Visiting On Sunday.

A Traditional 1928 Prayer Book Parish.

If you’ve ever worshipped in a liturgical church, either Roman or Lutheran, a Sunday morning at St. Benedict’s will feel familiar. Our main Sunday morning worship service is the Holy Eucharist, also called the Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, the Divine Liturgy, or the Mass. The words in our worship services are found written in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, which is our guide for liturgical worship. The word “liturgy” comes from a Greek word meaning “a work of the people,” so you can expect to be involved!

We Look Forward to Meeting You!

  • When you arrive, you will see a “WELCOME” sign at the main entrance. People typically arrive after 8:30am to greet each other and prepare for the 9am Eucharist. If you’re attending the 11:15am service, we invite you to first attend Coffee and Catechesis (Christian formation for all ages) at 10:15am, then stay to worship. Coffee is available in the Fellowship Hall before the Liturgy. We kindly request that everyone arrive in the sanctuary at least 5 minutes prior to the start of the service. Attire is flexible, and most people dress in business casual attire.

  • The Order for Holy Communion according to the 1928 Book of Common Prayer is offered at both Sunday Services and lasts about an hour. For ease of use, we provide a Holy Communion Visitors Guide containing the entire service in a printed booklet. We encourage people to sit to listen and to pray, and stand to sing hymns from the Book of Common Praise Hymnal. The sermon typically lasts about 15 minutes. The language and Liturgy are traditional and keenly focused on the Triune God. Nevertheless, we regularly receive feedback that our Liturgy is both reverent, beautiful, and accessible to newcomers.

  • We invite all baptized Christians to partake of the Eucharist. Simply receive the host in your hands (or directly on the tongue) and guide the chalice to your lips..

    We also offer Holy Communion by intinction (meaning we dip the consecrated bread in the consecrated wine and place it on the communicant’s tongue).

    A person may also receive in one kind (meaning just the consecrated bread, received in the communicant’s palm).

    People refraining from receiving Holy Communion, either because they are not yet baptized or for conscience’s sake, can still come forward and receive a blessing.

  • Children are a blessing, and we welcome them in the Liturgy as Christ welcomed them into His arms. We are committed to training the children that God has entrusted to our church and passing down the Faith that we have received.

    For this reason, we encourage parents to have their children in the Liturgy, to train them up in the worship of God.

    A staffed nursery is available for nursing mothers and children up to age 3.

When you visit you will be respected as our guest. As you enter the church, you will immediately notice an atmosphere of reverence and quiet. Many people kneel for a few moments of silent prayer to prepare the heart, mind, and will for worship. Generally, we stand to sing, sit to listen, and kneel to pray. And, you will notice some who cross themselves and bow at various times of service, thereby engaging the whole person in the act of worshipping God. Don’t let the books, gestures, and corporate prayers… things which may seem different or strange at first… make you uncomfortable! Simply enter into the presence of God and worship. Like any good habit, becoming comfortable in liturgical worship takes time, patience, and intention.

The Holy Communion service is comprised of two main parts. The first is the Liturgy of the Word, which is centered around the reading and preaching of God’s Word. The second part is centered around the altar and the partaking of the most blessed body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Visitors who are baptized Christians are warmly invited to come forward to receive the bread and the cup. We hope you will visit St. Benedict’s as our guest to worship God in the beauty of holiness!