Worship

THE MAIN ACT OF WORSHIP for Episcopalians and other Catholic Christians is called the Eucharist, a biblical term meaning simply thanksgiving [1 Tim. 2:1]. Since the early days of the Church, this word has referred to the sacred meal Jesus gave his friends as a means of his continuing presence among them.

Several terms are used to describe this holy meal: Holy Communion, the Divine Liturgy, the Lord's Supper, and most commonly throughout the world, the Mass. Whatever name is used, they all mean the Church's act of bringing Christ's saving sacrifice into the midst of our present reality.

The Mass is divided into two major parts. The Liturgy of the Word includes collects (or prayers), Bible readings, the sermon, and the Creed. The Liturgy of the Eucharist is centered on the sacred meal that Jesus instituted the night before his crucifixion [Matt. 26:26-28]. Because we are a Church of both Word and Sacrament, we believe that both these elements - hearing God's Word and receiving his grace in the Holy Sacrament - are essential in our worship.

Just as on the Cross Jesus gave himself wholly and completely for us, so likewise in the Mass he gives himself wholly and completely to us. He gives himself to us in the bread and the wine which becomes his Body and Blood by the power of the Holy Spirit [John 6:54-58].

IT IS APPROPRIATE, therefore that we give ourselves wholly and completely to the Father in worship [Rom. 12:1]. We use not only our minds, but our bodies in worship. We stand to pray and praise; we sit to hear God's Word; we kneel to express humility. We genuflect (bend the knee) to adore Christ's presence in the Blessed Sacrament on the Altar. The sign of the Cross marks certain points in the service that recall the saving acts of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

WE USE ALL OUR SENSES: touch, smell, hearing taste, and sight. Holy Water recalls our baptism and our need for rebirth, new life and forgiveness. Incense symbolizes the rising of our prayers and sacrifice to the throne of God [Ps. 141:2]. Candles remind us that Christ is the Light of the World. Instrumental and Choral Music in liturgy are an offering of the best of human creativity and skill to the honor and glory of God. Silence, as well as sound; listening; as well as praising, are necessities in our worship. Color also plays an important part in our worship by making us mindful of the particular seasons of the Church year: purple in penitential times such as Lent, white at joyful times such as Christmas and Easter, and so forth.

THE BUILDING ITSELF contributes to our worship. The central focus of the building is the altar and the cross, because the center of our service is Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross.

Along the walls of the Church are the Stations of the Cross, which commemorate the events of Christ's Passion and serve to remind us that we too are called to walk the way of the Cross. Around the Church are several windows, which remind us of the heroes of our faith.

We do not worship the images of the saints but we honor those pictured by the images. We believe in the Communion of Saints and so we believe that all faithful Christians, living and dead, have an intimate relationship with one another, a relationship that cannot be broken even by death.