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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, which gives worship a familiar feel, no matter where you go.
For a description of what we believe including different aspects of worship in the Episcopal Church, see the topics in the What We Believe menu of the Episcopal Church website. |
A rite expresses the church's relationship with God through words, actions, and symbols. A rite enables the church community to share its faith and experience God's presence in a particular liturgical and pastoral context. There are seven recognized rites (or sacraments.) They include Holy Baptism, the Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion), Confirmation, Ordination, Holy Matrimony, Reconciliation of a Penitent, and Unction of the Sick.
- Holy Baptism is the sacrament by which God adopts us as his children and makes us members of Christ's Body, the Church, and inheritors of the kingdom of God.
- The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament commanded by Christ for the continual remembrance of his life, death, and resurrection, until his coming again.
- Confirmation is the rite in which we express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop.
- Ordination is the rite in which God gives authority and the grace of the Holy Spirit to those being made bishops, priests, and deacons, through prayer and the laying on of hands by bishops.
- Holy Matrimony is Christian marriage, in which the woman and man enter into a life-long union, make their vows before God and the Church, and receive the grace and blessing of God to help them fulfill their vows.
- Reconciliation of a Penitent, or Penance, is the rite in which those who repent of their sins may confess them to God in the presence of a priest, and receive the assurance of pardon and the grace of absolution.
- Unction is the rite of anointing the sick with oil, or the laying on of hands, by which God's grace is given for the healing of spirit, mind, and body.
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Readings used in our worship follow the Revised Common Lectionary. A lectionary is a table of readings from Scripture appointed to be read at public worship.
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