Visitors Guide to COOS and the

Episcopal Church

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 Episcopal Church and its ways.
When you visit an Episcopal church, you will be our respected and welcome guest. You will not be singled out in any way, you won't be asked to stand before the congregation or to come forward. You will worship God with us, as one of us.

The Place of Worship

As you enter, you will notice an atmosphere of worship and reverence. We respect everyone's right to meditate and pray silently before services.
Once in the nave, your eye is carried to the altar, or holy table, and to the cross suspended above it. So our thoughts are taken at once to Christ and to God whose house the church is.

On the altar there are candles to remind us that Christ is the "Light of the world.''  Often there are flowers, to beautify God's house and to recall the resurrection of Jesus.

The Act of Worship

Episcopal church services are congregational. In the pews you will find the Book of Common Prayer (the red book). In it, the large print is the actual service. The smaller italic print gives directions to ministers and people for conduct of the service.

You may wonder when to stand or kneel. Practices will vary but the general rule is to stand to sing hymns (usually found in the Hymnal in the pews). We also stand to say our affirmation of faith, the Creed; and for the reading of the Gospel in the Holy Eucharist. We sit during readings from the Old Testament or New Testament Letters, the sermon, and the choir anthems.

The Services

The principal service is the Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion). At Church of Our Saviour Rite I is celebrated at 8:00 A.M. Sunday mornings. Sundays at 10:30 A.M. Holy Eucharist Rite II is celebrated. Other mid-week services include Tuesday healing service at 12:15 PM, Wednesday evening at 6:15 PM, and Thursday morning at 6:30 AM. We also offer special services such as our Sunday "Riverbank services" during the warmer months.   All baptized persons are invited to receive communion in the Episcopal church.

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. These lessons and psalms can be found on the bulletin insert each Sunday. Some of the prayers also change, in order to provide variety. Page numbers for parts of the service printed elsewhere in the Book are usually announced and given in the service bulletin. But do not be embarrassed to ask your neighbor for the page number.

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 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.

As mentioned above most Episcopalians 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.

Vestments

To add to the beauty and festivity of the services, and to signify their special ministries, the clergy and other ministers wear vestments. One 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. 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

The Episcopal Church observes the traditional Christian calendar. The season of Advent, during which we prepare for Christmas or the coming of Christ, 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 New Testament is read sequentially from Sunday to Sunday. The Old Testament lesson usually corresponds in theme with one of the New Testament readings.

Coming and Going

At Church of Our Saviour, the ushers will greet you and, if you tell them that this is your first visit to an Episcopal church, they will answer your questions about the service. Pews are usually unreserved in our church. Following the service the priest greets the people as they leave.

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