{"id":15,"date":"2009-11-29T03:02:17","date_gmt":"2009-11-29T09:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/johannite.org\/stmichaels\/?page_id=15"},"modified":"2026-03-01T08:21:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T14:21:11","slug":"what-do-i-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/johannite.org\/stmichaels\/what-do-i-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"What do I need to know?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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At St. Michael's, like all Parish and Narthex communities of the Apostolic Johannite Church<\/strong>, the only thing we really prefer is you<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Come as you are, stay as long as you like, or as little as you like<\/strong>. The only thing we ask is that you are respectful of other parishoners and attendees and keep noise to a minimum while liturgy is undertaken.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, if this is your first time in a liturgical and sacramental church, the seeming complexity of the liturgy can sometimes be intimidating or confusing - but we\u2019re here to help<\/em>. If you have questions about the liturgy, Gnosticism, or the Apostolic Johannite church, we\u2019d love to help with them.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can write to us, call ahead of time, or join us for coffee afterwards - questioning is, after all, the beginning of wisdom. If we don\u2019t know the answer, you can be sure we\u2019ll say so. Ideas are often best explored with other minds and thoughts, and we\u2019d be pleased to help you, if we can.<\/span><\/p>\n

About the Apostolic Johannite Church<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Many of us seek a real spiritual community which is loving, inclusive, spiritually lively and empowering of people of all genders, races and sexualities, both rich and poor.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Johannite tradition represents just such a community: founded by Saint John the beloved disciple of Jesus, rooted in the tradition of John the Baptist and guided by direct, experiential contact with the Divine, this Johannite tradition encourages personal responsibility and freedom of thought and practice.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Apostolic Johannite Church is a global network of Johannite communities that focus on supporting individual and direct experience of the Divine through fellowship, meditation and prayer, service and ritual, lively discussion and study.<\/span><\/p>\n

We fully embrace the beauty and mystery of the living Christian tradition: candles and incense, ancient rites such as baptism and the eucharist and robed male and female priests. We also delight in the freedoms to choose how we understand our tradition and to explore other paths that are among the particular gifts of our modern world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your journey to come to personal knowledge of the Divine is yours alone but it is our experience that we all benefit from companions on the road, good books to read, educated conversation and a place to gather with others to share the fruits of our journey in prayer, praise and blessing.<\/span><\/p>\n

We draw inspiration from many sources: the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament, the Corpus Hermeticum, and Gnostic Scriptures such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Secret Book of John. We understand these texts as inspiration, poetry and symbolism, rather than making a literal reading of them as books of rules.<\/span><\/p>\n

We have parishes and study groups across the USA, Canada, Spain, Australia and Mexico and we welcome anyone who comes respectfully and openly to our service.<\/span><\/p>\n

Come as you are, and stay as long or as little as you like and share your pilgrimage toward the Divine.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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