About the Episcopal Church
You'll Be Welcome
We extend a cordial welcome to you to worship with us, and hope that this summary will help as a brief introduction to services and worship in the Episcopal Church.
The Place of Worship
As you enter, you will notice an atmosphere of worship and reverence, and you may find that your eye is carried to the altar, or holy table, and to the cross. In this way our thoughts are taken at once to Christ and to God whose house the church is. On the altar there are candles to remind us that Christ is the "Light of the World." In most seasons there are flowers behind the altar to beautify God's house and to recall the resurrection of Jesus. On left side at the front of the church there is a pulpit for the proclamation of the Word; here the Scriptures and the prayers are read and the sermon is preached.
The Act of Worship
In the pews you will find a red book, the Book of Common Prayer(or BCP), which enables the congregation to share fully in every service. The large print is the actual service. The smaller print gives directions to ministers and people for conduct of the service.
You may wonder when to stand or sit or kneel. Practices vary---even among individual Episcopalians, but the general rule is: stand to praise God, sit to learn, kneel to pray. We stand to sing---hymns (found in the Hymnal in the pews) and other songs (many of them from the Holy Bible) called canticles or chants. We stand, too, to say our affirmation of faith, the Creed; and for the reading of the Gospel in the Holy Eucharist. Psalms are sung or said while we sit. We sit during readings from the Old Testament or New Testament Letters, the sermon, and the choir anthems. We stand or kneel (or sit if need be) for prayer to show our gratefulness to God for accepting us as God's children or as an act of humility before God.
The Regular Services
The principal service is the Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion). On Sundays at Saint Augustine's we have a service at 8:00 a.m. without music and using traditional language (Rite I) and at 10:30 a.m. we have a celebration with choir, congregational hymns, and more modern language (Rite II). On Wednesday mornings at 10 a.m. we offer the Holy Eucharist with healing prayers and anointing in our chapel downstairs.
While some parts of the services are always the same, others change. At the Holy Eucharist, for example, two or three Bible selections are read. These change each Sunday and so do the psalms. Certain of the prayers also change, in order to provide variety. Page numbers for parts of the service printed elsewhere in the BCP are announced or given in the service leaflet. Do not be embarrassed to ask your neighbor for assistance! The service leaflet for the 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist also provides almost all of the prayers and responses used in the service. You will find the services of the Episcopal Church beautiful in their ordered dignity, God-centered, and yet mindful of the nature and needs of human beings.
Receiving the Eucharist
All baptized Christians are welcome and invited to come forward at the priest's invitation to receive the Holy Eucharist. If you prefer not to receive, you may come forward to receive prayers and anointing for healing, and you may indicate this preference at the altar rail by crossing your arms over your chest.
Before and After Services
It is customary upon entering church to kneel in one's pew for a prayer of personal preparation for worship and to bow to the altar on entering and leaving the church as an act of reverence for Christ. It is also customary not to talk in church before a service but use this time for personal meditation and devotions. At the end of the service some people kneel for a private prayer before leaving. Others sometimes sit to listen to the organ postlude.
Vestments
To add to the beauty and festivity of the services, and to signify their special ministries, the clergy and other ministers wear vestments. Choir vestments usually consist of an undergown called a cassock and a white, gathered overgown called a surplice. The servers at the altar also wear cassock and surplice. At Saint Augustine's the clergy wear the alb, a white tunic with sleeves that covers the body from neck to ankles. Over it ordained ministers wear a stole, a narrow band of colored fabric. Deacons wear the stole over one shoulder; priests and bishops wear the stole over both shoulders.
At the Holy Eucharist a bishop or priest wears a chasuble (a circular garment that envelopes the body) over the alb and stole. The deacon's corresponding vestment has sleeves and is called a dalmatic. Bishops sometimes wear a special headcovering called a mitre. Stoles, chasubles, and dalmatics, as well as altar coverings, are usually made of rich fabrics. Their color changes with the seasons and holy days of the Church Year. The most frequently used colors are white, red, violet, green, and sarum blue.
The Church Year
The Episcopal Church observes the traditional Christian calendar. The Church year begins on the Sunday closest to November 30 with the season of Advent, during which we prepare for Christmas. Christmas season lasts twelve days, after which we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany (January 6). Lent, the forty days of preparation for Easter, begins on Ash Wednesday. Easter season lasts fifty days, concluding on the feast of Pentecost. During these times the Bible readings are chosen for their appropriateness to the season.
Coming and Going
The ushers will greet you at the door of the church, and may escort you to a pew. If you desire, they will answer your questions about the service. Pews are unreserved in Episcopal churches. Following the service, the clergy and servers will greet you and will direct you to the location of the coffee hour. When you visit with us for the first time, please sign the visitors' book or fill out a newcomers' card.
You Will Not Be Embarrassed
When you visit our church, you will be our respected and welcome guest. You will not be singled out in an embarrassing way, nor asked to stand before the congregation, nor to come forward except to receive the Eucharist and/or healing prayers. You will worship God with us. Should you wish to know more about the Episcopal Church or how one becomes an Episcopalian, our clergy will gladly answer your questions and suggest the way to membership.