What to expect on a visit to Trinity?

Welcome

We extend a warm welcome to you to worship with us. This page is an introduction to our church and some of its ways. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us.

You will not be embarrassed

When you visit Trinity, you will be our respected and welcomed guest. You will not be singled out as a visitor, nor asked to stand or to come forward. You are invited to Worship God with us. If you wish to know more about the Episcopal Church or Trinity, we will be happy to answer any of your questions.

Worship Services

Sunday is traditionally when Episcopalians gather for worship, and Trinity offers four worship services on Sundays during the school year (three services in the summer), where parishioners and guests gather for worship, teaching, and Communion. We also have a service on Wednesday at 7:00am and Thursday at 10:00am. The heart of our worship service is the Holy Eucharist, also known as: the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, or Mass. Like many Episcopal churches, much of our worship is accompanied by the singing of hymns.

The Book of Common Prayer and the Hymnal are found in each pew.

Worship Styles

Our four Sunday services each has a unique style: quiet and contemplative, with no music (7:45am), lively and contemporary, including use of multi-media and modern praise music (9:00am), traditional, with choir and organ music (10:30am), and our simpler, shorter chapel service, with music led by piano or guitar (5:00pm). Clergy at Trinity traditionally wear vestments, and our service is based on the Book of Common Prayer.

When You Arrive

Park in the parking lot, and then you may enter into the service in one of two different ways.

The red doors on the right side lead directly into the sanctuary.

To go directly into the sanctuary, enter the double red doors on the right of the front of the church, which faces Church Street.

The doors directly off the parking lot will lead you to the Narthex.

To enter through the foyer, you may go in the glass doors facing the the parking lot, which will bring you into the Narthex (a hall between the sanctuary, chapel, parish hall and office and classroom space).

In the Narthex, you'll find information about ministries, upcoming events and more. You can also hang your coat on the coat rack there.

There are coat racks in the Narthex for your convenience. You will also find a guest book there — please sign to let us know you visited! In the Narthex, you will see bulletin boards with information about our various ministries. Sign-ups for upcoming events are located in the Narthex as well. It can be a busy place!

Please sign our guest book in the Narthex!

The weekly Bulletin will help guide you through the service.

Upon entering the sanctuary for worship, an usher will hand you a Bulletin, which includes everything you will need to know for the service: prayers, hymn numbers, readings, etc. You may sit in any available seat — be sure to ask an usher to help you if you are unsure where to sit. You will not be asked to stand or identify yourself as a visitor while you are our guest.

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. Following along in the bulletin during the service will make it easier for you to understand the service.

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 Scripture Passages are usually read from the Eagle Lectern in the front.

The Liturgy of the Word

We begin by praising God through song and prayer, and then listen to up to 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, when used, is usually sung or recited by the choir and 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.

After the prayers and petitions, the congregation confesses their sins before God through a few moments of silent confession and a congregational prayer. This is a corporate statement of what we have done and what we have left undone, followed by a pronouncement of absolution by the clergy. 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, a time of handshaking and other greetings, where people sometimes say to each other “Peace be with you!” responded with “And also with you.” The congregation is just as likely to say simply “Hello!” or even “Peace.”

Following the Peace, in some services, the congregation is invited to give an offering for the Lord’s work.

The Liturgy of the Table

The Table is set for the 9:00am Service.

Next, the priest stands at the altar, which has been set with a cup of wine and a plate of bread or wafers, raises his 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 comes forward to partake of the consecrated bread and the wine. All baptized and believing Christians are invited to take Communion at Trinity, regardless of denomination. Episcopalians invite all baptized people to receive, not because we take the Eucharist lightly, but because we take our baptismso seriously.

The Altar Guild has set the Table for the 10:30am service.

Visitors who are not baptized Christians, or who do not wish to take Communion are welcome to come forward during the Communion to receive a blessing.

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.

Coffee Hour is a great time to reconnect each week.

Coffee Hour

Our Sunday morning services are followed by “Coffee Hour,” where worshippers can enjoy coffee, tea or a cold drink and some goodies, and get to know each other.

We hope this has answered many of your questions about what to expect before you visit our church. If you have any additional questions, please contact us and we will be glad to help you.

We hope to see you soon!