About Us

The Vine began as a non-denominational community church in 2002. Those involved in its founding held a Wesleyan-Arminian theological perspective (think ‘old school’ Methodist). Yet, people from many different backgrounds found a home with us. A blending of ancient liturgical practices, contemporary music, heartfelt and often artistically inspired worship and biblically sound teaching, has always been characteristic of The Vine.

Though we did not fit neatly into a ready-made category, we stood on a traditional and orthodox understanding of the scriptures and gladly found fellowship with other like-minded churches. For 10 years, we maintained a vision to offer the Lord and his people fresh and novel worship experiences every Sunday morning of the year. This was a joyful season for many. Yet over time, we found this vision very difficult to sustain and further develop within a community of our size.

For this reason we began implementing changes which leaned more heavily on our historic Christian legacy while still keeping our contemporary music and relaxed style. Attentively watching the long-brewing cultural and denominational upheavals of the 2000s – 2010s, Rev. Owen Fulghum (our founding pastor) began to experience what would be a persistent urge to connect to and be anchored in a broader body which championed gospel-driven mission and Reformation orthodoxy – as Vine of the Mountains (now The Vine Anglican Church) always sought to do. This meant stepping up some changes for the sake of participating in the blessings which can come with being part of a larger body of believers.

Further, as we did not own a church facility and at times have had to change worship spaces, we sometimes felt our identity fluctuate according to our location. Noting this, Pastor Owen discerned a growing need for a sturdy spiritual “home” in which to secure our church family. Answers to this need were discovered in the recently formed (2009) Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).

In 2017, joining with the ACNA became a serious consideration for us. Beginning with conversations with Bishop Steve Wood of the Diocese of the Carolinas (now Archbishop of the ACNA) and developing this consideration in our congregation’s leadership, we found kinship with the new Anglican movement.

This movement was and is a coalition of believers who banded together in the early 2000s by holding steadfastly to biblically faithful teaching – who had separated from a denomination they believed had become diminishingly faithful to the authority of scripture. Their significant growth has come from a strong emphasis on gospel-mission, church planting and ancient-yet-timeless liturgical worship practices. The ACNA presently consists of 128,000+ members in over 1000 churches in North America. We were welcomed into their “communion” in early October of 2022.

Today, we are happy to think of ourselves as “folk Anglican.” We gather around ancient rhythms in a warm and welcoming environment that is at times lively, at times contemplative, and always pointing to the life-giving good news of the Gospel Story. Through the twists and turns of our local story, the Vine Anglican Church remains a community following Jesus together in such a way that our lives become fearless in love for God and people.

The Anglican Church originally began in the British Isles during the early 1500s as the “English” part of the broader Reformation / Protestant movement, but its roots go even deeper. Christianity reached the British Isles shortly after Constantine’s establishment of the “Holy Roman Empire” in the mid-300s A.D. Though long under papal authority, as was most of Christendom, believers in Britain fostered an expression of the faith distinctive to the people of the Isles, including an ancient Celtic Christian spirituality to which many are drawn even today. Those nurtured by this strain of Christian belief and practice established a “middle way” during the Reformation, retaining the ancient rhythms of the Church while shedding corrupt aspects of the Roman Church which were of human contrivance.

Most Anglicans today live their lives of vibrant faith in Jesus outside of Britain, including tens of millions of Anglicans throughout nations in the southern hemisphere. We are glad to be among them. And though no denomination, network, nor individual church is untainted by sin and error, we have found the Anglican Church in North America to be a healthy harbor of encouragement from which to launch out into the world with the good news of Jesus.