anyone else's spiritual life except maybe that we were in the same building on Sunday morning and prayed to the same God. Perhaps this is an inherent weakness in dictionary definition evangelicalism. I heard so many times that Christianity is a personal relationship with Jesus that I was led to believe (even if the person hadn't intended it) that spiritually nothing else mattered. "Quiet Times," or for the non-initiated, daily private prayer and devotion time, took center stage, even over church and other spiritual activities. I was never once questioned about missing church, but consistently asked about the quality and frequency of my quality time. Not only was a bodily support network not important (and consequently not present), a heavenly support network was non-existent. The Communion of the Saints was either ignored, denied, or changed to mean just those who happened to be walking around in a local church. When my brother was reading St. Clement of Alexandria he was amazed to read that Clement believed that when we pray it's not just us praying, but a multitude of angels and saints present with us. Clement put to words the sneaking suspicion I had all along: this it's just me and God thing doesn't cut it. It is about a personal relationship with Jesus, but also a corporate one. The two go hand in hand and can't exist or thrive without the other. The same is true for "quiet times." Every Christian needs personal time with Jesus (I could never live without it!), but also the corporate relationship. They too go hand in hand and without each other, worship in spirit and truth is impossible. I leave you with Clement: "In this way is he [the true Christian] always pure for prayer. He also prays in the society of angels, as being already of angelic rank, and he is never out of their holy keeping; and though he pray alone, he has the choir of the saints standing with him [in prayer]" (Miscellanies 7:12).