Why Don't People Talk in the Pews Before the Service Begins?

When Episcopalians first enter the church they customarily kneel and pray for themselves, their families, friends, and for other concerns. We pray for the priest who will lead the service. We pray that we will be ready to worship the Lord when the service begins and to hear and take to heart what God has to say to us in it.

After we have finished our own prayers, we keep silent so as not to disturb the prayers and meditations of those around us who are preparing to worship.

Please don't think that we are being unfriendly if we don't speak to you in your pew. Actually we are trying to be considerate and give you time and quiet to pray and prepare yourself for worship.

Be thoughtful, be silent, be reverent:
For this is the House of God.
Before the service speak to God.
During the service let God speak to you.
After the service speak to each other.

There are three books in the pew racks. The thin red one is the 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer (abbreviated "BCP). It is the service book for 'Holy Communion Services at 7:30 AM on Sundays. Some pew racks contain older, much smaller editions of this book in red or black.

The black volume is the current edition of The Book of Common Prayer and is used at our 10:00 AM Communion Services on Sundays.

The large red volume is the Hymnal 1982 and it is our songbook and contains the hymns we sing. It is divided into two sections. The "s" numbers refer to service music (parts of the service that can be sung) and the other, regular hymns are in the section after that.

What is a Mass?

The term is a kind of nickname for the service of Holy Communion (also known as the Holy Eucharist).

How do I use the bulletin?

Our bulletins contain an outline of the service with the page numbers in edition of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) being used [See above] and the hymn numbers in the Hymnal 1982. As an additional aid the hymns to be sung are also posted on a hymn board in the front of the church.

We recommend that before the service you open the Book of Common Prayer to the beginning of the service (usually page 67 at 7:30 AM and page 323 at 10:00 AM) and open the Hymnal to the first hymn listed in the bulletin so that you'll be ready when the service begins.

Please note the directions to sit, stand, and kneel in the bulletin.

Don't worry. If you get lost in the service, just "rise and fall with the tide" as we stand, kneel, and sit. Simply take in the service and its message. This is far better than growing frustrated with not keeping up. In a short while a page number or a hymn number will be announced and you will be right back on track.

God made the rest of our bodies along with our lips and minds. We believe that we should offer our entire selves to Him in worship. The postures of standing, kneeling, and sitting help us express our reverence for God and remind us not to hold anything of ourselves back when we give our lives to Him.

No. You don't have to do anything that makes you un-comfortable. If you're not accustomed to bowing, or making the sign of the cross, etc., don't feel that you have to (some Episcopalians don't). No one will be keeping score. If you're not comfortable kneeling, it's all right to sit during the prayers.

Is this Church Catholic?

Yes, but not Roman Catholic. We are another kind of Catholic Christians. Our Church (along with the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches) is a branch of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ founded by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost after Jesus' resurrection (Acts 2:1-11). We subscribe to the catholic (universal) faith as it is revealed in the Holy Scriptures and embodied in the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds.

In some ways the Episcopal Church is very similar to that of the Roman Catholic Church (e.g. the way we worship), in other ways we are dissimilar (e.g. we do not believe that the Pope is infallible).

We neither adopt nor reject beliefs and practices based on the Roman Church. Instead, our desire is to conform our faith and practice of Christianity with that which Jesus' apostles gave the early Christians. Sometimes that makes us very similar to the Roman Catholic Church, sometimes we are different.

The term literally means "English Catholic". It has come to mean those Episcopalians and other Anglicans whose worship, doctrine, and moral teaching is that of traditional Catholic Christians. St. Andrew's is an Anglo-Catholic parish and part of the generally Anglo-Catholic Episcopal Diocese of Ft. Worth.