Anglo-Catholic Worship
As our mission statement reads, we worship God, welcome the seeker, sustain the faithful, and serve those in need. We may be High Church, but we are not highbrow. Grounded in Holy Scripture, we are reminded after each service to go forth in the world to love and serve others. We welcome people as they are, regardless of what they wear or how they found us. Although many of us are lifelong Episcopalians, our parish also includes many other Christians whose spiritual journeys have brought them to us, especially as they sought a more inclusive and affirming congregation.
Our orientation toward the community is inseparable from our deep belief that devotion to the Real Presence on the Altar leads us to devotion to the Real Presence in our neighbor. Celebration of the Holy Eucharist centers our worship. On Sundays at 8:00 am, Rite I is spoken, using early traditional language. Rite II, offered at 10:30 am, includes choral music and incense and includes children. Those who gather for Wednesday morning Eucharist at 7:00 am generally breakfast together. On the second Sunday of the months between September and May, we offer a very participatory family service, during which our multigenerational congregants share stories, music, and an appropriate Eucharist. In the past six months, lay members have initiated a Centering Prayer group that meets on Thursday afternoons. Through silent prayer and discussion of various texts on meditation, they deepen their prayer practice in community and consider from a spiritual perspective challenging issues both personal and global. We are faithful to the Book of Common Prayer and invite the beauty of ritual into our worship. Our services appeal to the senses through chanting, bells, and choral music; incense; and beautiful artwork and vibrant vestments. Indeed, worship at Trinity has been described as “smells, bells, and sneakers (with vestments).”
