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 Worship
- Holy Scripture and the Book of Common Prayer are the primary theological documents of the Episcopal Church. The first Book of Common Prayer was written in 1549 (latest revision 1979) and it had several purposes:
- To enable people to worship in English rather than Latin.
- To provide a lectionary so that the readings of Scripture in worship would take place in a comprehensive and orderly way.
- To provide a standard form of worship for use throughout the country.
- The primary service of worship on Sunday mornings in the Episcopal Church is that of Holy Eucharist (Eucharist is a Greek word meaning thanksgiving). It is also called Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper or Mass. Other parts of the service include the following:
- Four readings from Scripture: one from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), one from the Letters of the New Testament, one from the Psalms, and one from the Gospels.
- A homily or sermon based on one or more of those readings.
- The children (preschool and elementary school age) engage in a worship experience of their own called Godly Play™.
- Following Godly Play™, the children join the rest of the congregation to receive communion.
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