About Worship in the Episcopal Church
Episcopalians worship in many different styles, ranging from very formal, ancient, and multi-sensory rites with lots of singing, music, fancy clothes (called vestments), and incense, to informal services with contemporary music. Yet all worship in the Episcopal Church is based in the Book of Common Prayer, which gives worship a familiar feel, no matter where you go.
Worship in the Episcopal Church is “liturgical,” meaning that the congregation follows service forms and prays from texts that don’t change greatly from week to week during a season of the year. This sameness gives worship a rhythm that becomes comforting and familiar to the worshipers.
The Prelude
A few minutes before the service there will be some music called the Prelude. This music is meant to help us center ourselves and prepare for the service. Sometimes it’s organ music and other times it’s a solo sung by a member of the Choir. You’ll know it’s time for the service to start because you’ll see the Crucifer (Cross Bearer) standing at the rear of the church. When the first hymn starts after the Prelude everyone stands.
The Procession
As in most Episcopal churches, at St. Christopher’s there will be a procession of the acolytes, choir members and priests down the aisle at the start of the service. You’ll notice that people bow when the cross passes their pew. This is an acknowledgement that Christ is with us during worship as well as after worship as we go out into the world.
Once the first hymn is finished, the Presider (the priest leading the service) and the assembly (the people) say the Opening Acclamation which is a formal way of greeting one another. Then there is a short piece of music called the Gloria or Song of Praise. (Music like this is called Service Music and is designated with an “S-“preceding the page number. These can be found in the front of the hymnal.)
1. The Liturgy of the Word
The remainder of the service is divided into two parts: The Liturgy of the Word and The Liturgy of the Table. The Liturgy of the Word contains readings from the Bible, the sermon, statements of our faith (The Nicene Creed), and Prayers of the People. All of the biblical readings used in an Episcopal service are part of a set “lectionary” which assigns readings for every Sunday on a three year cycle. Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church also follow the same set of readings. Members of the assembly usually read the first two readings and the psalm.
You’ll notice that the reading of the Gospel (meaning “good news”) gets special attention. This is because the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, contain the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and are central to our faith. Normally a song welcoming the Gospel is sung and the Gospel book is brought into the middle of the assembly and read by a priest. Everyone stands for this reading and turns and faces the Gospel Book.
Following the Gospel a sermon is preached by the priest. The sermon is meant to take what we have heard in the readings and engage those learnings with the everyday events that we experience in our lives.
After the sermon, we stand and say the Nicene Creed, an ancient statement of faith used by most Christian churches which binds us together with Christians of all generations and Christians all over the world. A member of the church comes forward after the Creed to read the Prayers of the People. These are petitions that include prayers for the Church, the world, the nation, those who are sick and those who have died. The priest concludes these prayers with a ‘collect.’ A Collect is a prayer that ‘collects’ all of our thoughts and prayers together and is prayed by the priest on behalf of all present.
After the Prayers of the People we say the Confession. The Confession is an opportunity to confess together the ways we have not loved God or others. At St. Christopher’s, we kneel for the confession as a sign of penitence. At the conclusion of the confession, the presider stands and says the Absolution which serves to remind us that God forgives our sins.
The presider then bids “The Peace.” This can be an awkward moment for people who are newcomers. Ritually, what we are doing is enacting our need to be in right relationship with one another before we go to communion. We do that by saying “Peace be with you” and shaking hands. At the Peace, you should greet the people right around you. Sometimes at St. Christopher’s the Peace can be a little more exuberant so you may see people actually leaving their seats to exchange the Peace with people in the rows around them. This is fine, but remaining in your pew is acceptable as well.
2. The Liturgy of the Table
This portion of the service has as its focus the celebration of the Eucharist or Holy Communion. It includes the collection of your gifts or offerings, getting the Eucharistic meal ready and praying over it, and then sharing a meal of the bread and wine together as the Body of Christ.
Offertory
During this portion of the Liturgy of the Table, you’ll see a priest (called the Celebrant at this point in the service) receive the gifts of the earth (bread and wine), from two parishioners who bring them down the aisle. Then the Celebrant sets the table for communion while the Ushers pass the plate to collect your gifts or offering (hence, ‘Offertory’). A piece of music is sung or played while the collection is taken. It is fine for you to put whatever amount of money in the plate or to put in nothing at all. (You may wonder why so many people don’t put anything in. There are many reasons, of course, but one big one is that many church members make their financial contributions through credit card deductions, or automatic bill-pay with their banks.)
