What to expect when you visit
You’ll be welcome!
We extend a cordial welcome to you to worship with us, and offer this document as a brief introduction to the Anglican Church and its ways, particularly to Christ Church.The Place of Worship
As you enter, you will notice an atmosphere of worship and reverence. Anglican churches are built in many architectural styles; but whether the church be small or large, elaborate or plain, your eye is carried to the altar, or holy table, and to the cross. So our thoughts are taken at once to Christ and to God whose house the church is.On the altar there are candles to remind us that Christ is the Light of the World (John 8:12), and at Christ Church the Book of the Gospels reminds us Christ is the Word of God (John 1). Usually there are flowers around the church too, to beautify God’s house and to recall the resurrection of Jesus.
At the front of the church, there’s the lectern, or stand, for the proclamation of the Word; here the Scriptures are read and the sermon is preached. Like many churches, we also have a pulpit for preaching the sermon, but it’s only used for the larger services.
The Act of Worship
The congregation has its role in the worship of the Anglican Church. When you arrive you’ll be handed a service leaflet, the use of which enables the congregation to share fully in every service. Large print copies are usually available. The leaflet contains the actual service. The smaller print in the leaflet gives directions to ministers and people for conduct of the service.If you are visiting Christ Church from abroad and your first language isn’t English, please let us know before you arrive. While we can’t guarantee to do so, we will do our best to include parts of the service in the leaflet in your language so you don't have to struggle with complicated readings and can join in parts of the service in words which come naturally to you.
You may wonder when to stand or kneel. Practices vary — even among individuals. There’s guidance given in the leaflet, but you are free to follow your own conscience. The general rule is to stand to sing — hymns (found in the hymnbook you’ll be given) and other songs (many of them from the Holy Bible) called canticles or chants and printed as part of the service. We stand, too, to say our affirmation of faith, the Creed; and for the reading of the Gospel in the Holy Eucharist. Psalms are normally sung by the choir, the congregation sitting to pray along with the words. We sit during readings from the Old Testament or New Testament Letters, the sermon, and the choir anthems. We stand or kneel for prayer to show our gratefulness to God for accepting us as children or as an act of humility before God.
The regular services
The principal service is the Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion, or Mass). There is a simple celebration, without music, early on Sunday morning. Weekday celebrations are also without music, and usually without sermon. At the principal Mass on Sunday mornings, and on other great Christian days such as Christmas, music and a sermon are customary.At Christ Church we also hold services of Choral Evensong (Monthly, on the first Sunday of most months). These services consist of psalms, Bible readings, and prayers; and may include a sermon. Much of Choral Evensong is sung by the choir, for the congregation to join in with in the silence of their own prayers; there are also one or two congregational hymns.
While some parts of the services are always the same, others change. At the Holy Eucharist, for example, two or three Bible selections are read. These change each Sunday. So do the hymns and psalms. Certain of the prayers also change, in order to provide variety. We provide the complete service in the service leaflet, so hopefully you won’t get lost. But don’t be embarrassed to ask your neighbour to show you where we are.
Children are part of the Family of God and the Church — they are admitted at Baptism (Christening) while still infants — and we welcome children to the church in order that parents can teach them about the worship of the Church, and so that coming to church on Sunday becomes an accustomed part of life.
We hope you will find the services of the Church God-centered and mindful of the nature and needs of human beings.
Before and After Services
It is the custom upon entering church to sit quietly in one’s place for a prayer of personal preparation for worship. At Christ Church it is also the custom to bow to the altar, or to genuflect [briefly kneel] to the Blessed Sacrament on entering and leaving the church as an act of reverence for Christ, but we leave all reverences to the individual.Anglicans try not to talk in church before a service but use this time for personal meditation and devotions. At the end of the service some people kneel for a private prayer before leaving. We would encourage you to sit and listen to the organ postlude, which is always identified in the service leaflet as it’s a part of the service, setting the seal on the worship.
Vestments
To add to the beauty and festivity of the services, and to signify their special ministries, the clergy and other ministers wear vestments. At Christ Church, the Choir is vested in maroon. The clergy may also wear cassock [long, black] and surplice [white].Another familiar vestment is the alb, a white tunic with sleeves that covers the body from neck to ankles. Over it (or over the surplice) ordained ministers wear a stole, a narrow band of coloured fabric. Deacons wear the stole over one shoulder, priests and bishops around the neck over both shoulders.
At the Holy Eucharist a bishop or priest frequently wears a chasuble (a circular garment that envelopes the body) over the alb and stole. The deacon’s corresponding vestment has sleeves and is called a dalmatic. Bishops usually wear a special hat called a mitre.
Stoles, chasubles, and dalmatics, as well as altar coverings, are usually made of rich fabrics. Their colour changes with the seasons and holy days of the Church Year. The most frequently used colors are white, red, violet, and green (see below).
The Church Year
The Anglican Church observes the traditional Christian calendar. The season of Advent, during which we prepare for Christmas, begins four Sundays before Christmas (which means the Sunday closest to November 30). Christmas itself lasts twelve days, after which we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6). Lent, the forty days of preparation for Easter, begins on Ash Wednesday. The Easter season lasts fifty days, concluding on the feast of Pentecost.During these times the Bible readings are chosen for their appropriateness to the season. During the rest of the year — the season after Epiphany and the long season after Pentecost (except for a few special Sundays) — the New Testament is read sequentially from Sunday to Sunday. The Old Testament lesson corresponds in theme with one of the New Testament readings.
The different seasons and festivals in the Church’s year are marked by using different colours for hangings and vestments. Easter and Christmas are joyful seasons and the altar and vestments are white. The seasons before them (Lent and Advent respectively) are times of reflection, penitence and preparation and are marked with purple. Red is used as the colour of fire for Pentecost, and the colour of blood when we remember those who have died for the Faith. Most of the year (the season after Epiphany and the long season after Pentecost) we use green as the colour of Creation.
Coming and Going
We normally have sidesmen (ushers) and they will greet you, and may escort you to your seat. If you desire, they will answer your questions about the service. Seats are usually unreserved, although the ministers need somewhere to sit and we will try to allow space for Shining Lights, our Sunday School, to join the service too. Following the service the clergy will greet the people as they leave.You will not be embarrassed
When you visit Christ Church, you will be our respected and welcome guest. You will not be singled out in an embarrassing way, nor asked to stand before the congregation nor to come forward. You will worship God with us. Should you wish to know more about the Church or how one becomes a member, the clergy will gladly answer your questions and suggest the way to membership.Adapted from notes produced by the Office of Communication, The Episcopal Church Center, USA
