WORSHIP:  Shaping Faith

Worship in the Episcopal Church is based on the traditions of earliest Christian communities. We actively participate — listening, singing, kneeling and praying — and receive the bread and wine; we taste and feel and smell. Each person in the pew is just as much a minister in worship as the lay readers, acolytes, deacon or priest.

The Book of Common Prayer is our guide to rites and worship forms for individual and communal use. Common practice shapes our faith.

The architectural structure of the worship space draws our attention to the center of our spiritual life, the holy table. We treat the altar area with special reverence and mark it with cross and candles to set it apart. It is the holy places of our lives that give meaning and a value to all of life.  When we cross the threshold into this building, we enter a sacred space. When we leave, we carry that sacred imprint with us into the world; we bear God's blessing to others.

In our worship, as in our common life, we seek to strike a balance between uniformity for the sake of unity and freedom of expression for the sake of the movement of the Holy Spirit. The Book of Common Prayer provides orders of worship for various public occasions as well as for individual and family use. The intent of the Book is to provide a spiritual pattern for our lives.


Instructed Eucharist – Learn more about the structure of our worship  PDF/8 pages