SERVICES
SUNDAY AT 8:00 AM (2nd & 3rd Sundays)
SUNDAY AT 10:30 AM (every Sunday) 
WEDNESDAY AT 6:00 PM (in Chapel)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a traditional church plan. You might notice that our church looks slightly different from this – we have side aisles as well as a main aisle, for one thing, and the area behind the altar (the apse) serves as our sacristy, but the basic plan is the same. 

 

Note the way we refer to the two sides of the church: Gospel side and Epistle side. The best way to remember it is, the Gospel side is the side where we place the Gospel on the altar! If you look at the compass at the top left, you will see that it’s oriented with the church “pointing” east, because that is the traditional way that churches were constructed – facing east, symbolically awaiting the coming of our Lord. So today, even a church that doesn’t face east (like ours) is still treated like it does, with the transept to the left of the altar called the “north transept” and the one to the right of the altar called the “south transept,” just as if the altar were actually facing east. 

 

Important Vocabulary To Know:

Altar-rail = where the congregation kneels to receive communion

Altar-gate = the opening in the altar-rail that allows the altar party to access the altar stairs

Altar stairs = stairs leading up to the altar

Credence table = this is the small table on the Gospel side of the sanctuary that holds the implements for Holy Communion. It serves as a sport of “preparation table” for the altar.

Dais = the single platform that the altar rests on

Nave = the main part of the church, where the congregation sits

Narthex = the vestibule/entryway of the church

Sanctuary = the area surrounding the altar

Screen wall = this is the area behind the altar, in the passageway that leads to the sacristy.

Tabernacle = this is directly beneath the cross, and holds the reserved sacrament. It is the holiest place in the church, because the presence of Jesus rests there. When we bow toward the altar, we are actually bowing to the tabernacle. (That’s why on Good Friday, we don’t bow to the altar – there is an empty tabernacle behind it.)

Transept = the cross-section of the church

 

General Rules

When you are vested and serving at the altar, always move in an unhurried, deliberate, and dignified manner. Did you just mess something up? I promise you no one will know if you just move slowly and with dignity. 

 

If you approach the altar, always bow to the altar.  The exception is if you are holding something holy – a cross, the Gospel book, or a chalice.

 

Do not approach the altar from the front, unless you are the Gospel bearer. Always approach the altar from the sides.

 

Reflect the posture of the priest. If the priest is standing, you should stand. If the priest is sitting, you should sit. 

 

Liturgical Customary for Eucharistic Ministers

 

1. Preparation

Vest in black cassock with white cotta (in vesting room on second floor of the Parish House).

 

If you are the Intercessor, pick up your copy of the prayers in the sacristy. Check with the priest to see if there are any last-minute additions. You will have received a copy of the prayers by email earlier that week, but it is crucial that you use the printed copy from the sacristy, since it will reflect the most recent changes. After you have read through the prayers and familiarized yourself with them, place them on the lectern, tucking them under the book (or just inside it) in a way that will be easy for you to retrieve.

 

Once you are vested, if you need to enter the chancel and sacristy, the usual custom is to use the side aisles, so that the main aisle is reserved for the procession. 

 

Be vested and ready to go in the narthex by 10:15.

 

    2. Procession

The order of procession on an ordinary Sunday will be:

 

Crucifer (bearing the cross)

 

Eucharistic Ministers (processing side by side)

 

Acolyte (bearing the Gospel book)

 

Priest

 

The EM/Intercessor is on the left when facing the altar, and the EM/Chalicist is on the right, facing the altar.  When you process, walk at a stately and unhurried pace. A good rule of thumb is to wait until the person ahead of you has made it past the baptismal font before you start processing. 

 

At the altar gate, pause with your partner and bow to the altar. Then split and go up the stairs to your pew. Once you are in the sanctuary, take your place at the pew. You will be on the end of the pew nearest to the congregation. Do NOT sit, but remain standing. 

 

     3. Actions During Liturgy

Basically the rule is that you should reflect the posture of the priest. If the priest is sitting to listen to the lessons, you sit too; if the priest stands, you stand too. What is most important at the altar is that whether we stand, kneel or sit, we do so with dignity and reverence.

 

If you are the Intercessor, move to the lectern to read the prayers after the Creed. When the prayers are finished, leave the printed prayers there (tucking them back inside the book or in another place where they won’t fall out) and move back from the lectern. Do not hold onto the prayers; you don’t want to have any papers in your hands when you are at the altar. You may return to your pew and resume a prayerful posture.

 

     4. Offertory

When the congregation rises for the Presentation hymn, all servers should stand as well. (The acolyte on the Gospel side will have stood up already at the Offertory hymn to assist in setting the table.) In the past, a Eucharistic Minister has received the oblation of bread and wine, but that is now the job of Acolyte I.

 

     5. Holy Communion

You will stand throughout the Eucharistic prayers. You remain standing to receive the Body and Blood. After communing you, the priest will hand you the chalice and a purificator. You will hold the purificator in your dominant hand so that it is easy for you to grab it when you need it. 

 

Descend the altar stairs after the priest does, on your assigned side. This will be your side for administering the chalice. Wait at the bottom of the stairs until the priest has begun to administer the Bread on your side. When the priest has administered the Bread, follow behind to offer the chalice. Begin offering the chalice when the priest is on the third person from the altar gate, so that there is plenty of room between the two of you.

 

As you administer the chalice to each communicant, you will say, “The Blood of Christ, the Cup of Salvation.” 

 

When offering the chalice, keep one hand on the base of the chalice and use the other to tilt and steady it. The communicant should use a hand to guide it to their lips, but sometimes people don’t, or they don’t know what to do, so be prepared to take more control if need be. Do not ever let someone take the chalice entirely from you, and do not relinquish the chalice. 

 

If the communicant drinks from the chalice, use the purificator to wipe the part of the chalice that their mouth has touched. If they prefer to intinct, hold the chalice low enough so that they can see inside it to dip the Bread. 

 

When everyone has been communed, follow the priest up the altar steps, keeping to the side. Do not bow to the altar or reverence it! The reason for that is that you are holding the chalice, and the rule of thumb is that if you are holding something holy – the cross, or the Gospel, or a chalice – you do not bow. Especially in the case of the chalice, which contains Christ himself! 

 

Both chalices should be returned to the credence table. If you are on the pulpit side, do not cross in front of the altar to return the chalice, but go behind through the sacristy passageway.

 

If you are able, you should drain your chalice, but if there is too much to be finished, simply drape the purificator reverently atop the chalice and return to your pew. 

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     6. Recession

After the final prayers and as the last hymn has begun, the altar party begins to process out. The order is the same as our order coming in, with one exception – Acolyte II remains in the sanctuary in order to extinguish the candles.:

 

Acolyte I (bearing the cross)

 

Eucharistic Ministers (processing side by side)

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Priest

 

As the organist starts to play the last hymn begins, the crucifer goes to fetch the cross. They will then wait at the altar gate for the first verse of the hymn to finish. After the first verse, the crucifer will turn around and begin to process down the aisle. As soon as the crucifer turns, the EMs will come to the front of the altar together, turn and bow together at the altar gate, then turn to follow the crucifer to the back of the nave.