St. Mary's Episcopal Church
Colonial Beach, Virginia
What we do and why
St. Mary’s is a parish of the Diocese of Virginia, in the Episcopal Church of the U. S. A. We are part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
We are guided in our church by three major authorities: the Holy Scriptures, taken as a whole; our God-given gift of reason, including prayer and reflection; and tradition, especially our forms of worship.
The feature that makes us Episcopalians and Anglicans is HOW we worship—our liturgy. The liturgy is what unifies us, rather than an emphasis on specific doctrines or an insistence on everyone having exactly the same beliefs.
Our usual Sunday and Wednesday worship is the Holy Eucharist service Rite II, beginning on page 355 of The Book of Common Prayer. The 1979 edition is our guide to worship. It’s the book with the cross on the cover. The service bulletin has the step-by-step sequence of worship, including the hymns, readings, and page numbers. The Sunday 8 a.m. and Wednesday services usually do not include music.
Holy Eucharist Rite II—our customary service
f you aren’t accustomed to a liturgical service and feel a little lost a times, don’t worry about it. We hope you will relax and enjoy the beauty of the service. And invite you to join us in worship. You may notice that some people bow or make the sign of the cross during the service. This is a personal preference or tradition for them and is not required.
The Liturgy of the Word The first part of the service is for praise, hearing the Word of God, and listening to a sermon. A rule of thumb is that we stand for praise, sit to learn, and kneel to pray—but the service bulletin has symbols that show when to stand ( ) or kneel (+).
There may be an opening hymn as the cross is brought in. P. 355—There are words of praise by the priest and the people (the congregation). There may also be words for special seasons or occasions. These are followed by the prayer for purity. Note that in the prayer book there are instructions in italics, called rubrics, that help explain why some parts may be included or omitted.
We sit for the Bible readings (lessons)—Old Testament and New Testament (epistles, Acts, pastoral letters, or Revelation). We stand for a reading of the psalm. Usually the lector reads the first part of each line and all the people read the part following the asterisk (*). There is often a hymn before and after the reading of the Gospel, during which we stand. The homily, or sermon, follows the Gospel reading.
We stand to recite the Nicene Creed. This creed was adopted in the very early centuries of the Christian church. It is a statement of the basic beliefs of the church about God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We then kneel for the prayers of the people. These may be one of the basic forms in pp. 383-393 or there may be special prayers for the day. They are read by a designated person in the congregation with responses by all the people. There may be places in the prayers where you may add your personal thanks or supplications.
Still kneeling, all the people in unison say the general confession—confessing that we realize and repent of our shortcomings and asking for forgiveness. The priest then also asks God for forgiveness and strength for all of us.
We then stand for the exchange of “the peace.” This was added to the worship service in 1979 to help us remember that we worship as a community and are not alone.
The Holy Communion Holy Communion is a sacrament—defined as an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, God’s favor towards us. Through the sacraments we receive that grace. Through Holy Communion we are joined with each other, with Christians throughout the world and throughout history, and with Jesus Christ, the head of the church. All baptized Christians are welcome to join us in Holy Communion.
We now present our offerings to God. A collection may be taken, and the bread and the wine are brought forward to the altar. A hymn may be sung.
There are four options for the Communion service: Eucharistic Prayers A through D, beginning on p. 361. The bulletin will say which form we are using. Each form begins with the Biblical greeting, “The Lord be with you.” The Eucharistic prayers include thanksgiving and praise, some of which may be sung. We kneel following the “Holy, holy, holy . . .” We acknowledge in prayer the great love of God, the remembrance of Jesus’ sharing of bread and wine and of his death and resurrection.
We say together the Lord’s Prayer and pray privately before and after Communion. As the ushers move down the aisle, the people go to the Communion rail to receive the bread and the wine. We kneel or stand at the rail and hold our hands out with one under the other to receive the bread. You may eat the bread immediately or touch it in the wine. If you prefer to drink from the cup, gently grasp the base with one hand and guide it to your mouth. To receive a blessing instead of Communion, cross your arms over your chest. Children who are not old enough for communion may come to the rail for a blessing.
After returning to your seat, you may kneel for prayer. The people then say a post-communion prayer thanking God and asking for strength to do our work as Christians in the world. We stand as the cross is carried out—there may be a closing hymn.