Worship Services
In partnership with Care For Friends, we are building a new Parish Center on the site of our old parish hall. During the construction we have moved some of our programming and weekly worship to Salvatore's (525 W Arlington Place).
Weekly Fall Program Schedule (Sept 8-Oct 13)
Sundays
7:45am Spoken Service with Holy Communion
(Located in Rectory Chapel, 532 W Fullerton)
9:00am Rector's Forum - a weekly discussion for adults in the parish
(Located at Salvatore's, 525 W Arlington)
9:00am Sunday School for ages 3-12 and Jr/Sr High
(Located in Rectory, 532 W Fullerton)
10:00am Holy Communion with Music Ensemble and Choir*
(Located at Salvatore's, 525 W Arlington)
*This service is also live-streamed on YouTube.
Mondays
Compline at 8:30pm every Monday night on Zoom*. Compline, also known as Night Prayer, is the final prayer liturgy of the Daily Office found in our Book of Common Prayer. This simple prayer service includes prayers for the COS community, lasts about 30 minutes, and is the perfect way to end your day. *Zoom Meeting ID: 831 1408 2513 Passcode: bEH9j9
Tuesdays
Morning Glories Bible Study at 7:30am every Tuesday in the Rectory.
Tuesday Midweek Eucharist at 6:30pm every Tuesday in the Rectory Chapel (532 W Fullerton). This simple spoken Eucharist provides a time for a mid-week spiritual anchor and grounding in prayer, Scripture, and Holy Communion. Prayers of healing will still be offered for those who desire it.
Wednesdays
Wednesday Morning Prayer at 10:00am every Wednesday in the Rectory and on Zoom*. Adapted from our Book of Common Prayer, COS’ Morning Prayer includes the Scripture and Gospel readings for the upcoming Sunday, followed by reflection and discussion, along with prayers for the community. *Zoom Meeting ID: 870 4942 8040
How We Worship
Sunday is traditionally when Episcopalians gather for worship, like at Church of Our Saviour (COS). The principal weekly worship service is the Holy Eucharist, also known as the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion, or Mass. At COS, like most Episcopal churches, worship is accompanied by the singing of liturgical music, meaning that the congregation follows service forms and prays from texts that don't change greatly from week to week during a season of the year. This sameness from week to week gives worship a rhythm that becomes comforting and familiar to the worshipers.For the first-time visitor, liturgy may be exhilarating or confusing. Services may involve standing, sitting, kneeling, sung or spoken responses, and other participatory elements that may provide a challenge for
the first-time visitor. However, liturgical worship can be compared with a dance: once you learn the steps, you come to appreciate the rhythm, and it becomes satisfying to dance, again and again, as the music changes. At COS everything you need to know to participate each Sunday can be found in the worship bulletin which is provided.
The Holy Eucharist
In spite of the diversity of worship styles in the Episcopal Church, the Holy Eucharist always has the same components and the same shape.
The Liturgy of the Word
We begin by praising God through song and prayer and then listen to readings from the Bible. Usually one from the Old Testament, a Psalm, something from the Epistles, and (always) a reading from the Gospels. The psalm is often sung or recited by the congregation.
Next, a homily or sermon interpreting the readings appointed for the day is preached.
The congregation then recites the Nicene Creed, written in the Fourth Century and the Church's statement of what we believe.
Next, the congregation prays together for the Church, the World, and those in need. We pray for the sick, thank God for all the good things in our lives, and finally, we pray for the dead. The presider (e.g. priest, bishop, lay minister) concludes with a prayer that gathers the petitions into a communal offering of intercession.
In certain seasons of the Church year, the congregation formally confesses their sins before God and one another. This is a corporate statement of what we have done and what we have left undone, followed by a pronouncement of absolution. In pronouncing absolution, the presider assures the congregation that God is always ready to forgive our sins.
The congregation then greets one another with a sign of peace.
The Liturgy of the Table (Holy Communion)
Next, the priest stands at the table, which has been set with a cup of wine and a plate of bread or wafers, raises his or her hands, and greets the congregation again, saying The Lord be With You. Now begins the Eucharistic Prayer, in which the presider tells the story of our faith, from the beginning of Creation, through the choosing of Israel to be God's people, through our continual turning away from God, and God's calling us to return. Finally, the presider tells the story of the coming of Jesus Christ, and about the night before his death, on which he instituted the Eucharistic meal (communion) as a continual remembrance of him.
The presider blesses the bread and wine, and the congregation recites the Lord's Prayer. Finally, the presider breaks the bread and offers it to the congregation, as the gifts of God for the People of God.
The congregation then shares the consecrated bread and the wine. Sometimes the people all come forward to receive the bread and wine; sometimes they pass the elements around in other ways.
In this parish family, all are invited to come forward to receive Communion or a blessing. If you wish to receive a blessing, simply fold your arms across your chest to indicate your preference.
The Final Blessing & Dismissal
At the end of the Eucharist, the congregation prays once more in thanksgiving and then is blessed and dismissed to continue the life of service to God and to the World.