What to Expect on Sunday

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Welcome!  As you enter the church, you will notice an atmosphere of reverence.  You may see people kneeling for a few moments of silent prayer to prepare their hearts to worship.  Anglicans engage heart, soul, mind, and body in the worship of God so you will notice some who cross themselves and bow at various times in the liturgy. We stand to sing, sit to listen, and kneel to pray (if you are able!). Don’t let this new or different way of worshipping make you uncomfortable! Simply enter into God's presence and worship and don't worry about getting everything "right!" Like any good habit worth forming, becoming comfortable in liturgical worship takes time, patience, and intention.

If you’ve ever worshipped in a traditional liturgical church, whether Roman or Lutheran, worship at Church of Our Savior will feel familiar. Our main Sunday morning worship service is the Holy Eucharist which is also called the Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, the Divine Liturgy, or the Mass. The liturgies  for our services are found written in the 2005 Book of Common Prayer (REC), which is our guide for liturgical worship. These ancient prayers guide God's people through God's Story each week. The word “liturgy” comes from a Greek word meaning “the work of the people,” so you can expect to be an active participant in worship. The language and Liturgy are traditional,  including chanted responses, and is keenly focused on the Triune God, all of which aid our efforts in worshipping God in the beauty of holiness. We seek to engage all the senses:  you will see lit candles on the altar, smell incense on solemn feast days, and hear ancient chanting.   

We sing traditional hymns from The 1940 Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church (or just the "The Hymnal, 1940"), the standard hymnal of Anglicans for decades. Anglicans have a rich hymnody filled with Biblical truth. 

The Holy Communion service is made up of two main parts. The first part of the service is the Liturgy of the Word which is centered around the reading and preaching of God’s Word. We read Holy Scripture from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the New Testament Epistles, and the Gospels every Sunday.  The preaching is Christ-centered, and the sermons typically last 15 - 20 minutes. The second part of the service, the Liturgy of the Sacrament, is centered around the altar and  partaking in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. The Reformed Episcopal Church warmly welcomes ALL Christians who have been baptized in "the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost" to come forward to receive the bread and the cup. 

To partake of Holy Communion, simply receive the host in your hands (or directly on the tongue) and guide the chalice to your lips..

We also offer Holy Communion by intinction (meaning we dip the consecrated bread in the consecrated wine and place it on the communicant’s tongue).

A person may also receive in one kind (meaning just the consecrated bread, received in the communicant’s palm).

People refraining from receiving Holy Communion, either because they are not yet baptized or for conscience’s sake, can still come forward and receive a blessing.  Simply kneel at the communion rail with your arms crossed over your chest.  

Our Lord said, "Let the children come to me."  Children are a blessing, and we welcome them in the Liturgy as Christ welcomed them into His arms. We are committed to training the children that God has entrusted to our church and to passing down the Faith that we have received. For this reason, we encourage parents to have their children participate in the Liturgy in order to train them up in the worship of God.

A nursery is available.