Worship at Christ Episcopal Church

For the people of Christ Episcopal Church, the Christian experience is deeply rooted in two words–‘thank you!’

Gratitude is such an essential virtue of our faith experience that we express it every Sunday of the year by celebrating the Holy Eucharist (translation: Special Thanksgiving).

This is our principal worship event, not only because Jesus himself said, “Do this in remembrance of me”, but also because we believe our relationship with God can be summed up with the idea that God has gifted and blessed us in innumerable ways, and therefore our first and best response is always, ‘thank you!’

We also believe we have a relationship with our neighbors–known and unknown–and that by living out of our gratitude for God’s blessings, we will discover blessings and gifts to share with our neighbors.

In worship, we always give thanks, and we always share the blessings of Christ’s presence in the Sacrament of bread and wine.

So what is spirituality?

First of all, spirituality is not a possession, but a posture.

When you think about people who seem especially spiritual, it is not because they have some ‘special bag of tricks’ in their possession; but rather that they seem to have a posture–a disposition–of being centered. Spiritual people are people who are not easily ‘tipped over.’

Second, worship is the foundation of spirituality.

At Christ Episcopal Church, the principal expression of our spirituality is worship—and all worship revolves around a healthy relationship with God and our neighbor. It is as simple, and as challenging as that!

We can become easily distracted by ‘shopping for the perfect worship experience,’ as if it were a possession one could acquire. Of course, subscribing to this view allows us to blame someone else when we are not becoming as spiritual as we would like.

Third, worship is about God, first; and only then does it matter what we think or feel.

We should be reminded (and humbled) by the most spiritual people of the last several thousand years that the primary goal of worship is the praise and adoration of God, whether we ‘get anything out of it or not!’

What is worship like at Christ Episcopal Church?

First of all, we are a community that blesses!

We seek to follow the example of Jesus and meet–and bless–people where they are. This is why we regularly offer blessings for those who are celebrating birthdays or wedding anniversaries during the course of the upcoming week. We also bless our children–along with their backpacks–when they get ready to head back to school. We bless our pets in October in recognition of St. Francis’ Day and the importance of remembering our responsibilities of stewardship for their welfare. We bless gifts that are collected for families who cannot afford to purchase gifts at Christmas time.

And every single Sunday, we pray God’s blessing upon all of the offerings and gifts from the congregation. We also pray God’s blessing over the bread and wine, just like Jesus did at his last supper with his closest friends and followers.

Then we give back those gifts–the Sacrament that Christ ordained, so that we all might be blessed, nourished and better able to love and serve our Lord.

Sacraments of Belonging

Baptism

Holy Baptism as full initiation into Christ’s Body, the Church. We believe it is a gift of unmerited grace, and therefore we offer it to babies, children and adults.

Since infants and children cannot make the baptismal promises for themselves, we ask the parents and godparents to make these promises on their behalf with the understanding that as children grow into more mature young people they can confirm these promises for themselves (the preparation for the Rite of Confirmation for teenagers is described below).

Holy Baptism is always a joyful celebration at Christ Episcopal Church, and we mark these special occasions with gifts of special candles for each of the newly baptized. Whether they are old enough to realize it or not, each new Christian is embraced by God, and by our congregation, and marked as Christ’s own, forever!

The Sacrament of Holy Baptism is offered several times during the year. Regular occasions include the Feast of our Lord’s Baptism (early January), the Easter Vigil (Saturday night before Easter Day), the Feast of Pentecost (50 days after Easter), All Saint’s Sunday (1st Sunday in November), and during the annual visitation of our Bishop (scheduled six months in advance).

We offer classes to help prepare adult candidates, and the Christ Episcopal Church, please contact the priest at least four weeks in advance of one of these planned celebrations and indicate your interest so that we can assist you in making the necessary preparations.

Confirmation

The Rite of Confirmation is an occasion for a person who was baptized as a child or infant to make a mature and public affirmation of their faith and commitment to the responsibilities of Baptism, and to receive the laying on of hands by the bishop.
St. Peter’s offers a comprehensive preparation for teenagers who will be sixteen years old at the time of the bishop’s annual visit (generally those who are in at least their sophomore year in high school) and would like to confirm their baptismal promises.

Adults who would like to be confirmed or received by our bishop from other parts of the Church are invited to attend the “Welcome to the Episcopal Church” class on Sunday mornings taught by the clergy. Many lifelong Episcopalians also take this class and make the necessary preparations to reaffirm their faith, even if they participated in the Rite of Confirmation at an earlier age.

Marriage

There are certain guidelines we follow concerning marriages; many of them are required by the Canons (laws) of the Episcopal Church. Parishioners and their children may be married at Christ Episcopal Church. For more information, and a copy of our wedding booklet and policies, please contact the parish office.

Since all marriages celebrated at Christ Episcopal Church require a series of pre-marital counseling sessions, it is imperative to contact the parish well in advance of the date you wish to be married.