Sunday Worship
The Celebration of Holy Eucharist, Every Sunday @ 10:30amIn-person & Streaming Online
Choral Eucharist, Sundays @ 10:30am
These services will follow this basic structure: prayer, music, scripture, homily, music, Eucharist, prayer, music.
When we gather in person, our primary service is a Choral Eucharist. This service follows the liturgy of Holy Eucharist Rite II found in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer (BCP) and includes music (organ, piano, and many guest musicians from our parish, not to mention our wonderful choir!), prayers, the reading of Holy Scripture, a sermon from Fr. Nic or a guest preacher (we have two Licensed Lay, or non-ordained, Preachers in our congregation, and two Retired Priests in our congregation), and the sharing of communion with one another.
why the eucharist?
Eucharist is the sacrament of Christ’s body and blood, and the principal act of our Christian worship. The term is from the Greek, “thanksgiving.” Jesus instituted the eucharist “on the night when he was betrayed.” At the Last Supper he shared the bread and cup of wine at a sacred meal with his disciples. He identified the bread with his body and the wine with his blood of the new covenant. Jesus commanded his disciples to “do this” in remembrance of him (see 1 Cor 11:23-26; Mk 14:22-25; Mt 26:26-29; Lk 22:14-20). Christ’s sacrifice is made present by the eucharist, and in it we are united to his one self-offering (BCP, p. 859). The Last Supper provides the basis for the fourfold eucharistic action of taking, blessing, breaking, and sharing. Christ’s body and blood are really present in the sacrament of the eucharist and received by faith. Christ’s presence is also known in the gathered eucharistic community.
The Liturgy of the Word
In the BCP, the whole service is entitled the Holy Eucharist. The first part of the service is designated the Liturgy of the Word of God. It usually includes the entrance rite, the lessons and gradual psalm, the gospel, the sermon, the Nicene Creed, the prayers of the people, the confession of sin and absolution, and the peace.
The liturgy of the Table
The second portion of the service is designated the Holy Communion. It includes the offertory, the consecration of the bread and wine in the Great Thanksgiving, the communion of the people, and the concluding prayers of thanksgiving and dismissal. A blessing may be given prior to the dismissal.
The eucharist is also called the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, the Divine Liturgy, the Mass, and the Great Offertory (BCP, p. 859).
As we continue with COVID-safe in-person attendance at our our Sunday morning worship offering, we will follow the traditional structure of Holy Eucharist, with an offering of “Spiritual Communion” for those who are attending the service virtually (those attending physically in person will be invited to partake in the Eucharist in a specific, COVID19-safe protocol).
Spiritual Communion is a specific offering of prayer, recognizing that we are currently unable to attend and receive the Eucharist, even as we long for that practice. It invites Jesus to come and inhabit within us, even as we cannot physically take Jesus in through the offering of the bread and wine, the body and blood of the Christ.
CAnterbury Park Eucharist, 2nd Sundays @ 2:30pm
This service is an opportunity for our members and friends that live at the Canterbury Park Retirement Community to join in prayer and fellowship with one another. All are welcome to join us! We meet on the Second Sunday of Every Month in the President’s Room @ Canterbury Park.