Emmanuel Church

What are services like?
"Worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness" is a phrase that is close to our hearts. Our services are set forth in The Book of Common Prayer, which is used in The Episcopal Church USA and throughout the Anglican Communion, the worldwide family of churches to which we belong, all with roots and continuing connection to the Church of England. Our normal Sunday service is called The Holy Eucharist, which the Prayer Book describes as, "The Liturgy for the Proclamation of the Word of God and the Celebration of the Holy Communion." The word Eucharist means thanksgiving, so worship in our church is focused on giving thanks to God for the many blessings of life, especially the blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our musical style is mostly traditional. We have a choir who vests in cassock and surplice. They lead us as we sing the great hymns of the church, accompanied primarily by our 36 rank pipe organ, but sometimes by the piano, and sometimes by other instruments like string or brass ensembles. You will also hear chanted psalms and prayers during the service. Here is an outline of a typical Sunday service at Emmanuel: *Organ Prelude *Entrance Hymn *Greeting in the Lord's Name *Hymn of Praise *Collect of the Day (A prayer the collects the theme of the Scripture readings) *Old Testament Reading *Sung Psalm *New Testament Epistle Reading *Gospel Reading *Sermon (our sermons are not too long, and they help us connect the readings to faithful daily living) *The Nicene Creed (a statement of faith that goes back to the 4th century) *Prayers of the People (we pray for the church, the world, our government leaders, the sick and suffering, and for our own needs) *Confession of Sin (we ask God's forgiveness and hear words of absolution) *The Peace *The Offertory (we offer our gifts to the Lord, and the choir usually sings a beautiful anthem) *Holy Communion *Blessing *Closing Hymn *Dismissal (Go in peace to love and serve the Lord) *Organ Postlude

What is the community like?
We are an intergenerational, cooperative, and creative community of faith that worships, prays, works, and plays together.

What if I'm not a Christian?
You will find that we respect your journey. Emmanuel is a place where you can ask questions, and we hope you'll find the answers you seek.