What should I expect when I visit?
We
extend a cordial welcome to you to worship with us and offer this
document as a brief introduction to the Episcopal Church and its ways.
The Place of Worship
The Act of Worship
The Regular Services
Before and After Services
Vestments
The Church Year
Coming and Going
You will not be Embarrased
The Place of Worship
As you enter, you will notice an atmosphere of worship and reverence.
Episcopal
churches are built in many architectural styles; but whether the church
is small or large, elaborate or plain, your eye is carried to the
altar, or holy table, and to the cross. So our thoughts are taken at
once to Christ and to God whose house the church is.
On or near
the altar there are candles to remind us that Christ is the "Light of
the World." Often there are flowers to beautify God's house and to
recall the resurrection of Jesus.
On one side at the front of
the church, there may be a lectern-pulpit, or stand, for the
proclamation of the Word; here the Scriptures are read and the sermon
is preached. In many churches, however, the lectern is separate from
the pulpit and stands on the opposite side of the church.
The Act of Worship
In
the pews you will find the Book of Common Prayer, the use of 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 kneel. Practices vary -- even among Episcopalians.
The
general rule is to 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 and printed as part of the service. 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 sitting or
standing. We sit during readings from the Old Testament or New
Testament Letters, the sermon, and the choir anthems. We stand or kneel
for prayer.
The Regular Services
The
principal service is the Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion). In some
Episcopal churches it is celebrated quite simply, without music, early
on Sunday morning. Weekday celebrations also are frequently without
music, and without sermon. When celebrated at a later hour on Sundays,
or on other great Christian days such as Christmas, music and a sermon
are customary.
Page numbers for parts of the service printed
elsewhere in the Prayer Book are usually announced or given in the
service leaflet. But do not be embarrassed to ask your neighbor for the
page number.
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.
Before and After Services
It
is the custom upon entering church to kneel in one's pew for a prayer
of personal preparation for worship. In many churches it is also the
custom to bow to the altar on entering and leaving the church as an act
of reverence for Christ.
Episcopalians do not talk in church
before a service but use this time for personal meditation and
devotions. At the end of the service some persons 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 clergy may also wear a cassock
and surplice.
Another familiar vestment is the alb, a white
tunic with sleeves that covers the body from neck to ankles. Over it
(or over the surplice) ordained ministers wear a stole, a narrow band
of colored fabric. Deacons wear the stole over one shoulder, priests
and bishops over both shoulders.
At the Holy Eucharist a bishop
or priest frequently 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
season of Advent, during which we prepare for Christmas, begins on the
Sunday closest to November 30. Christmas itself 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. During the rest of the year---the season after Epiphany and
the long season after Pentecost (except for a few special
Sundays)---the New Testament is read sequentially from Sunday to
Sunday. The Old Testament lesson corresponds in theme with one of the
New Testament readings.
Coming and Going
If
there are ushers, they will greet you and may escort you to a pew. If
you desire, they will answer your questions about the service. Pews are
usually unreserved in Episcopal churches.
Following the service the pastor greets the people as they leave.
You Will Not Be Embarrassed
When
you visit an Episcopal 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. You will worship God
with us.
Should you wish to know more about the Episcopal
Church or how one becomes an Episcopalian, the pastor (rector) will
gladly answer your questions and suggest the way to membership.
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