{"id":1969,"date":"2016-11-01T20:30:12","date_gmt":"2016-11-02T00:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ecamarietta.org\/?page_id=1969"},"modified":"2017-04-25T00:12:54","modified_gmt":"2017-04-25T04:12:54","slug":"what-to-expect","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ecamarietta.org\/?page_id=1969","title":{"rendered":"What to Expect"},"content":{"rendered":"

Worship at ECA<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday is traditionally when Episcopalians gather for worship. The principal weekly worship service is the Holy Eucharist, also known as: the Lord\u2019s Supper, Holy Communion, or Mass. In most Episcopal churches, worship is accompanied by the singing of hymns, and in some churches, much of the service\u00a0 is sung. We gather on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday for worship services and they vary in size and style.<\/span><\/p>\n

Worship Styles<\/strong>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Episcopalians worship in many different styles, ranging from very formal, ancient, and multi-sensory rites with lots of singing, music, fancy clothes (called vestments), and incense, to informal services with contemporary music. Yet all worship in the Episcopal Church is based in the Book of Common Prayer<\/span>, which gives worship a familiar feel, no matter where you go. We like to add variety to our services and will sing a range of music from the 1982 Hymnal, Lift Every Voice and Sing (LEVAS) and other contemporary and traditional music.<\/p>\n

Liturgy and Ritual<\/strong>
\n<\/span>
\nWorship in the Episcopal Church is said to be \u201cliturgical,\u201d meaning that the congregation follows service forms and prays from texts that don\u2019t change greatly from week to week during a season of the year. This sameness from week to week gives worship a rhythm that becomes comforting and familiar to the worshipers.<\/p>\n

For the first-time visitor, liturgy may be exhilarating\u2026 or confusing.\u00a0 Services may involve standing, sitting, kneeling, sung or spoken responses, and other participatory elements that may provide a challenge for the first-time visitor. However, liturgical worship can be compared with a dance: once you learn the steps, you come to appreciate the rhythm, and it becomes satisfying to dance, again and again, as the music changes.<\/p>\n

The Holy Eucharist<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In spite of the diversity of worship styles in the Episcopal Church, Holy Eucharist always has the same components and the same shape.<\/p>\n

The Liturgy of the Word<\/strong>
\n<\/span>
\nWe begin by praising God through song and prayer, and then listen to as many as four readings from the Bible. Usually one from the Old Testament, a Psalm, something from the Epistles, and (always) a reading from the Gospels. The psalm is usually sung or recited by the congregation.<\/p>\n

Next, a sermon interpreting the readings appointed for the day is preached.<\/p>\n

The congregation then recites the Nicene Creed, written in the Fourth Century and the Church\u2019s statement of what we believe ever since.<\/p>\n

Next, the congregation prays together\u2014for the Church, the World, and those in need. We pray for the sick, thank God for all the good things in our lives, and finally, we pray for the dead. The presider (e.g. priest, bishop, lay minister) concludes with a prayer that gathers the petitions into a communal offering of intercession.<\/p>\n

In certain seasons of the Church year, the congregation formally confesses their sins before God and one another. This is a corporate statement of what we have done and what we have left undone, followed by a pronouncement of absolution.\u00a0 In pronouncing absolution, the presider assures the congregation that God is always ready to forgive our sins.<\/p>\n

The congregation then greets one another with a sign of \u201cpeace.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Liturgy of the Table or Holy Communion<\/strong>
\n<\/span>
\nNext, the priest stands at the table, which has been set with a cup of wine and a plate of bread or wafers, raises his or her hands, and greets the congregation again, saying \u201cThe Lord be With You.\u201d\u00a0 Now begins the Eucharistic Prayer, in which the presider tells the story of our faith, from the beginning of Creation, through the choosing of Israel to be God\u2019s people, through our continual turning away from God, and God\u2019s calling us to return. Finally, the presider tells the story of the coming of Jesus Christ, and about the night before his death, on which he instituted the Eucharistic meal (communion) as a continual remembrance of him.<\/p>\n

The presider blesses the bread and wine, and the congregation recites the Lord\u2019s Prayer. Finally, the presider breaks the bread and offers it to the congregation, as the \u201cgifts of God for the People of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

The congregation then shares the consecrated bread and the wine. Sometimes the people all come forward to receive the bread and wine; sometimes they pass the elements around in other ways.<\/p>\n

All Are Welcome<\/strong>
\n<\/span>
\nAll baptized Christians\u2014no matter age or denomination\u2014are welcome to \u201creceive communion.\u201d Episcopalians invite all baptized people to receive, not because we take the Eucharist lightly, but because we take our baptism so seriously.<\/p>\n

Visitors who are not baptized Christians are welcome to come forward during the Communion to receive a blessing from the presider.<\/p>\n

At the end of the Eucharist, the congregation prays once more in thanksgiving, and then is dismissed to continue the life of service to God and to the World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Worship at ECA Sunday is traditionally when Episcopalians gather for worship. The principal weekly worship service is the Holy Eucharist, also known as: the Lord\u2019s Supper, Holy Communion, or Mass. In most Episcopal churches, worship is accompanied by the singing of hymns, and in some churches, much of the service\u00a0 is sung. We gather on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday for worship services…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1018,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecamarietta.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1969"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecamarietta.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecamarietta.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecamarietta.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecamarietta.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1969"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecamarietta.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2360,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecamarietta.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1969\/revisions\/2360"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecamarietta.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecamarietta.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}