When you first enter the sanctuary (the building with the steeple), you can look for ushers—volunteers who can help you find a seat, answer your questions about the building, or assist with accessibility. They will also offer you a bulletin, a small booklet that contains the order of service, the readings, and information about the community.

Once you are seated, you can use the bulletin to find your way through the liturgy. The bulletin will refer you to two books that can be found in every pew, the Book of Common Prayer and The Hymnal 1982.

The Book of Common Prayer is red with a gold cross on the front. It contains all the spoken prayers needed for any service at St. Michael’s. In the bulletin on the right-hand side of the page, you will see the abbreviation BCP with a page number. For example, the first prayer in most services will be found on BCP, p. 355.

The Hymnal 1982 is red and larger than the Book of Common Prayer. It contains all of the hymns and service music for any service at St. Michael’s. In the bulletin, you will see Hymnal with a page number.

Service Music (prayers and canticles that are sung as part of the liturgy) is at the front of the hymnal and is indicated by an S-number on the right-hand side of the bulletin. For example, the Glory to God is the first sung prayer in most services. Here is how it would be listed in the bulletin:

Glory to God (Name of the prayer) William Matthias (Composer of the music) Hymnal, S-278

Hymns, when listed, are sung by the entire congregation and accompanied by the adult choir on Sundays at 10:00 am. Hymn numbers are listed on boards at the front of the sanctuary and also listed in the bulletin like so:

Opening Hymn 79 (Look for this number in the hymnal) St. Louis (Tune name)

You will hear organ music before and after most services (except Wednesdays at 9:30 am). The music before the service is called the Prelude and the music after the service is called the Postlude. Information about these pieces will be listed in your bulletin.

It is the custom at St. Michael’s to listen silently to these musical offerings, to allow those who wish to listen fully to the music or to pray in quiet contemplation. We respectfully ask that you honor this custom. If you wish to socialize before or after the service, you are most welcome to join many other members of the congregation in the atrium and Parish Hall!

Most services at St. Michael’s follow a set structure that is based in 2,000 years of tradition, and is related to the liturgical customs of both the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Methodist churches, among others.

Anyone experienced with those traditions will likely find the structure, rhythms, and language of our services to be familiar.

Anyone who is entirely new to this tradition, to Christianity, or to religion in general, never fear! You don’t need to know anything or understand the structure to take in the service and participate as you are able! The bulletin will guide you through the structure of the service, the ministers will offer verbal prompts or context, and the ushers and other parishioners would be happy to answer any questions you might have. If it feels confusing at first, we warmly invite you to come back a few times - you may find that the set structure of the liturgy will quickly become familiar, and offers a “house” in which we can fully contemplate our own spontaneous prayers, praises, petitions, and thanksgivings that arise out of each new day and week.

Most of the services offered at St. Michael’s are services of Holy Eucharist. (This type of service is also called Mass in the Roman Catholic tradition.) The Eucharist itself is also known as communion, and it is a re-telling of the Last Supper, when Jesus offered himself to his disciples in the form of bread and wine. It is a central sacrament of the Christian faith, and in the Episcopal Church, we welcome anyone who wishes to partake to join us in this Feast. Father Andrew traditionally invites all present to the table with the following words: “This is God’s table, and all are invited.”

A service of Holy Eucharist almost always contains two parts: the Liturgy of the Word, and the Liturgy of the Table.

The Liturgy of the Word (listed in the bulletin as The Word of God) is the first half of the service, and contains prayers, readings from the Bible, and a psalm that is spoken or sung together. During sung services, there will also be hymns and anthems. A sermon is offered by the priest or an invited preacher, reflecting on the readings from Scripture and what they might be saying to us in our own lives and times. Anyone who wishes joins together in affirming the Nicene Creed, a 2,000 year-old statement which outlines the basic principles of our faith. Prayers are offered by the ministers and the congregation. Usually, but not always, there is the opportunity to make a confession of sin (although there is a structured communal prayer, we invite you to reflect on your personal confession in your own heart) and the priest will offer a prayer of absolution (the forgiveness of sins). The Sign of the Peace is exchanged, when the ministers and congregants may greet one another with a wave, a handshake, or a hug, and offer blessings of peace to one another. Traditional phrases exchanged include “Peace be with you,” “God’s Peace,” or just a heartfelt “Peace!”

The Liturgy of the Table (listed in the bulletin as The Holy Communion) is the second half of the service, following the Peace and an interlude called The Offertory. During this time, the priest and ministers begin to prepare the altar for The Communion, the ushers will circulate throughout the congregation so that anyone who wishes may make a financial contribution to the church, and music is offered by the choir and/or organist (during sung services only). The offerings of bread, wine, water, and the financial gifts of the congregation are brought to the altar to be blessed and offered up to God with thanksgiving. The priest will then begin The Great Thanksgiving, a sung or spoken prayer which dates back to the very beginnings of the Christian tradition. The ministers and congregation join the priest throughout the Great Thanksgiving, using words that Christ himself provided in the Gospels (Biblical accounts of the life and death of Christ), re-telling how and why Christ sacrificed himself for the sake of the world, and explaining why we commemorate his sacrifice through the blessing and consumption of bread and wine. The priest will then invite the congregation to come forward to the altar and receive the sacrament in community. The priest and the Lay Eucharistic Ministers will offer each person bread and wine with a short blessing. Anyone may come forward or remain in their seat as they wish, and anyone may come to the altar for a blessing only – you may refuse all or part of the feast by crossing your arms over your chest, and the priest will offer you a blessing instead. During the communion, the congregation may reflect in silence, or meditate on a musical offering during sung services. The service ends with a prayer after communion, a closing hymn (during sung services), and a blessing and dismissal offered by the priest, sending us out into the world in peace, with strength and courage to love and serve God.

