What to Expect on Sundays
For our full Sunday Schedule, including information on childcare and Sunday School, click here.
Our approach to dress is relaxed, and you’re likely to find other people in clothing ranging from jeans to business casual to coats, ties and dresses.
Entering the nave/sanctuary for the first time, your attention is likely to be drawn to a key feature: century-old stained-glass windows stretching high toward the vaulted ceiling, depicting stories from the life and crucifixion of Jesus. If you have time before or after the service, feel free to take a closer look.
Be sure to pick up a Worship Bulletin on your way in and choose a spot anywhere in the pews. The bulletin contains everything you need to participate in worship. However, in case you would like to refer to them, copies of the Book of Common Prayer and hymnals are available in the pew racks in front of you. The Book of Common Prayer has many resources to explore at your leisure, and the service will be in one of several forms set out there. The Book of Common Prayer is followed by the Episcopal Church and other members of the Anglican Communion worldwide.
If you arrive a few minutes before 10 a.m., you’ll be able to listen to a composition masterfully performed by Kurt Knecht on our 1966 Schantz Opus pipe organ.
The service may involve sitting, standing or kneeling, and the Worship Bulletin will indicate those times. Some people may choose to stand rather than kneel, and some may be more comfortable just remaining seated. All those choices are fine.
Liturgy of the Word
The service begins with the Liturgy of the Word, which includes the entrance procession and readings from the Bible. The readings usually include a selection from the Old Testament, one from the Epistles in the New Testament and always include a selection from the Gospels. One of the readings is a Psalm, which is usually sung or recited by the congregation and choir. After the readings comes a sermon.
A recitation of the Nicene Creed and the prayers of the congregation usually come after the sermon. The Nicene Creed was written in the Fourth Century and has served ever since as a statement of Christian core beliefs. During parts of the church year, the congregation recites together a confession that we have sinned, by what we have done and by what we have left undone, followed by a request for forgiveness. The priest then pronounces God’s forgiveness and absolution.
This section of the service is concluded by exchanging the peace with persons seated nearby. In practical terms, the peace is a greeting. Theologically, the peace is a reconciliation with each other after having reconciled with God; it comes shortly before taking communion together. This expression of peace is not limited to Sundays and may be carried out through acts of love and kindness during the week, through acts large and small. Children who have been at Children’s Worship rejoin their parents at this point.
The priest will usually make a few announcements about events of interest to the congregation.
Liturgy of the Table
The service then turns to the Liturgy of the Table. The priest stands at the altar, which has been set with a cup of wine and a plate of bread or wafers. The priest begins the Eucharistic Prayer, briefly telling the story of our faith, from the beginning of Creation to our turn away from God. The priest tells the story of the coming of Jesus Christ and of the night before his death, on which he instituted the Eucharistic meal, or communion, as a continual remembrance of him.
The Celebrant blesses the bread and wine, and the congregation recites the Lord’s Prayer. The priest then breaks the bread and offers it and the wine to the congregation as the gifts of God for the People of God.
Ushers will invite the congregation, row by row, to go forward to the altar to share in the consecrated bread and wine. All persons are welcome to come forward. If you are unable to go to the altar, you are welcome to ask an usher to have communion brought to you in the pews. The service ends with prayer, a blessing and a congregational hymn.
Parking
The church is located on the southeast corner of 40th Street and Main Street. A large parking lot is on the south side of the church, where you may enter the church through the door under the covered driveway. This entry brings you in on the first floor, where the Undercroft, Garden Room and Parish Hall are located. A staircase and elevator near the entry take you up to the second and third floors.
A smaller parking lot is located on the north side of the church, directly across 40th Street, where you may enter the church through the main doors under the awning. This entry brings you in on the second floor and leads through the lobby and into the nave/sanctuary where services are held.