Eucharistic Prayer
At the Eucharist, the Celebrant prays an extended prayer on behalf of God’s people. It starts with a dialogue between the priest and people called the Sursum Corda (Latin meaning “Lift up your hearts”). The Celebrant then praises God for God’s action in our lives. This selection concludes with the Sanctus “Holy, holy, holy”, a response normally sung by all the people. The prayer continues with a retelling of the story of the Last Supper and the Celebrant asking the Holy Spirit to come into the bread and wine and into us. The people stand at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer. After the Sanctus (Latin for “Holy”) the people of St. Christopher’s continue kneeling or standing. Either one is totally fine.
At the end of the Eucharistic Prayer everyone prays the Lord’s Prayer. Then the presider breaks a piece of the bread, symbolizing Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for us. After this symbolic breaking, some more practical preparations are made which might include pouring additional chalices of wine, breaking the bread into pieces for distribution, etc. Words, called the Fraction Anthem, are either spoken or sung at this point that reflect the actions taking place. Once the bread and wine are ready the presider invites people to the meal by saying, “The Gifts of God, for the People of God.”
Receiving Communion
People generally come forward and stand or kneel at the altar rail to receive communion. Youth acolytes will tell you when it is time for your row to go up to the altar. This is a good time to watch what others are doing and follow their example. The official policy of the Episcopal Church is that all baptized people may receive communion. If you don’t want to receive communion that is totally fine. You can remain in your seat, or you can also come forward and cross your arms over your chest. The priest will offer you a blessing instead of communion.
If you do want to receive, hold out your hands out palms crossed and the priest will put a piece of bread in your hand. Then another liturgical minister will come with the cup of wine (and it is wine!). There are a few choices here. You can eat the bread when it is put in your hand and then take a sip of wine from the cup. It is helpful for you to touch the cup and help guide it to your mouth. If you don’t want to drink from the cup you can also leave the bread in your hand and dip the bread in the wine and then place it in your mouth. It is also totally fine to receive only the bread or only the wine; either is considered a full receiving of communion. Once you have received, simply return to your seat. Often music is sung during or near the end of communion.
When everyone has received communion and have returned to their seats, the Eucharist ends with a Post-Communion Prayer said by all present. The priest then gives the Blessing which asks God to bless each of us. Another hymn is sung by everyone the acolytes, priests, and choir process back down the aisle and out of the church. At the very end the people are dismissed by a priest and sent out into the world. You’ll know the service is over when the priest says the Dismissal.
Worship in the Episcopal Church is “liturgical,” meaning that the congregation follows service forms and prays from texts that don’t change greatly from week to week during a season of the year. This sameness gives worship a rhythm that becomes comforting and familiar to the worshipers.
The Prelude
A few minutes before the service there will be some music called the Prelude. This music is meant to help us center ourselves and prepare for the service. Sometimes it’s organ music and other times it’s a solo sung by a member of the Choir. You’ll know it’s time for the service to start because you’ll see the Crucifer (Cross Bearer) standing at the rear of the church. When the first hymn starts after the Prelude everyone stands.
The Procession
As in most Episcopal churches, at St. Christopher’s there will be a procession of the acolytes, choir members and priests down the aisle at the start of the service. You’ll notice that people bow when the cross passes their pew. This is an acknowledgement that Christ is with us during worship as well as after worship as we go out into the world.
Once the first hymn is finished, the Presider (the priest leading the service) and the assembly (the people) say the Opening Acclamation which is a formal way of greeting one another. Then there is a short piece of music called the Gloria or Song of Praise. (Music like this is called Service Music and is designated with an “S-“preceding the page number. These can be found in the front of the hymnal.)
1. The Liturgy of the Word
The remainder of the service is divided into two parts: The Liturgy of the Word and The Liturgy of the Table. The Liturgy of the Word contains readings from the Bible, the sermon, statements of our faith (The Nicene Creed), and Prayers of the People. All of the biblical readings used in an Episcopal service are part of a set “lectionary” which assigns readings for every Sunday on a three year cycle. Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church also follow the same set of readings. Members of the assembly usually read the first two readings and the psalm.
You’ll notice that the reading of the Gospel (meaning “good news”) gets special attention. This is because the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, contain the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and are central to our faith. Normally a song welcoming the Gospel is sung and the Gospel book is brought into the middle of the assembly and read by a priest. Everyone stands for this reading and turns and faces the Gospel Book.
Following the Gospel a sermon is preached by the priest. The sermon is meant to take what we have heard in the readings and engage those learnings with the everyday events that we experience in our lives.
