Our Worship

a description of the worship of All Saints

Our Sunday Worship

What unites Anglicans more than anything else is their common worship. At All Saints, our Sunday worship is a gathering of broken people intent on ascribing worth to God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Guided by our liturgy and common prayer, we journey together through the hearing of God's Word to the culminating act of the Eucharist (Communion) when Christ reveals himself to us in the breaking of bread. To learn more about liturgical worship, see "What Is Liturgy?" below.

New to Anglican Worship?

If you're new to Anglican worship, you can expect to hear Scripture read and preached, to be guided in prayer, and to receive Communion if you desire. At times, you will see some people making certain gestures like the sign of the cross, bowing, or kneeling during prayer. Keep in mind that there is no expectation for you to mimic these actions unless you find them meaningful. Overall, our hope is that, as you take a closer look, you would discover deep significance behind the symbols and ritual; as you listen more attentively, you would hear an unexpected richness in the prayers; and as you fully engage in worship, you would encounter the living God. To learn more about the meaning behind our worship, see the bulletin from one of our recent Instructed Eucharists.

What Is Liturgy?

Liturgy means "the work of the people," reminding us that worship is not the performance of a few but the participation of the many. Liturgy refers to those elements throughout the service that involve the people. In one sense, every church does liturgy. What distinguishes Anglican worship from that of other Christian traditions is its use of a historically-tested liturgy, one which has been passed down through the centuries and has been translated into the language of the people. We believe that Anglican liturgy...

  • provides a structure that becomes meaningful and familiar so that people can focus on God without wondering about what's coming next, or about whether or not something said is theologically sound. 
  • acts as a catalyst for unified participation in worship, so that everyone together keeps Christ at the center of worship, and is then sent forth refreshed.
  • assists us when worship is difficult due to weariness of spirit. It is, in effect, a life-giving stream that can lift one to the throne of God even when not "feeling it."
  • provides balance by reflecting a full expression of generations of faithful Christians rather than one person's feelings at any particular moment.