What to Expect When You Visit
Worship in our Church
Sunday is most often when Episcopalians gather for worship. Advent has two Sunday services, at 8 AM and 10:30 AM. The principal weekly worship service is called the Holy Eucharist, also known as the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, or Mass. In the 10:30 AM service, worship is accompanied by the singing of hymns. The 8 AM Eucharist is celebrated without music.
special needs
If you have need of special services during worship times, please call the parish administrator at (706) 342-4787 during office hours, or send a note to the Senior Warden. Use this contact information for any other special needs you may have. Both the church and parish house are ADA compliant and wheelchair accessible. Advent does not offer child care services at this time.
The place of worship
The Church is located to the left of the Parish House at the corner of Academy and Porter. As you walk up to the church before a typical service, you will probably see one of the Vestry members out front, serving as a greeter and handing out service bulletins. As you enter the church and before the service, you will see some people chatting and laughing and some may be kneeling in prayer. Sit wherever you please; there are no “saved seats” at Advent!
Our church is built in a typical Episcopal church style with narthex, nave, chancel and altar. When seated in a pew (in the nave) and looking at the front of the church, you will see the chancel area containing the lectern (left) and pulpit (right) and where the priest and other serving members sit. Just past the chancel are altar rails and the altar on which communion will be celebrated. Candles will be lit in a number of places to remind us that Christ is the “Light of the world” (John 8:12).
the act of worship
Worship in the Episcopal Church is said to be “liturgical,” meaning that the congregation follows service forms and prayers that don’t 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. 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.
By now, you are seated and have a service bulletin. The order of service, or liturgy is what we follow in a typical church service. In front of you in a rack you should see several books, including a Hymnal, a Bible and a Book of Common Prayer (BCP), the official book of worship of the Episcopal Church. The BCP provides liturgical forms, prayers, and instructions so that all may share in common worship and fully participate in every service.
Liturgy and Ritual
For the first-time visitor, liturgy may be exhilarating… or confusing. Take a look at the service bulletin; it will help you follow the liturgy. Services may involve standing, sitting, kneeling, sung or spoken responses, and other participatory elements that may provide a challenge for the first-time visitor. You may wonder when to stand or kneel. One general rule is to stand to sing (hymns are found in the Hymnal in the pew rack). We also stand to say our affirmation of faith, the Creed, and for the reading of the Gospel. Psalms are said standing. We sit during readings from the Old and New Testaments and the sermon. In any case, just try to mimic the rest of the congregation. If you “miss” something, it’s not important. You are with us to worship and that’s what’s important.
The Holy Eucharist
The Holy Eucharist usually has the same components and the same basic shape. The Book of Common Prayer describes the services we use and page numbers are provided so that worshipers can easily follow along in the prayer book, if they wish.
The Liturgy of the Word
We 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.
Next, a sermon interpreting the readings appointed for the day is preached.
The congregation then recites the Nicene Creed, written in the Fourth Century and the Church’s statement of what we believe.
Next, the congregation prays together—for 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 bishop or priest concludes with a prayer that gathers the petitions into a communal offering of intercession.
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. In pronouncing absolution, the presider assures the congregation that God is always ready to forgive our sins.
The congregation then greets one another with a sign of “peace.”
The Liturgy of the Table
Next, 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 “The Lord be With You.” 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’s people, through our continual turning away from God, and God’s 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.
The presider blesses the bread and wine, and the congregation recites the Lord’s Prayer. Finally, the presider breaks the bread and offers it to the congregation, as the “gifts of God for the People of God.”
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.
All Are Welcome
All baptized Christians—no matter age or denomination—are welcome to “receive communion.” If you would prefer not to receive the sacrament of bread and wine, you may come forward for a blessing. Simply cross your arms across your chest and the priest will bless you.
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.