Liturgy & Worship
Sunday services at Christ Church are where our congregation gathers from their daily lives and various backgrounds to share our love for each other, to receive support from each other, and to meet together to worship our Lord and Savior. Our parish is diverse - theologically, politically, demographically - but worship is where we are able to unite together as one body. Despite differences we may have, our CAT survey showed an overwhelming satisfaction with the quality and spiritual content of our worship services.
During our program year (September-May), we offer two services on Sunday mornings: a traditional, spoken Rite I Eucharist at 8:30 and a more contemporary (though still traditional in form) Rite II Eucharist at 10:30. The later service draws a larger crowd - including many of our families - and includes a wide variety of high-quality music offered by our Choir, Choristers, and a variety of instruments spanning virtually every genre. While grounded in our Anglican heritage and traditional hymnody and liturgical music, we also embrace contemporary expressions of praise from around the world. During COVID while we were closed to public services for fourteen months, we began livestreaming our services and in 2021 put together a robust A/V system that allows us to broadcast our 10:30 service, as well as other special services and events, to Facebook and YouTube. Our congregation participates in services by being greeters, ushers, monitors, readers, counters, Lay Eucharist Ministers, and serving on the Altar Guild or A/V Team. Everyone goes out of their way to make visitors feel comfortable and, though our building seems large and imposing from the outside, they find a warm and welcoming group of people inside.
In addition to Sunday morning, we offer a number of special services throughout the year as well. From Darkness to Light is our Advent Procession service, held several weeks before Christmas, with candles slowly lit in the darkness interspersed with readings and music. We share our Holy Week services (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday Vigil) with two other local parishes with each church hosting one day. We often hold Evensong and Compline services led by our Choir, and have in the past offered Wednesday services at Noon and in the evening during Lent. Our Christmas Eve and Good Friday services have in recent years included a major musical work featuring guest musicians which has attracted interest from outside the congregation.
Children are an important part of our worship life and are encouraged to attend and participate in our worship services. Boxes with coloring pages and other activities relating to the current season or the lectionary, labeled for each child, are located in the Nave for them to use during services, and they actively participate as singers, instrumentalists, readers, gift bearers, and in the past as acolytes. A two-room Nursery, formerly professionally staffed until COVID, is available for parents of young children to use. All the children of the parish get along and you'll usually find them playing together after the service!
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