Worship

Worship is at the center of our common life at the Church of the Holy Spirit.

Whether you are a lifelong Episcopalian, a Christian exploring the Episcopal/Anglican tradition, an inquirer or a spiritual wanderer, or something else altogether, you are always welcome to worship with us at the Church of the Holy Spirit. We believe that our corporate expression of praise and thanksgiving is made richer by the presence of others.

As an Episcopal faith community, liturgies at the Church of the Holy Spirit conform to the Book of Common Prayer. Our liturgies typically last between 30 and 60 minutes, with festival services (Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost) last a bit longer.

The Celebration of the Holy Eucharist is the principal act of Christian worship and has been such since the earliest days of the Church. Christians worship on Sundays as an affirmation of our belief in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, thus it is most appropriate to worship with the Risen Christ as our ritual focus. When we gather regularly around the mystery of the Risen Christ made present in the gifts of bread and wine, we continue the work of healing and reconciliation in our community. Fed by the body and blood of Christ, we become, and renew our commitment to being the Body of Christ in the world.

The Holy Eucharist is an incarnate act of Christian worship. The current context of social distancing, online worship, and displacement make the orderly celebration of the Sacrament theologically and liturgically impossible. We acknowledge the sense of grief this stirs in us and endeavor to use this experience to build empathy for the grief in others. We anxiously anticipate the day when we can resume our celebration of the Holy Eucharist. In the meantime, we will worship using Morning Prayer and hold the grief of the world in our prayer to God.

The Daily Office generally, and Morning Prayer specifically, have been a feature of the Anglican tradition since the first Prayer Book was published in 1549. The purpose of the Daily Office was to provide a framework for the spiritual edification and transformation of the whole people of God. While intended to be observed daily, Morning Prayer became a primary service of worship for Anglican churches for centuries.

Because Morning Prayer can be led by a lay person (a baptized person who is not ordained), we regularly make use of this form for Christian worship. By placing the focus on the reading of scripture, we are reminded that we are fed by Word and Sacrament, not simply Sacrament alone.

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