Worship

Sunday Worship

Calvary has three worship services every Sunday morning, each with its own features. All are services of Holy Eucharist, also known as "Holy Communion", "Lord's Supper", or "Mass".

7:45am Service

The 7:45 service is a quiet, low-key service. There is music only on a few special Sundays. People who attend this service include young couples without children, older couples whose children are grown, a few families with their first young child, grandchildren from time to time, singles, visitors and newcomers to the area. Most members of this congregation join in the coffee fellowship that follows the service.

9:00am Service

The 9:00 service is oriented toward the presence of children, and has a lively pace. Children and young people regularly participate in the service by reading the lessons and psalms, bringing the offering forward, and singing. Features of this service include frequent sermons for children, simpler hymns and contemporary music chosen for easy participation by worshippers of all ages. Staffed nursery care is provided for infants and young children; preschoolers typically attend "Children's Church" during the first part of the service, and then join their parents in church. During the second part of the service, we welcome and encourage all people, adults and children to come forward to our altar for Communion or a blessing.

11:00am Service

The 11:00 service is a more traditional service with hymns led by the Adult Choir. On most Sundays an anthem is sung to include a worship experience with a period of musical spiritual reflection. The pace of the service is a little slower and the atmosphere a little more formal, and on special occasions this service may include incense and bells. A good number of families and singles prefer the tone of this service, and some families also find that attending Christian Education at 10:00 and then worshipping at 11:00 fits their schedule best. There are always children present. Adults, adolescents, and older children participate as acolytes, readers, and ushers. Staffed nursery care is provided for younger children during the 11:00 service as well.

Special Services

In addition to regular Sunday worship, there are number of special services at Calvary throughout the year.

On a Sunday between Christmas and Epiphany, Calvary’s children present a pageant that tells the story of Jesus’ birth. Familiar Christmas carols are interspersed with scenes from the journey to Bethlehem, the stable with the animals gathered around, the visit of the shepherds and of the Magi.

At the Ash Wednesday service, worshipper’s foreheads are marked with ashes (made from the previous year’s palm crosses) to signify the beginning of the penitential season of Lent. During Lent, we decorate the altar with ferns and greenery, but no flowers, we sing different, quieter versions of the service music, and we omit the word "alleluia" from the service. Church members write their Lenten intentions (acts of self-denial or spiritual nurture) on slips of paper and place them in a basket on the altar.

The Palm Sunday service begins with a special liturgy out in the church yard, after which the congregation processes into the church carrying palm branches to symbolize Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Later in the service, the mood turns solemn as members of the congregation re-enact the Passion and Crucifixion of our Lord, and the chilling cry of "Crucify him! Crucify him!" reminds us all of what is to come.

On Maundy Thursday, we celebrate Jesus’ institution of the sacrament of Holy Communion and remember his calling us to the service of others, exemplified by his washing the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper. At the end of the service, in a very moving and symbolic ceremony, the church is stripped of candles, flowers, decorative hangings, Eucharistic vessels and crosses. Even the large cross over the altar is covered with a veil. The bare church prepares us for the solemnity and sadness of Good Friday. In the parish hall, a vigil area is set up where church members take turns watching with Christ throughout the night. A large labyrinth, painted on canvas by the young people of Calvary, is spread out on the floor; many people walk the labyrinth while they pray or meditate during the night, as Christians have done for centuries.

The Easter Vigil is one of the most ancient ceremonies in Christianity. In the early Church, people wishing to become Christians were baptized and confirmed in a service that began at sundown on the night before Easter and lasted all night, concluding with Holy Communion at sunrise on Easter morning. At Calvary, this tradition is continued. We begin outside the church with the traditional striking of the new fire, from which the three-foot long Pascal candle is lighted. Each worshipper lights his or her own small candle from the Pascal candle, and then all process into the church by candlelight. Midway through the service the candles are extinguished, the lights of the church are turned on, and the beautiful white altar hangings and Easter lilies are revealed as the congregation joins in a joyous hymn of praise to celebrate the end of Lent and the glory of Jesus’ resurrection.