| Join us at 6:00 p.m. every Sunday night as we worship God
through the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. This particular liturgy has
been designed with several features in mind: (1) Monastic-type
spirituality. The most common form of monastic spirituality is called
Lectio Divina. This discipline is normally practiced individually and
has four parts: (1) lectio (reading Biblical passages), (2)
meditatio (studying and thinking about the texts that have been read),
(3) oratio (responding to the Biblical message by offering prayers to
God), and (4) contemplatio (resting in silence in God's presence).
We have adapted this spiritual discipline to our corporate worship
experience. Each celebration of the Holy Eucharist consists of two parts:
(1) The Word of God, and (2) Holy Communion. During the first part of the
service we practice the four components of Lectio Divina. We read
from the Bible; we study and think about the readings through a sermon; we
respond to God's Word by offering prayers for ourselves, our loved ones, our
community and the world; and we share a time of silence in God's presence.
The liturgy is intentionally designed to facilitate the creation of deep,
contemplative intimacy with God in Christ.
(2) A contemporary liturgical form. The liturgy for this service
is taken from the book Enriching our Worship, which is a supplement
to the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. In the preface to this book our Presiding
Bishop, Frank Griswold, notes that these texts are intended to "expand the
language, images and metaphors used in worship." By expanding our vocabulary
of prayer we "witness to the fact that the mystery of God transcends all
categories of knowing, including those of masculine and feminine."
(3) A worship style that is accessible, intimate and joyous. Music
is a big part of worship, and we are led in this service by our Folk Choir
as we sing a mixture of Christian folk, renewal and gospel music,
accompanied by piano, guitar, flute, tambourine, etc.. This service is more
casual in terms of attire and attitude. In addition, the entire worshipping
community - congregation, choir and clergy - are together in the nave of the
church. This creates a sense of connection and intimacy among those who are
gathered.
We look forward to joining with you in worship as together we open
ourselves to God's presence.
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