What to expect

You'll Be Welcome
We extend a cordial welcome to you to worship with us, and offer the following as a brief introduction to the Episcopal Church and its ways.

Coming and Going
Ushers will greet you and provide you with a Service Leaflet. Pews are not reserved at St. Stephen's, with the possible exception of the first rows for Baptisms or other special events. Following the service, our priest will greet you as you leave, and we provide refreshments and social time in the parish hall.

The Place of Worship
As you enter, you will notice an atmosphere of worship and reverence. Your eye is carried to the altar and to the cross. So our thoughts are taken at once to Christ and to God whose house the church is.

Near the altar 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 Jesus.

On the right side of the church as you look at the altar, there is a pulpit, or stand, for the proclamation of the Word; here the sermon is preached. On the left you'll notice the lectern. From that stand the scriptures are read.

The Act of Worship
At St. Stephen's, the entire service can usually be followed using a Service Leaflet handed out by our usher staff. The service is taken from Book of Common Prayer (the large red book you'll see on the back of the pew in front of you). Episcopal church services invite congregational participation.

You may wonder when to stand or kneel. Practices vary - even among individual Episcopalians.

The general rule is to stand to sing - hymns (found in the Hymnal and in the paperback "Music Issue") and other songs (many of them from the Holy Bible) called canticles or chants and printed as part of the service. We stand too, to say our affirmation of faith, the Creed; and for the reading of the Gospel in the Holy Eucharist. Psalms are sung or said while sitting. We sit during readings from the Old Testament or New Testament Letters, the sermon, and choir anthems. We stand or kneel for prayer to show our gratefulness to God for accepting us as his children or as an act of humility before him.

The Regular Services
The principle service is the Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion). Two such services are held on Sunday. The first is held at 7:30 a.m. in All Saints Chapel, without music. The second is at 10:00 a.m. and is celebrated with music.

A one-half hour service in the Celtic style is held each Wednesday at 12:05 p.m. in All Saints Chapel.

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. So do the psalms. Certain prayers also change, in order to provide variety.

You will find the services of the Episcopal Church beautiful in their ordered dignity, God-centered, and yet mindful of the nature and needs of human beings.

Before and After Services
It is the custom upon entering church to kneel or sit quietly in one's pew for 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.

Episcopalians often use the time before a service 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.

Vestments
To add to the beauty and festivity of the services, and to signify their special ministries, the clergy and other ministers wear vestments. The choir wears a simple green robe with a stole of varying colors, depending on the time of year in the church calendar.

For example, during Advent (the beginning of the church calendar year), purple is worn. At Christmas and at Easter, white is the color. On Passion Sunday and the week prior to Easter, red is worn. Red is also the color on Pentecost Sunday. The remainder of the year, from Pentecost to Advent, green is most often worn.

Another familiar vestment is the alb, a white tunic with sleeves that covers the body from neck to ankles. Over it 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. Bishops sometimes wear a special headcovering called a mitre.

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

The Church Year
The Episcopal 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. The Old Testament lesson corresponds in theme with one of the New Testament readings.

Titles
Ordained clergy in the Episcopal Church are Priests, Deacons, or Bishops. The chief minister of a particular congregation is usually a priest, and also has the title of Rector. At St. Stephens, Richard Green is the Rector, and he is often addressed as “Father (Fr.) Richard”. He is assisted by the Associate Rector, Kathleen Patton, who is often addressed as “Mother ( Mo.) Kathleen” (or sometimes “MO-K”). John Ackerman is the parish Deacon, and is addressed as “Deacon John” or by his pals as “DJ”. It is also perfectly acceptable to address any of the clergy at St. Stephen’s by first name alone, as you are most comfortable.

Children in Worship

Children are welcomed at St. Stephen’s Church. During 10:00 worship, we provide nursery care for infants through first grade (found below the parish hall – ask an usher!).  Elementary aged children are invited to sit in the front pew with teacher Annie New. You are welcomed, if you prefer, to have your children sit with you, and to get up as needed to care for them when they are restless.

Children in the nursery are usually brought by the child care givers to receive communion, and then return to the nursery. After church, please pick up (and sign-out) your child from the nursery, and bring him/her to coffee hour to enjoy a treat.

People often feel anxious about bringing children to church. Please know that most folks understand the challenge, and celebrate the wonderful energy children bring to the congregation. The wiggles are just part of it. Try to relax, and know that your children are valued, and distract others much less than they distract you.

St. Stephen’s policy is to have all children within sight of a caregiver during Sunday school, and whenever they are signed-in at the nursery. For safety, we ask that children remain under supervision of their families at all other times, and are not allowed to roam unsupervised on the grounds.

You'll Be Welcomed
We said it earlier and are glad to say it again. When you visit St. Stephen's, you will be our respected and welcomed guest. You will not be singled out in an embarrassing way, nor asked to stand before the congregation nor to come forward.