Step by Step
So, you know what to expect in a general sense, but what about the details? When to stand or kneel, what are all those books for, where should you sit? In this section, we hope to give you a complete picture of a typical Sunday service so that when you visit us you feel comfortable and welcome.
When you come into our church, you will see one or two people handing out service bulletins. These folks are our ushers. They are volunteers who enjoy making people feel welcome. Just let them know that you are visiting and they can help with almost any question you have. They will give you a service bulletin that has the information in it you need to follow along.
When you walk into the worship space, or sanctuary, you will notice a quiet atmosphere of worship and reverence. There are times when just getting to church may seem like a miracle of alarm clocks, breakfast, clean clothes and getting everybody out the door. The few quiet minutes before the service begins are a great chance to settle down and prepare your heart and mind for the service. You can sit anywhere you are comfortable.
Now that you have found a seat, take another look at the service bulletin the ushers gave you. On the inside front cover of the bulletin is printed the outline of the service. Listed are all the hymns, readings, and prayers for the day. To make it through the service you’ll need three things: the service bulletin, the Book of Common Prayer (red), and the Hymnal (blue).
We start with an opening hymn at the 10:00 service. Pastor Chris will announce the hymn number from the back of the church, the organ will start up and away we go. You’ll find the music and words in the blue hymnal. Each hymn is called by a number at the top of the pages in the hymnal. The number of each hymn we will sing is listed in the service bulletin and also on a hymnal board at the front of the church.
The service then moves along in the order you’ll see in the bulletin. The prayers we say are listed with a reference to the page number in the BCP – Book of Common Prayer (red book). The Book of Common Prayer will guide you through the liturgy (the service) with italicized directions. Pastor Chris is likely to say which page to turn to in the BCP also.
The readings from the Old Testament, the Psalm, the New Testament, and the Gospel are all printed on a separate piece of paper in the bulletin. The Old and New Testament lessons are read by a member of the parish up at a lectern. The Psalm is read by a Lay Eucharistic Minister. It is our custom to read the Psalm responsively beginning and ending with the refrain. What this means is that one of the Lay Eucharistic Ministers reads half of a verse of the Psalm and then we all say the second half of the verse together. We stand as Pastor Chris reads the Gospel.
That brings up the question of when to sit, stand, and kneel or hokey pokey. There are a couple of general guidelines. We generally stand for singing, the Nicene Creed, the Gospel, and during certain prayers. We sit during the readings from the Old and New Testaments, the sermon, and choir anthems. We kneel for confession and during the communion prayers. If you’re not sure, just follow the people in front of you.
The BCP will have directions in italics for standing, kneeling and sitting. However, we do all of those things as we are able. Some of us may have physical limitations that dictate what we can do during a service. Also, as Episcopalians, a lot of how you worship is left up to you. Some members of our congregation stand when others kneel, it depends on how you want to worship and what posture helps you to get the most out of worship.
After the readings and the sermon, we say a confession together. Pastor Chris then gives us the Lord’s forgiveness, blessings, and peace. We then take a moment to “pass the peace” to each other by handshakes or hugs, whatever you are comfortable with.
Then, at the 10:00 service, there is a loud thundering noise as the children from Sunday school come into the sanctuary. The kids gather up at the altar for a children’s sermon from Pastor Chris. Now we are better than half way through the service and we move on to the communion prayers.
We celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday. That means that we receive communion, both bread and wine. All baptized Christians, regardless of denomination, are welcome to receive communion with us. It is the Lord’s Table and all are welcome.
The ushers assist the congregation in going up to receive at the communion rails. It is customary to kneel to receive communion, but again it’s not required. If you need any special assistance the ushers are there to help you. Small children are also welcome at the communion rail to receive communion or a special blessing from Pastor Chris.
After communion there are a couple more prayers and a closing hymn. We have general church announcements, a final blessing, and then off to coffee hour.
There are a couple of other things you might like to know. We have no dress code, come as you are. Some of us will be in jeans and some in our Sunday finest.
Pastor Chris likes to be called “Pastor Chris”. There are a variety of titles for clergy — pastor, father, mother, reverend — but it’s up to the individual to decide what they would like to be called.
