In total, a Christ Church service is about  60 minutes in length. Services at Christ Church follow an ancient yet applicable liturgy or form of worship. We begin with opening music and prayers before hearing four passages of scripture read, and a member of our team will open one of those texts in a sermon that lasts about 10 minutes. The focus of worship at Christ Church is Holy Communion, sometimes called the Lord’s Supper or the Mass.
Any baptized person can come to the rail and receive communion. The appropriate age of a child taking communion is left up to the parents’ discretion (If you haven’t yet been baptized, you can come to the rail and kneel, cross your arms over your chest, and receive a prayer of blessing.) Talk with us about scheduling Baptism for you or your child.
Communion holds a deep and varied meaning for us in the Episcopal Church. It contains the mystery of what Christ did when he died on the cross for the sins of the world.
Bread of Heaven, Body of Christ
Hold out your hands cupped together like a bowl. A clergy person will come by first and give you bread that is the body of Christ. You can eat it right away or you can wait to dip it in the wine and then take it.
Blood of Christ, Cup of our Salvation
Then a person will come by with the Chalice. This is a little intimidating if you aren’t used to it, but very beautiful. You can gently hold the cup, and with the server, guide it up to your lips and take a small sip of the wine. Or if you held onto the bread, you may dip it into the wine and then eat it. Many who were raised in the Roman Catholic tradition choose to hand the wafer to the cup-bearer, and he or she will dip it in the wine and gently place it on your tongue.