About the Service
When Episcopalians gather for public worship on a Sunday, we celebrate the Holy Eucharist in a tradition that goes back to the earliest days of the Church and stems from Jesus’ institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. “Do this in remembrance of me,” he told his disciples, and Christians have — for 2,000 years.
Episcopal worship uses The Book of Common Prayer, a marvelous liturgical guide whose text is derived from the earliest surviving texts of ancient Christian worship. Our service of Holy Eucharist begins with the “Liturgy of the Word.” Liturgy means “the work of the people” and during the Liturgy of the Word the people gather, proclaim, hear and respond to God’s word and pray for the church and the world.
Following the Liturgy of the Word comes the Liturgy of the Table, where through the grace of God, we receive the Real Presence of the crucified Christ in the consecrated bread and wine.
Posture and Gestures
Episcopalians stand, sit, or kneel at different parts of the service. While people are encouraged to do whatever feels most comfortable, these postures can be helpful for worshiping with our body as well as mind. Typically, Episcopalians follow the biblical Jewish and Christian traditions of standing to praise God and to pray, sitting in order to listen, and kneeling in order to express penitence or devotion. If you have a physical condition which makes any of these difficult, you are always welcome to adopt a more comfortable position. Some worshipers engage in various acts of personal devotion, such as bowing or making the sign of the cross. These acts, also optional, are used by some in order to enhance their individual experience of worship.