Our Liturgy comes from the 2019 Book of Common Prayer, published by the ACNA

  Music and Singing

The Scriptures exhort us to, “Sing to the Lord a new song,” and to “Let every instrument be tuned for praise.” While we love and honor timeless hymns which speak of and respond to the majesty of God, you will notice that we sing a variety of music to appeal to different tastes, experience, and temperament. If you are not comfortable singing a particular song, we invite you to just listen to the words and be encouraged by the truth others are singing. 

  The Collect

The prayer at the beginning of the service is taken from a collection of prayers that have been assembled to coincide with the church calendar. The “prayer of the day” seeks to focus the congregation together on Jesus Christ and ask the Lord to lead the congregation in worship.

  Reading Scripture

We believe that the whole Bible speaks of God’s glorious Gospel. Therefore we read portions of the Old & New Testaments in our services, including Psalms and a Gospel reading.

  The Creeds

The creeds are statements of faith written by the early Church and recited by the people during the service after the hearing of the Word. Christians recite the Creed to recommit their lives to Christ and be reminded of what they believe, lest “the daily burdens” cause us to forget! The Creeds also proclaim succinctly to those interested in becoming believers in Jesus Christ what Christians believe.  The Creeds also keep the Church accountable to the Gospel.

  The Prayers of the People

We respond to God and His Word by relating to Him in and through prayer. In prayer, we listen to the Lord, give thanks, present our petitions and requests, and pray both corporately and individually. At the Church of the Good Shepherd, we pray silently and aloud during the Prayers.

  The Confession of Sin and Absolution

This part of the service is placed after the hearing of God’s Word as an opportunity to respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are given the opportunity to individually and corporately acknowledge and repent of our sins and to confess our need for Jesus Christ. The Confession is an Anglican “altar call” (so to speak). The pastor then proclaims the Gospel: that by grace through faith in Jesus Christ complete forgiveness is offered to all who repent and trust in Christ.

  The Peace

The purpose of the Peace before communion is for members of the church to 1) remind each other of the peace of Christ given because of the Gospel, and 2) to allow members of the church who have been at odds with one another to “make peace in Christ” before they come to the communion table.  (See Matthew 5:23-24)

  The Holy Communion

Jesus Christ gave the command for his people to break bread and drink wine not only as a memorial of his death and resurrection, but as an invitation to have fellowship with Christ through faith as a church. Anglicans believe in the “real presence of Christ” not in the bread and wine themselves, but spiritually among the church gathered for Communion. Thus, taking communion is both an invitation to every individual believer to feed on Christ by faith and a corporate experience of Christ’s Presence among His people.

  Receiving Wine and Bread

All who profess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are welcomed to receive the Sacrament with us, regardless of denominational affiliation or church background. However, we do not practice “open communion” (anyone who wants to come can partake of communion regardless of what they believe). The bread is placed on an open palm and may be eaten followed by drinking from the common cup or may be “intincted” (dipped) into the common cup of wine. If  you do not wish to receive communion, you are invited to come forward and cross your arms across your chest as a sign to request a prayer and blessing or to remain seated for reflection and prayer.

 The Charge

As we end our worship we are charged to 1) Remember the Gospel 2) Go forth in peace, courage, strength and joy because of the gospel and 3) Seek to serve as Christ has served us throughout the week, living and proclaiming the gospel in thought, word, and deed to the world around us.