We extend a warm welcome to you to worship with us. This page is a brief introduction to the Episcopal Church and some of its ways. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us.

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 are invited to worship God with us. Should you wish to know more about the Episcopal Church or how one becomes an Episcopalian, the priest will gladly answer your questions and suggest the way to membership.

Upon entering an Episcopal Church, one of the first things you will notice is an atmosphere of worship and reverence. Even though Episcopal Churches are built in many architectural styles; and whether the church be small or large, elaborate or plain, your eye is carried to the altar, and to the cross. So our thoughts are focused at once upon Christ and to God whose house the church is.

In front of the church, there is a pulpit, or stand, for the proclamation of the Word; here the Scriptures may be read and the sermon preached. Often in Episcopal Churches there is a lectern separate from the pulpit where some of the Scripture is read.

It is the custom upon entering church to kneel in one's pew for a prayer of personal preparation for worship. And so, Episcopalians generally 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.

You will find the worship services of the Episcopal Church beautiful in their ordered dignity, God-centered worship, and yet mindful of the nature and needs of human beings. Episcopal Church worship services are corporate in that congregation or peoples participates. Often our worship service is referred to as liturgy, which means "the work of the people." In the pews you will find the Book of Common Prayer, the use of this book enables the congregation to share fully in every service. Within the text you will find print of varying size, the larger print is the actual service. The smaller print gives directions to ministers and people for conduct of the service. And within the actual text of our worship there is a choice of language. Rite I is tradition language and Rite II is contemporary language. The choice of which is based on local church customs and preference.

As the actual worship service proceeds, you may wonder when to stand, sit or kneel. Practices vary — even among individual Episcopalians. The general rule is we stand to sing hymns (found in the Hymnal in the pews) and other songs books. We stand, too, to say our affirmation of faith, the Creed; and for the reading of the Gospel in the Holy Eucharist.

We sit during readings from the Old Testament or New Testament Epistles or Letters, the sermon, and the choir anthems. Psalms are sung or said sitting.

We generally kneel for prayer to show our thankfulness to God for accepting us as children or as an act of humility before God. It is never required of anyone to do anything that makes one feel uncomfortable … physically or emotionally.

The principal service is the Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion or The Mass). In some Episcopal churches it is celebrated quite simply, without music, usually early on Sunday morning. When celebrated at a later hour on Sundays, or on other important Christian Holy Days, such as Christmas, music and a sermon are customary.

While some parts of the services are always the same, others change. At the Holy Eucharist, for example there are four Bible selections are read (Old Testament, Psalm, Epistle and Gospel). These change each Sunday. Certain of the prayers (or collects) also change, in order to express various themes within the Church year. The page numbers for the different parts of the service within the Book of Common Prayer and are usually announced or printed in a service bulletin. But do not be embarrassed to ask your neighbor for the page number.

To add to the beauty and festivity of the services, and to signify their special ministries, the clergy and other ministers often wear vestments. Choir vestments usually consist of an under garment called a cassock (black or red) and a white, gathered over garment called a (longer) surplice or (shorter) cotta. Another familiar vestment is the alb, a white tunic with sleeves that covers the body from neck to ankles. Either clergy or lay minister may wear an alb. Over the alb ordained ministers wear a stole, a narrow band of colored fabric as a symbol of their ministry. Deacons wear the stole over one shoulder, and priests and bishops over both shoulders.

At the celebration of 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 hat called a mitre as a symbol of their ministry.

Stoles, chasubles, and dalmatics, as well as altar coverings, are usually made of fine 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 Episcopal Church observes the traditional Christian calendar. The calendar is arrange in an order that calls to mind and allows us to participate in the life of Christ through various seasons.

The first season is Advent. It begins on the Sunday closest to November 30 and includes the four Sundays prior to Christmas. During this season we prepare for Christmas and contemplate his Second Coming. The color of this season is violet.

The next season is Christmas. It begins with a Christmas Eve celebration and lasts twelve days. In this season we celebrate the birth of Jesus as the incarnation of God. The color of this season is white.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany (January 6). This season varying in length is determined by when Easter Day is. During this season we recall the ways Jesus’ divinity was manifested to the world. The color of this season after Epiphany is green.

The next season is Lent. It lasts forty days (not including Sundays), and is a contemplative and prayerful preparation for Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday it ends with Holy Week (Palm/Passion Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday.) The Color for the season of Lent is violet or unbleached cloth.

Holy Week culminates with the most important feast day of the Christian Church Easter. Beginning with the Great Vigil of Easter, the Easter season lasts fifty days concluding on the feast of Pentecost. The color for the season of Easter is white.

The Feast of the Pentecost is the third highest feast day of the Church. It marks the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples and the beginning of the church. The color on this day is red. The season after Pentecost is the last season of the Church year. The color for this season is green.

During these several seasons the scripture readings have been selected for their thematic appropriateness. During the 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 generally unreserved in Episcopal Churches, except for special occasions. Following the worship service the priest greets the people as they leave.

What Episcopalians believe

The beliefs of Episcopalians are quite diverse. The official standard is the Book of Common Prayer, but some parts of that are more clearly doctrinal than others.