Worship

As an Anglo-Catholic parish of the Episcopal Church, St. Mary’s has a long tradition of beautiful, profound worship. Our liturgies – the collective term for our worship services - come from the Episcopal Church’s Book of Common Prayer and are carried out with dignity and grace. Our worship is filled with silence, chant, incense, and beautiful music as well as progressive and current preaching. Our primary service is the Holy Eucharist, which is also called the Lord’s Supper or the Mass.

Holy Eucharist is the ceremonial meal that Christians from all times and places have celebrated in order to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus. In this service we listen to the Word of God as presented in Holy Scripture and are fed with the Body and Blood of Jesus in the forms of bread and wine. The Eucharist strengthens us to go forth and live our lives in service to the world. All Baptized Christians of any age or denomination are welcome to receive communion at St. Mary’s.

While Sunday morning is the primary time in which we worship together, St. Mary’s also celebrates special events and feasts with liturgies throughout the week. Evensong, a very traditional early evening liturgy primarily sung by the choir is held several times a year. In the Autumn, we commemorate St. Francis of Assisi with our annual Blessing of Animals service in which parishioners and visitors alike bring their pets to St. Mary’s for a special blessing. During the Advent season we hold a candlelit Festival of Lessons & Carols. The Liturgies of Holy Week (the week preceding Easter) are of particular importance and are very lovely and moving. See our calendar of events for dates and times of special liturgies.

The St. George Choristers

Named for the chapel in the sanctuary, the St. George Choristers are a vocal group under the direction of Choirmaster Nelson McGee. Blending classical technique with spiritual inspiration, the Choristers lead our music at sung worship services. They also perform on special occasions throughout the year. New singers are always welcome. For more information, contact Nelson McGee.

Altar Guild

Members of the Altar Guild have special roles to serve in our historic church and traditional liturgy. They prepare us for worship and care for vestments, silver, linens and other furnishings. Commitment is generally one Sunday per month, about 45 minutes before the service and 20 minutes after. In addition, members participate in parish clean-up days in the spring and fall. We welcome both men and women to the altar guild and train all new members.