The purpose of our worship is to praise and glorify God, and to receive and renew faith in Jesus Christ. We worship according to the Book of Common Prayer, which guides us so we can pray and worship together in unity. It also helps our visitors follow along with what we’re doing. We’re happy to answer any questions as well.

We gather, we pray, we sing, we confess our sins, and rejoice in God’s forgiveness. We hear readings from the Bible, and a sermon, followed by the Creed. Then we celebrate Communion together, and we close with a charge to go out into the world to love and serve the Lord. Every Sunday most churches offer a time of coffee and conversation before or after worship.

We also move around a lot during worship, and our worship is participatory. The acolytes, lay ministers, and clergy process behind the cross. Bowing, making the sign of the cross, and even the positioning of certain elements of the service are of high significance for many people, but are not required. These communicate to us the centrality of the Gospel in our parish life. The action itself has meaning. And while the movement conveys the meaning, it also is a message.

Since Anglican worship is largely experiential, people of all ages can participate. Folks here expect and pray for kids to be present and so the sound of children making noise and stirring is considered an answer to prayer. The hope is that kids will learn to worship by seeing adults worship, by hearing and singing along with the music, and by receiving the sacraments. And the end result is usually that the adults are inspired by seeing the children brought to Jesus through their presence in Sunday worship.

Anglican worship continues the ancient tradition of a Christian Year: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week & Easter, and then Pentecost. Following the Church calendar helps us plan ahead, keeps us focused on the Gospel, and shapes our themes and emphasis throughout the year.