Primarily, we are a worshipping community. It is the foundation of our identity and the center around which all else revolves. Worship is our principle means of expressing our love and devotion to God and of learning what it means to live as Christian people. Through the celebration of the Eucharist, singing hymns, listening to our choirs, and saying the prayers together we express with one voice our desire to know God and to grow spiritually.

An essential aspect of our worship is that we do it together. While the priest plays an important role in the conduct of public worship, he or she is not the focal point. The people of God who gather are the leaders of worship. All of us, together, make up the worshipping community. The people in the pews, readers, acolytes, chalice bearers, choir members and ushers all make worship the meaningful experience for which we strive. Important in this regard is a concerted effort to make children and youth an integral part of our worship. Children are welcome to participate through singing, drama, participation in the bell choir, serving as acolytes, etc. Currently, we are looking for new ways to make our worship inclusive of people of all ages.

All of our worship services use liturgies approved for use by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. These include those found in the Book of Common Prayer (1979), Enriching our Worship, and the Book of Occasional Services. Our hymns and service music come from the Hymnal (1980) and Wonder, Love and Praise. We supplement these resources with meditative chants from the Taize Community in France and others. This variety of materials allows us to blend traditional and contemporary styles of worship in ways that expand our worship experiences. While deeply rooted in Anglican worship, we seek to expand the metaphors traditionally used to describe God and to broaden our musical repertoire beyond that of traditional, western European church music.

All baptized persons of any Christian denomination and of any age are welcome to receive Communion at the Lord’s Table at Emmanuel Church. We encourage families to bring their children to church so we can all grow in the faith and be strengthened together. A nursery space is available for parents for those times when it might be necessary to take a child out of service for a while.

Services

Calendar

Emmanuel E-pistle

Memories

Worship