We welcome you to All Souls'.  So you are visiting an Anglican (Episcopal) Church' for the first time. It is most important to remember this: You'll be welcome! We extend a cordial welcome to you to worship with us, and offer this document as a brief introduction to the Anglican Church and its worship. Click on the topic that interests you:

The Place of Worship
As you enter, you will notice an atmosphere of worship and reverence. Anglican churches are built in many architectural styles; but whether the church is small or large, elaborate or plain; your eye is carried to the Altar, or Holy Table, and to the cross. Our thoughts are taken at once to our Lord Jesus whose house the church is.

On or near the altar there are candles to remind us that Christ is the "Light of the world'' (John 8:12). Often there are flowers, to beautify God's house and to recall the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

On one side at the front of the church, there is a lectern for the proclamation of the Word in the reading of the Scriptures; on the other side is a pulpit where the sermon is preached.

The Act of Worship 
Anglican church services are congregational. In the pews you will find the Book of Common Prayer and the Hymnal. This enables the congregation to share fully in every service. In the Book of Common Prayer, the large print is the actual service. The smaller print gives directions to ministers.

You may wonder when to stand or kneel. Practices vary from church to church, but the general rule is to stand for praise—hymns, the Creeds, and canticles. We stand too for the reading of the Gospel at the Holy Communion. We sit to listen like during the Scripture lessons, the sermon, and the choir anthems. We kneel for prayer to show both our humble penitence for our sins and our gratefulness to God for his forgiveness, mercy and grace in accepting us as children in our Lord Jesus.

The Regular Services (back to top)
The principal service is the Holy Communion. In some Anglican churches it is celebrated quite simply, without music, early on Sunday morning. Weekday celebrations also are frequently without music, and without sermon. When celebrated at a later hour on Sundays, or on other great Christian days such as Christmas, music and a sermon are customary.

Another service is Morning Prayer. The parallel evening service is Evening Prayer. These services consist of psalms, Bible readings, and prayers; and may include a sermon. They may be with or without music.

While some parts of the services are always the same, others change. At the Holy Eucharist, for example, two or three Bible selections are read. These change each Sunday. Certain of the prayers also change to help us walk through the seasons of the church year. Page numbers for the service are usually announced or given in the service leaflet, but do not be embarrassed to ask your neighbor for the page number. 

You will find the services of the Anglican Church beautiful in their ordered dignity and God-centered focus. 

Before and After
It is the custom upon entering church to kneel in one's pew for a prayer of personal preparation for worship. In many churches it is also the custom to bow to the altar on entering and leaving the church as an act of reverence for Christ. 

Most Anglicans do not talk in church before a service but use this time for personal meditation and devotions. At the end of the service some persons kneel for a private prayer before leaving. Others sometimes sit to listen to the organ postlude. 

Coming and Going (back to top)
If there are ushers they will greet you. If you desire, they will answer your questions about the service. Pews are usually unreserved in Anglican churches. Following the service the pastor greets the people as they leave. 

What Clergy Wear
To add to the beauty and festivity of the services, and to signify their special ministries, the clergy and other ministers wear vestments. Choir vestments usually consist of an undergown called a cassock (usually black) and a white overgown called a surplice. The clergy may also wear cassock and surplice.

Another familiar vestment is the alb, a white tunic with sleeves that covers the body from neck to ankles. Over it (or over the surplice) ordained ministers wear a stole, a narrow band of colored fabric. Deacons wear the stole over one shoulder, priests and bishops over both shoulders. 

At the Holy Eucharist a bishop or priest frequently wears a chasuble (a circular garment that envelopes the body) over the alb and stole. The deacon's corresponding vestment has sleeves and is called a dalmatic. Bishops sometimes wear a special head covering called a mitre. 

Stoles, chasubles, and dalmatics, as well as altar coverings, are usually made of rich fabrics. Their color changes with the seasons and holy days of the Church Year. The most frequently used colors are white, red, violet, and green. 

The Church Year (back to top)
The Anglican Church observes the traditional Christian calendar. The season of Advent, during which we prepare for Christmas, begins on the Sunday closest to November 30. Christmas itself lasts twelve days, after which we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany (January 6). 

Lent, the forty days of preparation for Easter, begins on Ash Wednesday. Easter season lasts fifty days, concluding on the feast of Pentecost.

During these times the Bible readings are chosen for their appropriateness to the season. During the rest of the year--the season after Epiphany and the long season after Pentecost (except for a few special Sundays)--the New Testament is read sequentially from Sunday to Sunday.

You Will Not be Embarrassed
When you visit an Anglican church, you will be our respected and welcome guest. You will not be singled out in an embarrassing way, nor asked to stand before the congregation or to come forward. You will worship God with us. 

Should you wish to know more about the Anglican Church or how one becomes an Anglican, the priest will gladly answer your questions and suggest the way to membership.