St. Paul s Episcopal Church Brunswick, Maine Instructed Eucharist www.stpaulsmaine.org Find us on Facebook facebook.com/stpaulsbrunswick Follow us on Twitter @stpaulsmaine stpauls@stpaulsmaine.org (207) 725-5342 27 Pleasant St, P.O. Box 195 Brunswick, Maine 04011
Welcome in the name of Christ! An Introduction by the Rector, The Rev. Carolyn H. Eklund The Episcopal Church is noted for the beauty of its liturgy and its friendly congregations. But sometimes guests to our Church find our worship, and the various books and papers we use, a bit complicated to follow. The parish of St. Paul s, Brunswick, Maine encourages all members to assist our guests in finding the correct book and pages for worship. You might give our guest your service booklet turned to the correct page and take another for yourself. This booklet of instruction has been prepared to give our members, guests and newcomers an introduction to the Holy Eucharist, our principal service on Sunday mornings. We celebrate the Holy Eucharist other times during the week on special holy days like Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Ascension Day and weekly on Thursdays with healing at Noon in the Great Hall. Since the time of the Last Supper, Christians have gathered together each Sunday for the breaking of bread and the prayers of the Church. The Eucharist has been celebrated in every conceivable way, formally and informally, in freedom and under persecution, with two or three, or thousands upon thousands. You should join us Sunday at 8:00am if you enjoy quiet, meditative early morning worship. Or Sunday at 9:30am in the Upper Room where we encourage young families and youth to help us celebrate Christ s feast. We call this Family Worship where we praise God with our outdoor voices! Or you will find traditional worship with our St. Paul s choir and hymn-singing and chanting is Sunday at 10:30am. At St. Paul s, the Holy Eucharist is the central act of our life as a Christian community. Eucharist is from an ancient Greek word that means thanksgiving. In the Eucharist we bring our thanks to God as we receive God s gift of himself. We hear the proclamation of the Gospel, the Good News of Christ s saving love. We respond in prayer and praise, and experience the forgiveness of sins; and in obedience to the command of Jesus, we take bread and wine and share them in remembrance of him. When we eat the bread and drink the wine of the Eucharist, we are nourished and renewed by the Body and Blood of the Lord. The Eucharist is more than a glance back into history or a social gathering. It is a meeting with Christ. That is why we speak of it as a celebration. It is a celebration of God s self-giving love, and of all that God has done to demonstrate that love in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a celebration of Christ s presence with us now, and the confidence he gives us for the future. In the Eucharist we learn more of the meaning of the past as it becomes a reality for us today, and we gain new hope for the future because we already grasp something of the loving purposes of God. The liturgy of the Holy Eucharist falls into two distinct parts. The word liturgy is from a Greek word that means the work of the people. The first part, the Liturgy of the Word, has its focus in the Holy Scriptures. The Risen Lord is proclaimed and revealed as we sing, read, pray, and listen to page 2
God s Holy Word. In the second part of the Holy Eucharist, which we call the Holy Communion, Christ makes himself known in the action he instituted at the Last Supper when he took bread and wine, blessed them and gave them to his disciples. Notes for all who worship with us. 1. Please feel free to join heartily in our singing and worship. At 9:30 Family Worship, the words to the hymns are projected onto the screen. At the other services, the hymn numbers are found in the service booklet and on the wall boards. Hymns generally are found in The Hymnal 1982 (the dark blue book) and in Wonder, Love and Praise (the dark green paperback book). Sometimes, we sing a hymn from an insert placed in the service booklet. 2. At the time of announcements, please feel free to introduce yourself by completing a pew card and placing it in the alms basin (plate) at the Offertory. Please follow the crowd into the Great Hall for refreshments during Fellowship Hour after worship. 3. When it is time to come forward for communion, please come up to the altar rail at the direction of the ushers. You may choose to kneel or stand to receive the consecrated Bread and Wine; please hold out your hand to receive the bread, and use both hands to help guide the chalice of wine to your lips. You may also hold the wafer in your hand for the Eucharistic Minister to dip (intinct) it into the wine and place it on your tongue. It is not recommended that you dip (intinct) your own wafer into the chalice as this is the least hygienic way to share the Cup. If you do not choose to receive the wine, you may remain at the altar rail with arms crossed over your chest, touch the outside of the cup with hand or wafer, or you may simply leave the altar rail after receiving the bread. Guests from other churches are welcome to receive communion. All of us are reminded to approach the altar in expectation of receiving Christ in the Holy Sacrament, for forgiveness of our sins, and for strengthening our ministry in the world. 