For Vistors
Your entire family is welcome at Atonement. All members of your
family, regardless of age, may participate in the services. Style of
dress is your choice.
Entering the Church
| Greeters
welcome all who enter. If you desire, they will answer your questions
about the service. On your first visit, we invite you to sign our guest
book. |
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Entrance to Church
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Front Hallway to Narthex
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Narthex
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Ushers will offer you three leaflets as you enter:
- The Service Sheet, which contains the entire service, including hymns, service music, and prayers
- Today's Readings, which contains the text of the lessons and the psalm for today
- The Announcements, which let you know what is going on at Atonement
It
is the custom upon entering church to kneel in one's pew for a prayer
of personal preparation for worship. For some, it is also a personal
custom to bow to the altar on entering and leaving the church as an act
of reverence for Christ. Many Episcopalians do not talk in church
before a service but use this time for personal meditation and
devotions.
The Service
The
service is a celebration of the Holy Eucharist, which is the Greek word
meaning "Thanksgiving." In the Eucharist, we give thanks for what God
has done for us in Jesus Christ. It is also known as Holy Communion,
for in it we commune with God and also with each other as the Body of
Christ.
The service is a drama that we all enter. The first
act of the drama is "The Liturgy of the Word," based on Jewish worship
that preceded Christianity. God's mighty acts in history are recalled
through scripture and applied to our lives in the sermon. The second
act of the drama is "The Liturgy of the Table." Through repeating the
words and actions of Jesus' last meal with his disciples, we ourselves
join the story and make it our own. In a mystery, bread and wine become
the outward signs of inward grace received.
Atonement worships in contemporary language, using Rite II from the Book of Common Prayer.
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