What to Expect

Sundays at St. Andrew’s might feel a little different. 
There are many Christian churches, each with a different feel in the worship service. Our worship is based on ancient and modern patterns of prayer, and might feel unfamiliar at first. This page should help set you at ease when you visit us.

Sunday is traditionally when Christians gather for worship. Our principal weekly worship service is the Holy Eucharist, also known as: the Lord’s Supper, the Divine Liturgy, Holy Communion, or Mass. Eucharist is simply the Greek word for ‘thanksgiving’.

We currently have only one service on Sunday at 9:30 am.

The 9:30 Liturgy
This is our main worship service of the week. We have music–organ or piano, voices, and sometimes other instruments. The congregation takes part in the service: singing, listening to the lessons and the sermon, praying, and responding to prayers.

This liturgy, Holy Eucharist, is done in two parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Table, brought together into one service of prayer and praise, Scripture lessons, music, and devout Communion of the Body and the Bread.

During the Liturgy of the Word, we sing, listen to Scripture lessons from the Bible, and pray. A preacher, usually the priest, ‘opens’ or explains more fully,
a Scripture lesson we have just heard.

The Liturgy of the Table is known as Holy Communion. We pray our thanksgiving for Jesus Christ’s work of salvation, which leads to eternal life for humanity. We receive the bread and wine which are Christ’s body and blood. We pray as we send a Eucharistic Visitor out with Communion to people who are not able to come to church. The ministers process to the back of the church, singing God’s praises. We are dismissed to go into the world, rejoicing and doing God’s work, as we have prepared to do.

When you arrive, you can come in through the double red doors off Commercial Street. There is a no-steps entrance under the square tower to the right of the main church, ideal for those in wheelchairs, and others who wish to avoid climbing steps.

You may sit wherever you like. You are welcome to participate as you feel comfortable.

Once you are seated, the service bulletin will direct you to the books you will use for parts of the service. There is a small red Book of Common Prayer and a large blue Hymnal.
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You have everything you need to participate in the service if you like. Or you may decide to sit, watch, listen, and let the liturgy surround you with peace. You are welcome in this space. You are in God’s House.

Worship Styles
Episcopalians worship in many different styles. You may find very structured, ancient, and multi-sensory rites with lots of singing, music, even incense on occasion, Other times, the liturgy is quite informal. Yet all worship in the Episcopal Church is based in the Book of Common Prayer, which gives our time together in worship a familiar feel, once you’ve tried it out a few times.

Liturgy and Ritual
Our worship style is said to be liturgical, meaning that the structure of our worship and the prayers that we pray don’t change greatly from week to week. This sameness from week to week gives worship a rhythm that can become comforting and familiar to the worshipers. Our liturgy often follows patterns that have been used in Christian worship for centuries and in countless places. This gives rise to the understanding that we are one with Christians around the world and throughout the ages.

The first time you join us, you may find church with us to be a blessing, but at times a bit confusing. We sit, we stand, we kneel, we sing, we listen and we pray together. We go forward to the altar to receive Communion or a blessing. It can take a little while to “settle in” to these rhythms and patterns of worship, so permit yourself simply to be present. God is with you.

If you have any questions at all, please contact us and ask!