A group of eight people dressed in various formal attires stands inside a church. Two clergy members in religious garments, including one holding a staff and wearing a mitre, are in the middle. The background showcases an ornate altar with candles and religious decorations.

Worship

Worship Service

Worship Services at St. Paul’s

A person wearing a white robe and a red stole is performing a religious ritual by dipping their hand in a bowl of water. Another person's hands are extended towards them, ready to receive the ritual.

Worship in the Episcopal Church is participatory and embodied. We stand and kneel, make the sign of the cross at times, sing and breathe together, and walk forward for communion each week. You are welcome to participate at your own comfort level. You will likely see people engaging differently at different times. One of the gifts of the Episcopal tradition is that there are a variety of ‘right’ ways to participate.

Worship Times

8:00am

(Rite I) Chapel

10:00am

(Rite II) with Children’s Church

Stream Online

Wednesdays

During the Academic Year

5:15 pm | Rite II

(Every Other Week)
6:00 pm | Community Supper
6:30 pm | Education

Schedule

Sundays

Rite I – Chapel – 8 am

Rite I is a traditional worship service that uses the Elizabethan language of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. This service is small and intimate, sometimes with a sermon and sometimes with a discussion about the scriptures. It is held in the chapel, which is located on the floor below the main Sanctuary. It is easiest to find when you enter through the door by the Celtic Garden. There is no music at the 8 am service, and this service typically does not meet on holiday weekends.

Rite II – Sanctuary – 10 am

Our 10 am service is boisterous, joyful, and thoughtful. During the school year, children have the option of going to Godly Play after the opening hymn until the Peace. A nursery is available, though infants and toddlers are always welcome in church. Music includes traditional hymns, special choral pieces, and offerings from the congregation’s children and youth. Communion is celebrated each week, and all are welcome.

Wednesdays

Rite II – Sanctuary Choir Seating – 5:15 pm

The Wednesday Rite II service with communion is simple, spoken, and includes a discussion of this Sunday’s scripture lessons. This is an informal service straight from the Book of Common Prayer. This service does not meet on holiday weeks.

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What Happens During Worship?

Each week the service will look about the same. Some parts are prepared each week, like the Sermon, while some parts are as old as Christianity itself, like the Eucharist. Each week we sing together, hear scripture, reflect on that scripture with a sermon, pray for the world, and celebrate communion together.

All Episcopal Churches throughout the country use the same order of service, which comes from the Book of Common Prayer. We hold many beliefs and many perspectives, but we are all united around our common way of praying. 

A group of people sits in wooden pews inside a church, engaged in conversation. In focus is a smiling woman with long brown hair, turning to talk to others around her. The background features wooden furniture and church decorations.

What To Do During Worship

The instructions are provided for you at each service. The 8 am Rite I service follows the Book of Common Prayer, which is found in the pews in the chapel. You will also be able to pick up a little leaflet with the scriptures for the day. The 10 am Rite II service has a service bulletin each week.

When you enter the church you will be greeted by an usher, who will give you a program. Hymns can either be found in this booklet or in the hymn book in your pew.

A person in a religious white robe and red stole offers communion to a participant in a green dress inside a church. The participant is taking a wafer from the priest, who is holding a chalice. The background is blurred with warm lighting.

May I Have Communion?

Yes. All may come forward to receive communion (or the Eucharist.) We serve both bread and wine. Bread is received in the hand. You may receive wine by drinking from the cup or dipping the bread into the wine. If you are uncomfortable receiving wine for health reasons, you may receive only bread. Cross your arms over your chest as the chalice comes by, and the chalice bearer will say the traditional words without giving you the cup.

You may also come forward with your arms crossed over your chest for a blessing, or you may choose not to come forward at all. Children may receive at any age. If you have mobility issues and are unable to come forward, alert an usher, and the communion servers will come to you.

