Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
A A A   |  Search  
The Episcopal Church »  |  The Diocese of Virginia
The Episcopal Church of Leeds Parish

How We Worship

Liturgy and Ritual

Worship in the Episcopal Church is said to be "liturgical," meaning that the congregation follows service forms and prays from texts 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.

For the first-time visitor, liturgy may be exhilarating or confusing.  Services may involve standing, sitting, kneeling, sung or spoken responses, and other participatory elements that may provide a challenge for the first-time visitor.  However, liturgical worship can be compared with a dance: once you learn the steps, you come to appreciate the rhythm, and it becomes satisfying to dance, again and again, as the music changes.

All the major worship services in the Episcopal Church, including the service of Holy Eucharist, are contained in our Book of Common Prayer.  This practice of bringing together all the worship services in one book dates from 1549.  The Book of Common Prayer that Episcopalians use today is from 1979.  At Leeds, copies of the prayer book (the black book) can be found in the pews, which we use each week at our 8 AM Eucharist.  At the 10:30 Eucharist, the liturgy and all the music is included in the worship bulletin.

The Holy Eucharist

In spite of the diversity of worship styles in the Episcopal Church, Holy Eucharist always has the same two basic components and the same shape.

Part One:  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 ever since.

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 priest concludes with a prayer that gathers the petitions into a communal offering of intercession.

In most 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 priest assures the congregation that God is always ready to forgive our sins.

The congregation then greets one another with a sign of "peace," which is usually a handshake or a hug.

Part Two:  The Liturgy of the Table or Holy Communion

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 priest 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 priest tells the story of the coming of Jesus Christ, and about the night before his death, on which he instituted the Eucharistic meal (Holy Communion) as a continual remembrance of him.

The priest blesses the bread and wine, and the congregation recites the Lord's Prayer.  Finally, the priest 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. Episcopalians invite all baptized people to receive, not because we take the Eucharist lightly, but because we take our baptism so seriously.

Visitors who are not baptized Christians are welcome to come forward during the Communion to receive a blessing from the priest.

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.

-This material is adapted from the Episcopal Church's Visitors Center