Sunday Mornings
Quick links for Sunday, April 18, 2021 10:30 streaming:
Bulletin | YouTube
At St. Francis’ Episcopal church, we work hard to ensure that everyone who comes to worship feels welcome – whether you’re a brand-new friend, a long-time member or an intermittent visitor. Worship is our opportunity to be together and engage with the sacred liturgies of our Anglican tradition.
Our Sunday Morning Schedule
- 8:30am: Spoken (meaning no music) Liturgy of the Eucharist in person in our sanctuary, following our Covid safety protocols. Eucharist will continue to be pre-packaged for Covid safety, and there will be no wide distribution of the cup.
- 9:30am: Sunday Forum for learning in person in the Community Room following our Covid safety protocols or via Zoom. Zoom participants will be able to see and hear speakers as well as ask questions through a “Zoom usher” monitoring online participants. From April 18 to May 30, our Forum Series is
- 10:30am: Liturgy of the Word Worship live streamed via our YouTube channel. Bulletin available at our Archive.
The Liturgy of the Word
This is the part of our worship experience where we hear what God is saying to us. In our tradition, this includes:
- A collect – Pronounced COLL-ect, this is the noun form of the verb “to collect,” and as such it gathers multiple threads of the day’s readings into a single short prayer.
- Readings (also called lessons) – first one from the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible) that tells the Word of God as collected by the Israelites; then one from the New Testament, often a letter (or Epistle) written to Christians and considered of divine inspiration; and last, a reading from one of the four Gospels, each one of which independently tells of the life of Jesus.
- The Psalm of the week – either read or spoken, a meditative reflection on the themes of the readings. Often done responsively, meaning a cantor or reading will be assigned some of the text, and the convened group will read the other part together.
- The sermon or homily – an opportunity for the preacher to explain the readings and extrapolate meaning, connect to wider Biblical themes and/or contextualize for the congregation’s specific setting.
- The creed – the recitation of a core set of beliefs
- The prayers of the people – a naming, by a special reader called an intercessor, of the individuals and groups who remain key within the prayers of the collected at this time
The Liturgy of the Eucharist
Liturgy of the Eucharist: A sacrament (sacred ritual) where the gathered hear the story of Christ’s last days, his sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection. First, prayers are said where both those gathered and the Celebrant (the priest or person leading the Liturgy of the Eucharist) convey their gratitude about Jesus’ sacrifice in prayer responses through which the story of his last days is threaded. All people present are invited to “receive,” which is our shorthand for “receive Eucharist.” Then, the Eucharist is distributed. In the Episcopal Church, we receive both the bread and wine, through the imbibing of which we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus. However, because of COVID, we cannot all receive from the same cup at the same time, but our cup remains common to us all as a different parishioner receives the cup at each service on behalf of the entire community.
COVID Safety Protocols as of April 18, 2021
- All persons entering must be well (not ill) and wear a mask covering their nose and mouth
- All persons should allow for 6 feet of distance between themselves and others, except members of their household
- The occupancy is limited to 52 persons in the sanctuary (35% of the space capacity of the room)
- No pre-registration needed, but sign-in for contact tracing required when entering the building