After the sermon, we stand and say the Nicene Creed, an ancient statement of faith used by most Christian churches which binds us together with Christians of all generations and Christians all over the world. A member of the church comes forward after the Creed to read the Prayers of the People. These are petitions that include prayers for the Church, the world, the nation, those who are sick and those who have died. The priest concludes these prayers with a ‘collect.’ A Collect is a prayer that ‘collects’ all of our thoughts and prayers together and is prayed by the priest on behalf of all present.
After the Prayers of the People we say the Confession. The Confession is an opportunity to confess together the ways we have not loved God or others. At St. Christopher’s, we kneel for the confession as a sign of penitence. At the conclusion of the confession, the presider stands and says the Absolution which serves to remind us that God forgives our sins.
The presider then bids “The Peace.” This can be an awkward moment for people who are newcomers. Ritually, what we are doing is enacting our need to be in right relationship with one another before we go to communion. We do that by saying “Peace be with you” and shaking hands. At the Peace, you should greet the people right around you. Sometimes at St. Christopher’s the Peace can be a little more exuberant so you may see people actually leaving their seats to exchange the Peace with people in the rows around them. This is fine, but remaining in your pew is acceptable as well.
2. The Liturgy of the Table
This portion of the service has as its focus the celebration of the Eucharist or Holy Communion. It includes the collection of your gifts or offerings, getting the Eucharistic meal ready and praying over it, and then sharing a meal of the bread and wine together as the Body of Christ.
Offertory
During this portion of the Liturgy of the Table, you’ll see a priest (called the Celebrant at this point in the service) receive the gifts of the earth (bread and wine), from two parishioners who bring them down the aisle. Then the Celebrant sets the table for communion while the Ushers pass the plate to collect your gifts or offering (hence, ‘Offertory’). A piece of music is sung or played while the collection is taken. It is fine for you to put whatever amount of money in the plate or to put in nothing at all. (You may wonder why so many people don’t put anything in. There are many reasons, of course, but one big one is that many church members make their financial contributions through credit card deductions, or automatic bill-pay with their banks.)
Eucharistic Prayer
At the Eucharist, the Celebrant prays an extended prayer on behalf of God’s people. It starts with a dialogue between the priest and people called the Sursum Corda (Latin meaning “Lift up your hearts”). The Celebrant then praises God for God’s action in our lives. This selection concludes with the Sanctus “Holy, holy, holy”, a response normally sung by all the people. The prayer continues with a retelling of the story of the Last Supper and the Celebrant asking the Holy Spirit to come into the bread and wine and into us. The people stand at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer. After the Sanctus (Latin for “Holy”) the people of St. Christopher’s continue kneeling or standing. Either one is totally fine.
At the end of the Eucharistic Prayer everyone prays the Lord’s Prayer. Then the presider breaks a piece of the bread, symbolizing Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for us. After this symbolic breaking, some more practical preparations are made which might include pouring additional chalices of wine, breaking the bread into pieces for distribution, etc. Words, called the Fraction Anthem, are either spoken or sung at this point that reflect the actions taking place. Once the bread and wine are ready the presider invites people to the meal by saying, “The Gifts of God, for the People of God.”
Receiving Communion
People generally come forward and stand or kneel at the altar rail to receive communion. Youth acolytes will tell you when it is time for your row to go up to the altar. This is a good time to watch what others are doing and follow their example. The official policy of the Episcopal Church is that all baptized people may receive communion. If you don’t want to receive communion that is totally fine. You can remain in your seat, or you can also come forward and cross your arms over your chest. The priest will offer you a blessing instead of communion.
If you do want to receive, hold out your hands out palms crossed and the priest will put a piece of bread in your hand. Then another liturgical minister will come with the cup of wine (and it is wine!). There are a few choices here. You can eat the bread when it is put in your hand and then take a sip of wine from the cup. It is helpful for you to touch the cup and help guide it to your mouth. If you don’t want to drink from the cup you can also leave the bread in your hand and dip the bread in the wine and then place it in your mouth. It is also totally fine to receive only the bread or only the wine; either is considered a full receiving of communion. Once you have received, simply return to your seat. Often music is sung during or near the end of communion.
When everyone has received communion and have returned to their seats, the Eucharist ends with a Post-Communion Prayer said by all present. The priest then gives the Blessing which asks God to bless each of us. Another hymn is sung by everyone the acolytes, priests, and choir process back down the aisle and out of the church. At the very end the people are dismissed by a priest and sent out into the world. You’ll know the service is over when the priest says the Dismissal.
