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Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina
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What to Expect at an Episcopal Church

Courtesy of The Episcopal Church Archives - Visitors' Center

Sunday is traditionally when Episcopalians gather for worship. The principal weekly worship service is the Holy Eucharist, also known as: the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, or Mass. In most Episcopal churches, worship is accompanied by the singing of hymns, and in some churches, much of the service is sung.

Worship Styles

Episcopalians worship in many different styles, ranging from very formal, ancient, and multi-sensory rites with lots of singing, music, fancy clothes (called vestments), and incense, to informal services with contemporary music. Yet all worship in the Episcopal Church is based in the Book of Common Prayer, which gives worship a familiar feel, no matter where you go.

Liturgy and Ritual

Worship in the Episcopal Church is said to be “liturgical,” 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.

The Holy Eucharist

In spite of the diversity of worship styles in the Episcopal Church, 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 as many as four 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 usually sung or recited by the congregation.

Next, a 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 ever since.

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

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.

All Are Welcome

All baptized Christians—no matter age or denomination—are welcome to “receive communion.” Episcopalians invite all baptized people to receive, not because we take the Eucharist lightly, but because we take our baptism so seriously.

Visitors who are not baptized Christians are welcome to come forward during the Communion to receive a blessing from the presider.

At the end of the Eucharist, the congregation prays once more in thanksgiving, and then is dismissed to continue the life of service to God and to the World.

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Diocesan Calendar

Friday, 4/16 at 9:00 AM
Commission on the Diocese
Wednesday, 4/21 at 7:00 PM
Embracing Evangelism
Wednesday, 4/28 at 7:00 PM
Embracing Evangelism
Wednesday, 5/5 at 7:00 PM
Embracing Evangelism
Saturday, 5/8 at 12:00 AM
Still Hopes and Finlay House Day - loose offerings to these institutions
Wednesday, 5/12 at 7:00 PM
Embracing Evangelism
Monday, 5/31 at 12:00 AM
Memorial Day
Wednesday, 6/9 at 6:30 PM
Tentative: Ordination to the Diaconate

Commission on the Diocese

Friday, April 16, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Bishops Compensation Package Convention hospitality committee Centennial Committee 2020 Surplus

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Embracing Evangelism

Wednesday, April 21, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Stories are the heart of evangelism, and everybody has one. Join us as we explore the moments when we’ve experienced God’s loving presence in our lives through Embracing Evangelism, a free, six-part course led by the Rev. Alan Bentrup, Canon for Evangelism & Mission in the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina. Join us Wednesday nights from 7-8pm starting April 7. Register below to learn more and reserve your spot! Click here to register: https://www.edusc.org/blog/embracing-evangelism/ • Wednesday, April 7 - Introduction • Wednesday, April 14 - Seek, Name, Celebrate • Wednesday, April 21 - The Great Story and Your Story • Wednesday, April 28 - The Stories of Others • Wednesday, May 5 - Invite Everyone to More • Wednesday, May 12 - Go! Discernment and What's Next

Add to My Calendar

Embracing Evangelism

Wednesday, April 28, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Stories are the heart of evangelism, and everybody has one. Join us as we explore the moments when we’ve experienced God’s loving presence in our lives through Embracing Evangelism, a free, six-part course led by the Rev. Alan Bentrup, Canon for Evangelism & Mission in the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina. Join us Wednesday nights from 7-8pm starting April 7. Register below to learn more and reserve your spot! Click here to register: https://www.edusc.org/blog/embracing-evangelism/ • Wednesday, April 7 - Introduction • Wednesday, April 14 - Seek, Name, Celebrate • Wednesday, April 21 - The Great Story and Your Story • Wednesday, April 28 - The Stories of Others • Wednesday, May 5 - Invite Everyone to More • Wednesday, May 12 - Go! Discernment and What's Next

Add to My Calendar

Embracing Evangelism

Wednesday, May 5, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Stories are the heart of evangelism, and everybody has one. Join us as we explore the moments when we’ve experienced God’s loving presence in our lives through Embracing Evangelism, a free, six-part course led by the Rev. Alan Bentrup, Canon for Evangelism & Mission in the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina. Join us Wednesday nights from 7-8pm starting April 7. Register below to learn more and reserve your spot! Click here to register: https://www.edusc.org/blog/embracing-evangelism/ • Wednesday, April 7 - Introduction • Wednesday, April 14 - Seek, Name, Celebrate • Wednesday, April 21 - The Great Story and Your Story • Wednesday, April 28 - The Stories of Others • Wednesday, May 5 - Invite Everyone to More • Wednesday, May 12 - Go! Discernment and What's Next

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Still Hopes and Finlay House Day - loose offerings to these institutions

Saturday, May 8, 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM

When: Occurs the second Saturday of May effective 5/8/2010 (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada). Note: The GMT offset above does not reflect daylight saving time adjustments. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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Embracing Evangelism

Wednesday, May 12, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Stories are the heart of evangelism, and everybody has one. Join us as we explore the moments when we’ve experienced God’s loving presence in our lives through Embracing Evangelism, a free, six-part course led by the Rev. Alan Bentrup, Canon for Evangelism & Mission in the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina. Join us Wednesday nights from 7-8pm starting April 7. Register below to learn more and reserve your spot! Click here to register: https://www.edusc.org/blog/embracing-evangelism/ • Wednesday, April 7 - Introduction • Wednesday, April 14 - Seek, Name, Celebrate • Wednesday, April 21 - The Great Story and Your Story • Wednesday, April 28 - The Stories of Others • Wednesday, May 5 - Invite Everyone to More • Wednesday, May 12 - Go! Discernment and What's Next

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Memorial Day

Monday, May 31, 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM



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Tentative: Ordination to the Diaconate

Wednesday, June 9, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM



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Episcopal Diocese of
Upper South Carolina

1115 Marion Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Tel: (803) 771-7800

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