4. A note about singing. Singing is praying twice, and we sing much of our liturgy at St. Paul s Church. In the early Church, most of the service was sung, and we continue that tradition through our hymns, psalms and chants. Please feel free to join in singing; all voices, of whatever talents, are invited to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Note that the service music, the Gloria, the Sursum Corda, the Sanctus, the Fraction Anthem, and the Agnus Dei are found in the front of the 1982 Hymnal and the numbers are preceded by an S. page 3
The Service of Holy Eucharist THE WORD OF GOD (Book of Common Prayer, page 355) When you enter the Church, sit or kneel quietly for a moment and say a prayer. Speak to God in the silence, and prepare yourself to meet Christ in worship. At 10:30 a.m. Sunday Eucharist, during the Organ Prelude, continue your meditation as we are called in the music to worship. OPENING ACCLAMATION AND COLLECT FOR PURITY During most of the year, the clergy, lay assistants and choir enter the Church to the music of an opening procession hymn, giving voice to the praise of God in the ancient tradition of worship by song. The Eucharist begins with an Acclamation, a mutual, sacred greeting between the priest and the people that immediately directs the mind of the gathered assembly towards the Resurrected Lord. The Collect for Purity, an optional initial prayer which follows, is our petition to God who knows our inmost and secret thoughts and desires, to cleanse us from all things that keep our worship from being genuine and worthy. We could think of it as a washing of our hearts. It is the first of two collects generally found in the Eucharist; a collect takes its name from the fact that it collects our various concerns into a single prayers. THE KYRIE, TRISAGION OR SONG OF PRAISE The Gloria in Excelsis which follows most Sundays is a Latin hymn of great antiquity that gives praise to God and acknowledges that it is only through Jesus Christ that his people can truly find God. The Gloria in Excelsis is not sung during the preparatory season of Advent and the penitential season of Lent, and may be omitted or replaced by other hymns of praise during other parts of the year. During Advent and Lent, the Kyrie eleison, (Lord, have mercy) or the Trisagion (Holy God), two ancient Greek songs, are often sung. On days when they are to be sung, please refer to the service leaflet for the correct page in the Hymnal. Following this hymn, the Collect of the Day, which expresses the general worship theme for the day, is read. COLLECT AND READINGS The Collect is generally followed by an Old Testament Reading. The Psalm, either said or sung after the first reading, takes us back to the earliest days of Christian worship, when the Psalms were the only hymns available to the Church. After the Psalm, a selection from the New Testament is read. Generally, these readings are from the epistles, or letters, written in the first years after Christ s Ascension. GOSPEL READING After a hymn, the Holy Gospel is read. The Holy Gospel is the Good News of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ, and the gospel lesson is taken from one of the New Testament records of the life and teachings of our Lord. Because these lessons contain the great revelation of God s love for us, and the source of our salvation, we stand and face the book from which they are read, and by page 4
means of special responses, we honor the Living Word of God. The Gospel is the last reading in this first section of the liturgy because, in sacred order, the last is most important. We also give honor through a liturgical procession to the midst of the congregation, a symbolic proclamation that Jesus Christ, the true word of God, has come among his people. The Gospel is read generally by one of our deacons and is not primarily for instruction, but in a sacramental manner, points to the Lord himself, so that we may hear Christ speak to us in authoritative words and teachings about him. To honor this sacramental reading, we stand. As an act of pious devotion, many people trace a small cross on their forehead, lips and heart at the announcement of the Gospel. As they do, they pray that the Lord will write these words and keep them in their minds, on their lips, and in their hearts. SERMON After the Gospel is read, and in continuance of the special honor afforded the Gospel, a fanfare is sometimes played on the organ. Normally, the Sermon then follows. The Sermon is generally an exposition of the scripture readings we have just heard, or an application of their teachings to our present day lives and culture. The Sermon is preached to elicit a response: conversion, repentance, or enhancement or amendment of life. As such, it is not meant to be a learned discourse, or a popularization of common views and attitudes. The Sermon is preached to encourage our growth in the Lord and a change in anything that keeps us from