WHAT
TO EXPECT WHEN YOU VISIT AN EPISCOPAL CHURCH
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.
As
you enter, you will notice an atmosphere of worship and reverence.
Episcopal
churches are built in many architectural styles; but whether the church be 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” (John
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
Episcopal
church services are congregational. 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 individual 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 to show our gratefulness to God for accepting us as
children or as an act of humility before God.
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.
Another
service is Morning Prayer. The parallel evening service is Evening Prayer.
These services consist of psalms, Bible readings, and prayers; and may
include a sermon. They may be with
or without music.
While
some parts of the services are always the same, others change.
At the Holy Eucharist, for example, two or three Bible selections are
read. These change each Sunday.
So do the psalms. Certain of
the prayers also change, in order to provide variety.
Page numbers for parts of the service printed elsewhere in the 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.
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 (usually
black) and a white, gathered overgown called a surplice.
The clergy may also wear 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 and green.
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.
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 will gladly answer your questions and suggest the way
to membership.
Produced by the Office of
Communication
The Episcopal