Worshipping With Us

The Episcopal Church in America uses a particular version of The Book of Common Prayer for daily and Sunday worship. Page numbers and hymn numbers are posted, announced, or printed in the service bulletin. If you're having difficulty finding the right page or following the service, don't be afraid to ask someone sitting nearby for help.

The most commonly used services found in the Prayer Book are The Holy Eucharist and Morning Prayer. The Book of Common Prayer(1979) contains two versions of each service--one in traditional language (Rite One) and one using contemporary words (Rite Two).

Hymns & Psalms

Hymns are usually listed in the service leaflet or announced. If there is an S before the hymn number (for example, S-125), the music can be found at the front of the Hymnal.

Page numbers for the Psalms (hymns of the Hebrew Scriptures) will be announced or printed in the service leaflet, in a form that facilitates congregational reading or singing. 

Stand, or Sit?

If you're new to the Episcopal Church, you will quickly discover that we do a lot of sitting and standing at various times in the worship service. Generally, we stand or sit for prayer, sit for instruction, and stand for praise. Feel free to follow along with the congregation.

Children in Worship

We welcome children and encourage them to be present in worship. Children are welcome to receive bread and wine as soon as they show a desire to receive the elements. 

The Episcopal Church

The Episcopal Church is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. We are both Catholic (true to the historic Christian faith) and Protestant (reformed and evangelical). This walk in the middle way is a hallmark of Anglicanism and of the Anglican Church in the United States, known as the Episcopal Church. Our core beliefs are expressed in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, shared with many other Christians. You are welcome here with all of your doubts and questions!

Lay persons are members of the Episcopal Church by virtue of their baptism, for we believe that the Church is the body of which Jesus Christ is the Head and of which all baptized persons are members. The ordained ministers are bishops, priests, or deacons.

Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist (The Lord's Supper) are the two great sacraments (visible signs of spiritual grace) in the Anglican tradition. In addition to the Sacraments and the Creeds, there are two other essential foundations of the Episcopal Church: the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and the Historic Episcopate, the line of succession of bishops in the life of the Church. (The word "episcopal" means "relating to a bishop.")