rightly loving ourselves, our neighbors, and our God. As a sign that what he or she is about to say is preached in authority, and with the full knowledge that the preacher must answer for what is said to Almighty God, the preacher often begins the sermon with such words as In the name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, One God. Amen. In the Episcopal Church, only ordained priests, deacons and bishops are allowed to preach without special permission. Certain lay people may be specially licensed by the Bishop to preach under certain circumstances. Under the canons of the Episcopal Church, the Rector has the authority and responsibility to oversee all teaching, preaching and instruction to the parish, and, in this capacity, may, on occasion, invite others to preach. Sometimes, such preaching is termed an address, or other such word to distinguish it from that of the ordinary ministers of preaching. Christians are not required to agree with everything that is preached under the authority of the Church and the Rector, but we are all called to give such preaching our utmost attention and consideration. So, if something is preached with which you disagree or about which you are confused, you should first examine what causes you to disagree with the weight of the evidence of the preacher. Speak to the preacher and ask for clarification or further instruction. Sermons are meant to challenge us; if everything that we heard left us unmoved, or unchallenged, or too comfortable in our present life, we have probably either heard a poor sermon or have not been truly listening. The sermon calls for a response, and one of the responses of the entire community is our proclamation of faith through the words of the Nicene Creed. This creed, which we share with all other catholic Christians, presents the fundamental truths of our religion, and is said on Sundays and other major feasts. page 5
The other great creed, the Apostles Creed, is the ancient creed of Baptism, and is used in the Church s daily worship to recall our baptismal covenant. In both, we affirm, as the gathered people of God, our allegiance to the historic faith of Christendom. PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE In the Prayers of the People, we voice before God our concerns for the whole of creation, the whole state of Christ s church and the world, and we ask God to accept and complete our intercessions. The Prayers of the People can be read from the midst of the congregation or at the lectern as a symbol of their coming from the whole of the gathered assembly. Some congregations use one of the six forms of the Prayers of the People found in the Prayer Book, pages 383-393. At St. Paul s our deacons write new prayers each week that are appropriate for the season or the day. CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Following these prayers, the Deacon or Celebrant calls us to express our penitence in the Confession. The Confession may be said standing or kneeling. In this act, we confront our individual and corporate sins. Our sorrow for our own sins and for the sins of society must be brought to the altar in order to make our offering of ourselves complete. The unworthiness of that offering, measured by God s standards of truth and righteousness, is brought painfully home to us, but we are assured, though the authority of the priest in the Absolution, of God s abundant goodwill and forgiveness. BIRTHDAY AND ANNIVERSARY PRAYERS Any special prayers, for example, to bless a birthday or an anniversary, or for the commissioning of ministers for our work together will take place just before the Peace. PEACE The Peace is a ceremony inherited from the early Church, a greeting expressing the love and unity of God s people in God s peace. It was the first greeting of the Risen Lord to his disciples and is the common salutation of St. Paul in his letters to the churches. The Peace is appropriate after the Absolution, because peace with God reconciles us with our neighbors; it is only in the context of restored relationships that one can go on to offer the gifts for the Eucharist. page 6
THE HOLY COMMUNION EUCHARISTIC PRAYERS The Offertory is the beginning of the Holy Communion proper. At the Offertory, the altar is prepared by the Deacon or Celebrant. Members of the congregation called Oblations Bearers bring up the gifts to the altar. These are the gifts we bring in sacrifice and thanksgiving to God. If we were living in the days of the early Church, we would each bring, not only money, but other fruits of our labor, including bread and wine. Today, we continue that symbolism; our financial offerings, pledges or electronic giving cards are being gathered in the Offering plate (alms basin), and as a hymn or anthem is offered to the glory of God by the choir or congregation, the bread and wine for the Eucharist are brought from the back of the Church. This symbolizes them as gifts from the whole congregation. The priest will offer all these gifts upon the altar, our money and our bread and wine, and symbolically, ourselves. Before continuing, the priest washes her hands and each of us is reminded by this act that we too