How we worship
In our liturgy, our Lord comes to us, speaking his word and feeding us with the spiritual food of Christ’s Body and Blood. We respond with praise and the intent to go out into the world as witnesses of Christ. We express our solidarity with and sense of belonging to the “one holy catholic and apostolic Church,” as we confess in the Nicene Creed.
The Book of Common Prayer
Our services of worship are contained in The Book of Common Prayer. We are using the version approved in 1979. The first Book of Common Prayer was published for the Church of England in 1549.
Why “common”?
The words common and communion are related. Common prayer is prayer shared by the church – by the congregation in public worship and by the entire church, the Communion of the Faithful. Common prayer expresses our unity in worship despite our diversity. It represents our oneness as Christ’s body. It means we don’t have to struggle for words as we are standing before God but can rely on the words that the Church has been using from its earliest days. (For a not-so-serious look at an “Uncommon” Prayer Book, look here. )
The Hymnal 1982
Our hymnal can be considered our “Book of Common Praise.” Through our hymns we lift our hearts to God in praise. They teach us and further spiritual growth. As our worship, our great hymns are formal in style and focus on the majesty of God.
“Worthy to stand before you”
At the core of our liturgy is the belief – expressed in Eucharistic Prayer B, Rite II – that we are indeed worthy to stand before God. We encounter God as God’s children, joyfully and with dignity receiving God’s gift of grace, freely given in spite of our shortcomings. We have been forgiven and are called to “approach the throne of grace with boldness” (Hebrews 4:16). Our liturgy reflects this confidence.
The outline of Holy Eucharist
I. The Word of God
Opening procession: The clergy, choir, lay readers and acolytes enter the church. The hymn unites the congregation in singing praise to God.
Opening prayers: The collect, specific to each Sunday, sets the tone of the day. The Gloria in excelsis is a song of praise for our salvation. It opens with the words of the angels to the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem.
Scripture readings: The Lesson (from the Old Testament), the Psalm, the Epistle (from the New Testament) and the Gospel (also from the New Testament) remind us of the story of our salvation, of God’s love for his people and the founding of our church.
The Sermon: Usually based on one or more of the day’s readings and delivered from the pulpit, it gives religious and moral instruction and exhortation. Click here to hear Father Birch’s most recent sermon.
The Nicene Creed: The statement of the Christian faith, set forth at the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in AD 365, this is our response to the word of God and a reaffirmation of our belief and hope.
The Prayers of the People: We share our concern for the entire church, the world, the country, the community, the parish, our friends and families, our enemies, all those in need, and ourselves.
The General Confession, the Absolution and the Peace: We acknowledge our sins, receive God’s promise of forgiveness, and express reconciliation and fellowship.
II. The Holy Communion
The Offertory: We give part of what God has given us in order to “praise God, from whom all blessings flow.” Our offerings are brought to the altar together with the bread and wine for Communion.
The Great Thanksgiving: The priest offers the bread and wine as a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving in commemoration of our redemption. In the Sanctus, we join the heavenly choirs to proclaim the glory of God.
The Lord’s Prayer. As children of God, we address God as “Our Father, who art in heaven.” This is the prayer Jesus taught his disciples.
The Breaking of the Bread: We are called to receive Christ’s Body and Blood physically and spiritually for strength and assurance of our forgiveness and salvation. To express the unity – communion – of the church, the bread and wine are also distributed to lay ministers to take to housebound parishioners. All baptized Christians who would receive Holy Communion in their own church are invited to receive Communion with us.
The Recessional and Dismissal: The clergy, choir, lay readers and acolytes recess down the aisle. This procession into the world symbolizes our call to follow Christ into the community to do the work God has given us to do.
Benedicite Washington
O give thanks to our God, who is good:
whose love endures for ever.
You sun and moon, you stars of the sky:
give to our God your thanks and praise.
Sunrise and sunset, night and day:
give to our God your thanks and praise.
All mountains and valleys, desert and Palouse, glacier, avalanche, mist and snow:
give to our God your thanks and praise.
You evergreen and apple, sagebrush and grape, wheat and ferns:
give to our God your thanks and praise.
Orca and whale, seal and crab:
give to our God your thanks and praise.
Marmots and cattle, elk and coyote, sparrow and raven, loon and eagle:
give to our God your thanks and praise.
You Yakima and Cayuse, brown and white, men and women, all who inhabit the land:
give to our God your thanks and praise.
All you saints and martyrs of the Northwest:
give to our God your thanks and praise.
– Adapted from A New Zealand Prayerbook
“One reason I stay in the Episcopal Church I was born in is it’s got the best language.”
– Madeleine L’Engle
Read more
Click here to discover further resources, including a glossary of Episcopal terminology.
Lex credendi lex orandi
Why do we care so much about the liturgy? We adhere to the principle that “the law of worship is the law of belief.” How we practice our faith is how we believe. We all pray together, using forms of worship Christians have used for centuries and allowing them to become active in and through our souls.
