As Episcopalians, we use a book called The Book of Common Prayer. It’s full of ancient prayers and liturgies, as well as directions for how we lead worship and find holidays. Our Sunday services use “liturgy” taken from this book. Liturgy just means “the public worship of God”. You’ll hear some of the same prayers week to week. Many people find liturgy to be a great way to get past the words and connect with God. When your lips are able to continue to pray, your heart and your mind can focus fully on God.

Sometimes when you come in, you’ll notice a lot of purple or green. Occasionally, you’ll see white. These represent different seasons in our church year. It begins in the winter with Advent (purple - a time of anticipation for the baby Jesus), and continues with the season of Christmas (white), Epiphany (green), then Lent (purple - a time of repentance), Holy Week (red), Easter (back to white), and finally Ordinary Time (green). Throughout the Church year are different “feasts” or holidays remembering a specific event, person, or belief. This enhances our worship by allowing us to dive deep into a particular topic brought on by the season, and allowing us to move through the life of Jesus, as we move through our own lives.

You’ll hear terms sometimes that are a bit “churchy” and confusing, like “nave” (the Worship Space). We try our best to avoid this, but there are some words you wouldn’t use in any other context. If you ever need a definition or explanation, ask an usher, a neighbor, or use The Episcopal Church’s glossary.

A great way to find the rhythm of the worship service is to attend a Wednesday Evening Prayer service. The Book of Common Prayer has liturgy for “Daily Offices” (daily prayer). It’s an ancient way to connect with and grow your faith, and follows a similar layout to our Worship Services. For more info., click here or contact Janet.