ABOUT OUR WORSHIP
St. Paul's has two types of services on Sunday during which we gather to worship and praise the Lord.
Common service elements regardless of the type of service:
The above elements, as well as Holy Eucharist and Morning Prayer, are drawn from The Book of Common Prayer, acclaimed as "one of the major works of English Literature" for its history and beautiful language. The Book of Common Prayer simply gives a familiar structure to the service while providing different variations that can be utilized from week to week.
Together with the King James Version of the Bible and the works of Shakespeare, the Book of Common Prayer has been one of the three fundamental underpinnings of modern English. For more information on The Book of Common Prayer:
WIKI New Yorker magazine article Read it online Related
For more information on the Episcopal Church:
See the list of "What we believe..."
- Holy Eucharist (Communion) is the norm. We are incredibly blessed to currently have Julie Beitelschees, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) as our pastor. Having a Lutheran pastor maintains our recent history of leveraging the partnership between the ELCA and Episcopal Church that provides for a sharing of clergy resources. A side benefit is that we have access to programs and resources from both denominations.
- Morning Prayer is usually, but not always, celebrated on the last Sunday of months that have 5 Sundays. This is a shorter service whose major difference with Holy Eucharist is that there is no Communion, otherwise it is very similar, but different enough to introduce a bit of variety.
Common service elements regardless of the type of service:
- The Collect of the Day (always beautifully written and inspiring)
- First lesson - from the Old Testament
- Second lesson - usually an Epistle
- The Gospel lesson
- The Nicene Creed or Apostle's Creed
- Prayers of the People
- The Peace
The above elements, as well as Holy Eucharist and Morning Prayer, are drawn from The Book of Common Prayer, acclaimed as "one of the major works of English Literature" for its history and beautiful language. The Book of Common Prayer simply gives a familiar structure to the service while providing different variations that can be utilized from week to week.
Together with the King James Version of the Bible and the works of Shakespeare, the Book of Common Prayer has been one of the three fundamental underpinnings of modern English. For more information on The Book of Common Prayer:
WIKI New Yorker magazine article Read it online Related
For more information on the Episcopal Church:
See the list of "What we believe..."