Worship At Annunication

The Episcopal Church of the
Annunciation

Worship at Annunciation

The Catechism
Server Schedules
Server Duties
Nursery Sitter Form

Worship at Annunciation is rich in tradition and full of ritual. We worship as a congregation and everyone has an active role in our service. The Celebrant or Leader of the service will require responses from all of us at various times throughout the service. During the service we listen to readings from the Old Testament, New Testament and Gospel. We will recite or chant the psalms, and we pray as a group, the Body of Christ. We celebrate the Holy Communion at each of our Sunday Services. At the altar (table) we feast on the many gifts that God offers us, but most especially upon the gift of Jesus. All baptized Christians are welcome to to join us in Holy Communion.

We use the Book Of Common Prayer as a guide through our worship. The larger block print is the text for worship. The smaller italicized print provides directions to the Celebrant (Priest) and the People regarding what to say and when to kneel, stand, or sit. Father Bill will let us know what page he is on from time to time. Of course it is always acceptable to ask our neighbor for help if we should become lost in the text. You might think about Episcopal worship in the same way you think about a good choir: a careful, closely coordinated and beautiful expression of our love of God.

Each Sunday Worship Service is celebrated in a slightly different way. Our early Service is observed without music or hymns. We stand to pray (when given a choice), and we recite the psalms. Our mid morning Service utilizes music and hymns to enhance our worship, and we kneel to pray and chant the psalms.

The time before the beginning of the service is a time for individual prayer and preparation. Therefore it is customary to remain silent in the Nave, or the body of the church . We enter the Nave from the Narthex. The Narthex is a place to gather before worship. It is permissible to talk and greet each other in the Narthex, but we keep our voices low in order not to disturb someone's prayers. After the service we can talk as long as, and as loud as we wish (or our listeners permit).