Our Style of Service is traditional Anglican and we realize it may be a bit confusing for some first-time visitors.  We are glad you are here, and want you to feel comfortable worshiping the Lord with us.  We will not call special attention to you during the service, nor embarrass, nor make you feel put 'on the spot'  in any way.  It is a bold step to attend a new and different worship service, and with that in mind, we offer these tips in the hope they will help you feel comfortable quickly in our chapel:

 

1) As a Christian denomination, both Catholic and Protestant, we worship the Lord in a traditional and formal Anglican style, intended to show reverence and honor at each step.  We begin the hour with a processional hymn and series of readings together.  We then consider a sermon prepared by our Priest.  After the sermon, we continue in a series of prayers together leading towards Holy Communion, and we conclude with a hymn and a final prayer to end the service.

 

2) We use a printed bulletin as a guide, we read passages together from the 1928 'Book of Common Prayer', and use the 1940 Anglican Hymnal for song.  As you enter the chapel, look for a stack of books on a chair just inside the entrance.  Then select a bulletin, a Book of Common Prayer, and a Hymnal to use in worship.  (We use different books for this service than those present in the chapel pews.)  Find a seat anywhere on either side of the chapel.   Although both sides of pews face each other, our attention is on the altar, or the pulpit, or the choir in the back rather than each other, so don't let the seating position be an obstacle to your opportunity to worship.  If it seems a little awkward initially, this will quickly fade as you become more familiar with our service.

 

3) In general, we kneel as we pray as an expression of humility towards the Lord.  We stand to sing hymns, and sometimes we sing parts of the service while kneeling.  Throughout the service, we will cycle through these various postures of sitting, kneeling, or standing according to the sequence of worship events that unfold through the hour.  Our bulletin helps us to anticipate the next worship event, and allows us to know which pages to follow.

 

4) As a guide for consistency in worship, the Book of Common Prayer allows us to listen, read, and speak various passages of faith together in a way, which over time becomes familiar and constant and structural to our worship. Within the Book of Common Prayer are excerpts of key passages from the Bible which are read with reverence during the service.

 

5) Although the Book of Common Prayer is thick and might seem inaccessible to a newcomer, we typically read paragraphs from just a few pages prior to the sermon (6) starting on page 67, then usually from 9 pages after.  Each paragraph is clearly indicated for you on the weekly bulletin which references the page number from the Book of Common Prayer on the right side of the bulletin.

 

6) Week by week, the pages we read remain similar, with some variations based on the church season.

 

7)  Communion is an important part of worship for us, and towards the end of worship, we move in an orderly way to the front of the chapel to receive the bread and wine at the altar.  We use two parallel lines, moving to receive first the wafer of bread, then the wine from the cup.  We have the option of drinking from the cup, or of dipping the wafer into the wine (intinction) to receive communion.  If we choose intinction, we hold our bread in prayer until our Priest returns with the cup.  After a short prayer, we stand to return to the pews as the next persons in line take their place at the altar.

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8)  You may notice parishioners kneeling slightly as they take seats, or making the sign of the cross during prayer.  These expressions are those of worshipful humility, and are intended to show respect to the Lord as we worship.  If you are not comfortable doing this, or not comfortable kneeling during the various parts of the service, please just be with us in your style of reverent worship.  You might also notice that various congregants choose different styles of kneeling according to comfort and health constraints.

 

9)  During the service, you may hear the word 'catholic' mentioned occasionally.  In the Anglican tradition, this is "catholic" with a small "c," meaning the "universal" body of Christ, rather than a reference to the Roman Catholic Church.  Here, we mean the entire body of Christ.

 

10)  Music and song, is a key element of Anglican worship, and we encourage you to join in with each hymn we sing.  We usually sing three hymns together:  a processional at the beginning of worship, a second hymn after we say the Nicene Creed, and a third at the end of worship, as well as some parts of the service which you will learn easily with time. Our Choir and congregation will, on occasion, sing verses without musical accompaniment. 

 

11) In general, our service is an active one, with a series of changes in posture based on the events that occur through the hour.  We realize this can be interesting at the least - perhaps even intimidating - to a new visitor at first.  We are happy to help you with any procedural questions you might have. When in doubt, just follow others you see in worship, and we think you'll quickly find a pattern you can follow. 

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Welcome. We are glad you are here.