Two people dressed in white and red liturgical robes stand inside a church. One person, on the right, holds a large gold cross staff. They are smiling and looking at each other, bathed in soft, warm light. Ornate wooden panels and a door are visible in the background.

What is it Like to Bring My Kids to Church?

Joyful noise is most welcome here–we love it. Many families find that sitting up front allows kids to see what is happening and engage better with the service. The front is also closer to the bathroom. There is a staffed nursery for infants and toddlers, and a special children’s chapel during the school year. During the summer, we occasionally do Godly Play in church as our first lesson. It’s perfectly acceptable to get up to move with a fussy baby, or to enter and exit as needed.

Children enjoy bringing forward the elements for communion, helping as lectors, and becoming acolytes. Acolytes are special worship assistant roles that are just for young people. 

It can be intimidating and exhausting to try and bring children to church: just getting out the door can be a process, we know. When you arrive you will find that there are other kids to connect with, other parents who are in your same boat, and that the noise from kiddos is not only acceptable but enjoyed by the community.

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A group of six people wearing black outfits are playing handbells in unison. They stand in a line, each concentrating on their music stands, which hold sheet music. The setting appears to be indoors, with a stone wall in the background.
A large stone building, possibly a church or academic hall, with an ivy-covered facade displaying vibrant red leaves. The structure features tall, rectangular towers and arched windows. The sky above is partly cloudy.
A baby is being baptized with holy water in a church. The officiant pours water from a vessel onto the baby's head over a baptismal font, while people (including parents and siblings) stand close by. A religious banner reading "Baptism" is in the background.
Two young girls smile and hold a tray of heart-shaped cookies with pink and red frosting and sprinkles. They are in a room with tables and chairs, likely participating in a fun cooking or baking activity.
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What is the music like?

While our 8 am service does not have music, our 10 am service is full of all different kinds of music. We love to have a diverse range of music in our church service. We have a fantastic, traditional church organ played by several talented organists, including organ students. We also include traditional spirituals sung a capella, global music, our handbell choir, and modern music with guitar and other instruments. 

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ScRiptures

How do you choose which scriptures are heard in church on Sunday?

The Episcopal Church follows something called the Revised Common Lectionary. This is a reading plan that selects 3 lessons and a psalm (a portion of scripture from the ancient Israelite hymn book) for each Sunday. There will be an Old Testament Reading, from the scriptures of the Hebrew people before Jesus, an Epistle Reading, from the letters written to the earliest Christian communities (from about 50 AD to 110 AD), and a Gospel reading, from one of the four books that tell the story of Jesus’s life.

This lectionary is used in many other Christian denominations, such as the Lutherans, Presbyterians, and some Methodists, UCC churches, and more. It is similar to the Catholic lectionary, so many Catholics will also be reading the same texts on any given Sunday. This allows us to read a large cross-section of the Bible in a 3 year cycle, but it also gives us structure so that we do not simply pick and choose what parts of the Bible we think are most important. 

Music & Sermons

Music Ministry

While our 8 am service does not have music, our 10 am service is full of all different kinds of music. We love to have a diverse range of music in our church service. We have a fantastic, traditional church organ played by several talented organists, including organ students. We also include traditional spirituals sung acapella, global music, our bell choir, and modern music with guitar and other instruments. 

More Info
A group of people dressed in white choir robes with red collars sing in a choir. They are holding black folders with sheet music. The choir members are varying in age, and they are standing in front of wooden paneling.
A group of people standing closely together in a church, holding papers and singing or reading. Some are embracing each other. Focus is on the back of two individuals in the foreground, with an altar and clergy visible out of focus in the background.

Sermons

Each week we have a short reflection offered by a priest, deacon, or lay leader about the texts. Sermons help explain the historical, social, and political context of the scriptures, and invites us to see how they might apply to our own lives. On some Sundays, we may also do a “Dwelling in the Word” where the congregation discusses the texts with the preacher. There are a diversity of preachers at St. Paul’s and we enjoy hearing multiple points of view.

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