Choral Evensong is the second type of service most regularly offered at St. Michael’s. At St. Michael’s, we offer a hybrid service which is almost entirely sung, and which includes two parts: Evening Prayer and the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. All spoken elements of the service can be found in the bulletin, and hymn numbers are indicated in the bulletin and on the hymn board at the front of the church.

This sung service of Evening Prayer does not include the Eucharist or Holy Communion, but it is also quite ancient, dating back to the earliest Christian monastic communities, and even more deeply rooted in the prayers offered three times daily in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. It opens with an invocation, a hymn, an evening canticle, an appointed psalm, and two readings from the Old and New Testament, framed by two traditional canticles for evening: the Magnificat (the song of Mary, mother of Jesus, sung when she accepted God’s call to bear God’s son into the world) and the Nunc Dimittis (the song of Simeon, a prophet in the temple at Jerusalem, sung when Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the temple, and Simeon recognized him as the long-awaited Messiah). Prayers for the church and for the world are then offered by the ministers and congregation, concluding with prayers of thanksgiving. The priest then blesses and dismisses the congregation. At St. Michael’s, it is our custom to remain seated during an anthem offered by the choir, after which anyone may leave before the Benediction if they wish.

The Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is not offered in many Episcopal churches, and is indeed not included in the Book of Common Prayer, but may be known to those familiar with the Roman Catholic tradition. It is a devotional service, and does not offer the administration of communion (as in a service of Holy Eucharist) but instead the chance to contemplate the sacramental element, namely the communion bread, which can be understood as the real presence of Christ among us. The priest makes the communion bread (the Host) visible to the congregation, and uses it to bless the congregation by making the sign of the cross over the people for a short period of time. During this blessing, incense is offered over the Host, and the church bell is rung. The congregation may kneel, make the sign of the cross over themselves, or sit in contemplation. Following the blessing, the Host is returned to the altar, and the priest and congregation join together in prayers and hymns. A final hymn is sung to conclude the service, and the choir and ministers leave the sanctuary while the congregation may remain to listen to a final musical offering from the organist.

There’s a lot of space for movement in our liturgy! If this is your first time in an Episcopal Church, or even just your first time at St. Michael’s, you may find that the people around you are moving – standing, sitting, kneeling, bowing, crossing themselves – in response to the prayers and hymns, possibly in ways that don’t make sense to you at first. If you look more closely, you’ll also notice that everyone is moving (or not moving) in slightly different ways and at different times. None of our movement is mandatory, and we invite you to move (or not move!) in whatever ways feel comfortable for you, according to the needs and inspiration of your own body and spirit.

All movement during the liturgy can be understood as a way to help us pray with our entire body, mind, and spirit. You might try and discard different ways of moving, or adapt them for your own body and preference. Some common movements you can expect to see:

• Standing – for active participation – the hymns, for certain prayers, and for the exchange of the Peace

• Sitting – for listening – to the readings, the sermon and musical offerings from the choir and organist

• Kneeling – to acknowledge something larger than ourselves – for certain prayers like the Confession and Absolution, parts of the Great Thanksgiving as we prepare to receive communion, and private prayer after receiving communion

• Bowing, or reverencing – to show respect and gratitude – some people bow their heads when the cross passes in procession at the beginning and end of the service, some bow their heads in response to certain phrases during prayers, some bow their heads or go to one knee before taking their seat when they enter the church, some make a full bow whenever they pass directly in front of the altar, where the Host (communion bread) is stored

• Making the sign of the cross – for remembrance that we are marked with the love of Christ – some people make the sign of the cross over themselves in response to certain phrases during prayers, or when the priest makes the sign of the cross over the congregation, some people cross themselves before and after receiving communion, or before they take their seat when they enter the church, and some make three small signs of the cross over forehead, mouth and heart before the reading of the Gospel. Most Episcopalians make the sign of the cross by touching hand to forehead, abdomen, left shoulder, right shoulder, and heart.

• Coming forward to the altar – to join together for the Eucharistic feast – some people stand to receive communion, and others kneel. Some people hold their hands up, and the priest will place the communion bread in their palms; others open their mouths and the priest will place the communion bread on their tongues. Some people take the cup of wine from the ministers, some people open their mouths and allow the ministers to tip the cup towards them, others dip the communion bread in the cup (this is called intinction), and others cross their arms over their chests to refuse the wine, or to refuse both wine and bread. If the priest and ministers see that your arms are crossed, the priest will instead provide a blessing (this is a great option for anyone who wants to come forward and be a part of the feast with the community, but who might not be sure how they feel about receiving communion itself).

But wait! There’s more food! After most Sunday services, including Choral Evensong, we invite everyone to join us in the Parish Hall (through the doors on the left-hand side of the sanctuary) for food and fellowship. On Sunday mornings, our hospitality team provides coffee, tea, cold drinks, and snacks (think pastries, fruit, cheese, crackers). For evening receptions, like Choral Evensong and after concerts, our hospitality team provides hors d’oeuvres, wine, sherry, and non-alcoholic options. You can stand and chat or settle down at a table for a visit.

Feel free to introduce yourself, or if you’re standing on your own, you can expect someone to come by and say hi. Make yourself at home, and don’t worry about needing to make any kind of impression – we were all new at one point or another, and we have a wide and ever-shifting range of beliefs, life experiences, and reasons for attending church. Come as you are, and know that you are welcome without reservation and without qualification.