must come with clean hands and pure hearts to participate in these holy mysteries. SURSUM CORDA The Sursum Corda, or Lift up your Hearts is an ancient hymn to introduce the beginning of the Eucharist. It is followed by the Sanctus, the Holy, Holy, Holy. (Our children use their outdoor voices to shout this one, so don t be surprised!) The Sursum Corda and Sanctus mark the beginning of the most solemn part of the Holy Eucharist, the Great Thanksgiving. We have now concluded our acts of preparation and offering; the Canon of the Eucharist which follows centers on the words of Christ himself when he instituted the Sacrament of His Body and Blood at the Last Supper, but also our Lord s Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension. We pray that our offerings may be united with the offering of himself that Jesus Christ made, and that our offering may be acceptable through his. And we believe, through faith in our Lord s promise to his people, that he is made sacramentally present through this offering. THE EUCHARISTIC PRAYERS There are eight Eucharistic Prayers for use in our 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Our tradition at St. Paul s Church has been to alternate the Eucharistic Prayers from Rite II in the Book of Common Prayer with Eucharistic Prayers from Enriching our Worship, a more contemporary prayer approved by the General Convention. The Eucharistic Prayers vary from season to season. In the spirit of updating language for modern day worship, and in the spirit of Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer who was the first person to put together the prayer book in the vernacular in 1549 in England, the Episcopal Church is constantly evaluating new language and forms for Eucharistic Prayers. The three goals of the more contemporary prayers are to increase lay response and involvement in worship, to promote ecumenism by using parts of ancient Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant prayers and to modernize the language. It is appropriate for the congregation to stay standing after the Sanctus in the ancient orans position of prayer that symbolizes thanksgiving. page 7
There are several parts to the Eucharistic prayers: The anamnesis Named for the Greek word meaning memorial, commemoration, remembrance. The Words of Institution the words Jesus gave us and include the four parts of the Eucharist: to Take, Bless, Break and Give. They begin with, On the night before he died The epiclesis for the Greek word for invocation, calling on the Holy Spirit to consecrate the bread and the wine. There is another epiclesis when we call on the Holy Spirit to sanctify us. THE GREAT AMEN The entire action of the prayer of consecration is concluded by a great AMEN sung or said by all the people (using outdoor voices! ). As we then pray the Lord s Prayer, we are reminded that it is only through Christ s sacrifice that we can call God Our Father. THE FRACTION At the conclusion of the Lord s Prayer, the priest breaks the consecrated bread, a once utilitarian action that has become symbolic of our Lord s Body broken for us. The mystery here is that in sharing the broken body of the Lord, we are brought to unity in Christ. CHRIST OUR PASSOVER OR AGNUS DEI In the short acclamation, Christ our Passover, we link our Eucharistic offering to its ancient Hebrew precedent: As the slain Passover lamb was the symbol of God s deliverance for the Jewish people from their slavery in Egypt, so is the crucified and risen Christ our assurance of God s deliverance of us from the bondage of sin and death. Agnus Dei means Lamb of God. At the Celebrant s invitation, The Gifts of God for the People of God, all those who are in love and charity with one another, and who have repented of their sins and intend to live a new life following God s will, are invited to communion. Acknowledgment of the real presence of Christ in the Holy Sacrament causes us to approach the altar with reverence and awe and joy; some people genuflect ( bend the knee ), or bow toward the altar in silent recognition of Christ s presence. As we stand or kneel at the altar and receive the consecrated bread and wine, we share in the Body and Blood of Christ, and are united through him. This moment is at once the most personal and the most corporate, as each of us individually partakes by Faith in the Body and Blood of Christ that we can only know as one people. Jesus said to us, I am the living bread which came down from heaven. Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. If anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. POST COMMUNION PRAYER The Post Communion Prayer sums up all that has been done, and speaks our thanks for the Holy Food with which we have been fed. It calls on us to rejoice in the mighty acts of God which have been recalled in the action now completed, and to go forth to live as we have prayed. The Holy Eucharist ends with a Blessing, a final hymn and Dismissal, to send us out into the world to be God s people, now instructed, forgiven, fed and empowered to be God s ministers in the reconciliation of the world to God. page 8
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