We offer two services on Sunday morning that use basically the same format of praise, fellowship and communion. The 7:30 service uses more formal language during communion. The 9:30 service language is less formal, and a nursery is available.
What to expect…
Upon walking down Franklin Street up to the church.
As you enter through the red doors common to Episcopal churches all over America, our ushers will welcome you with service bulletins. Usually, there will be one or two greeters there to help newcomers. Please tell them you’re new and could use a bit of help. Remember, greeters and ushers are volunteers whose main purpose is to help you feel at home.
Passing through the inner glass doors, you will notice an atmosphere of worship and reverence. We recognize that our parishioners lead busy lives and may have just completed a frantic minor miracle in making it to the service at all. This quiet calm before a service is our opportunity to re-focus on the big picture and prepare ourselves for this act of group worship.
If the church appears crowded that morning or you’re running a little late, feel free to ask an usher to guide you to an open pew.
Once you’re seated.
There are four basic materials we’ll use during the service. If you have never been to an Episcopal service, we encourage you to inform an usher, greeter, or the folks in your pew. They’ll help you follow along in our beautiful worship rituals.
The Service Bulletin You will find the outline of the service on the inside page, an insert with that morning’s readings from the Bible (Old Testament, Psalm, New Testament and Gospel), collects (prayers), announcements, and the current prayer list.
Book of Common Prayer (red-colored book)This book contains our liturgy and is a cherished foundation of our denomination that bonds us to ancient traditions dating back to the first disciples. We will principally use the BCP for the order of service and then the Holy Communion. The larger print contains the spoken service, and the smaller, italicized font provides directions.
The 1982 Hymnal (blue-colored book) Page numbers for all hymns are printed in the Bulletin.
Service Music for Holy Eucharist (white pamphlet) This pamphlet contains music for the Gloria and the Sanctus. The words for these hymns are printed in the BCP, but the arrangements that we use on most Sundays are printed here.During the Act of Worship.
Worship at Trinity involves participation throughout the service through singing, responding, passing the Peace, praying and celebrating the Eucharist. We find participating through beautiful and powerful language evokes a range of human emotion - joy, repentance, sorrow, gratitude, humility and reflection.
The Service. The service follows an order found in the Book of Common Prayer, two-thirds of which is scriptural. Every worship service includes the reading of Scripture from the Old and New Testaments. The Book of Common Prayer includes a variety of ancient and modern prayers and worship occasions for times when the whole community gathers, and for individual use. The Book of Common Prayer allows everyone to participate, reminding us that each person is an important part of the worship experience.
Stand, Sit or Kneel? Throughout the service, we will both stand and kneel to assist in the physical act of worship. If you’re new to the Episcopal tradition, a simple guide is to just follow the folks next to you. Practices vary – even among individual Trinity parishioners. The general directions are:
Stand for singing, affirming the Creed, reading the Gospel, and during certain prayers.
Sit during readings from the Old Testament or New Testament letters, the sermon, and the choir anthem.
Kneel during certain prayers or as an act of humility before God.
Receiving the Eucharist. All baptized Christians — regardless of denomination or age — are welcome to receive communion (eating the bread and drinking the wine) with the congregation. Episcopalians invite all baptized people to receive, not because we take the Eucharist lightly, but because we take our Baptism so seriously.
To receive communion, follow the other parishioners in your pew to the altar rail at the front. The priest will give you the communion wafer. You may consume the wafer then or wait to dip it in the wine (“intinct”). A chalice bearer will follow the priest and lower the cup so you can intinct, or will raise it to your lips. You are encouraged to hold the bottom of the chalice and help the bearer guide it to your lips.
After the service. Following the final hymn, we leave the sanctuary and usually spend time milling about catching up with one another. The priest greets people as they leave, and most of us gather next door in the Parish Hall for coffee, juice and a snack. This is a chance to get to know everyone, and we encourage you to join us. At 11:15, we start Sunday school in various rooms of the Parish Hall – for children, youth and adults. If you’re new, let us know and we’ll show you around. Nursery is also provided during Sunday School.
What about children?
Infants and small children are welcome to attend the service, but they may be more comfortable in our nursery, located downstairs in the Parish Hall next door to the Sanctuary. Ask a greeter or usher and they can lead you to the nursery. Near the nursery, a Children’s Chapel program is provided for children 3 and older, who are led into the sanctuary to join their parents for Communion.
What to wear.
Deciding what clothes you’ll wear may seem like the biggest decision you’ve made before coming to service. However, the only important decision that you’ve made is the decision to join a community in a worship of our Savior. We seek to create an environment that welcomes rather than excludes.
[The Book of James Chapter 2, Verse 2 tells us “Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here’s a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You sit there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”] Note: Phyllis will include this verse as a roll-over to minimize the length of the passage.
So, everyone, regardless of how they dress, is welcome to worship with us. You’ll see folks who choose to wear their Sunday best, casual attire, or jeans.
Addressing Our Clergy.
Trinity has two priests that minister to our congregation (our rector, the Rev. Mickey Richaud, and our assistant rector, the Rev. Dorothy Hartzog), but there are three main types of Episcopal clergy: bishop, priest, and deacon. Bishops are addressed as “Bishop”; priests are addressed as “Father,” “Mother,” or by the first name (Mickey and Dorothy); deacons are addressed as “Deacon” or by the first name if preferred.
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