The Church of The Messiah

Worship

The Church of the Messiah enjoys an eclectic worship style featuring the best of Anglican liturgy and music from around the world. We believe strongly that worship should be engaging, relevant, and meaningful. To that end, we are striving to express traditional Anglican worship in a contemporary and attractive way.

What to Expect on Sunday Morning
On a typical Sunday morning, people come to church and receive a service bulletin that, along with the hymnal, provides everything needed to get through the service in an easy-to-follow format. All baptized Christians are welcome to receive Holy Communion. We use real bread and wine, however glutton-free wafers (made from rice flour) are available on request. Our sanctuary is accessible to those in wheelchairs. Once a month we offer anointing with oil and laying on of hands for healing as part of our Sunday morning liturgy.

Traditional Communion - First or Third Tuesday of the Month
Every first or third Tuesday of the month (depending on people's schedules) at 11 A.M. we offer a service of communion taken from the Book of Common Prayer. This liturgy uses the traditional, Elizabethan language of the Prayerbook to solemnly offer thanks to God. After worship we enjoy a pub-style lunch together.

The Contemplative Eucharist - Wednesday Morning
Why come to a Contemplative Eucharist Service? In the Eucharist service we remember Christ and receive Him. The simplicity of the contemplative service and its silent portions assist this inward remembrance and receiving of Christ.

Contemplative prayer is an ancient and deep form of prayer that relinquishes all effort and opens us up to being in the presence of God. Psalm 46: “Be still and know that I am God” advocates this form of prayer. St. John of the Cross called silence "The first language of God." Periods of silence also aid reflection. For example, the common experience is that the Reading in the contemplative service is especially meaningful because it is followed by a period of silence, providing an opportunity for quiet reflection and meditation on what has just been read.

The contemplative service has the same sequence of sections as a full Eucharist, for example: Gathering Prayers; Proclamation of the Word (Reading); Prayers for the World; Reflecting on the History of God in the world; Words of Institution; Remembrance; Invocation of the Spirit; Doxology; Our Father; and Sending Forth. There is no homily and there are very few liturgical responses. Prayers are less formal than in the full service, and each of the sections in the contemplative service uses a shortened wording. In addition, periods of silence lasting between five and ten minutes are integral to this worship.

The simplicity of the service and its periods of silence give it a feeling of intimacy, very conducive to a palpable feeling of “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Mat 18:20)

Healing Prayer Service - Saturdays at 2 P.M.
Every Saturday at 2 P.M. a small group of people gather at the church to pray for healing for themselves or on behalf of others. The service is quiet, meditative in character, and includes time for people to spontaneously offer their petitions. We know that one of the most important things the church can offer to its community is prayer. It is prayer, the simple act of offering our concerns to God, that connects us to the divine and each other. Prayer changes us and brings us closer to the example of a Godly life we have in Jesus. Just as he withdrew to private places with his disciples, so we take time apart in the church to ask for blessing and restoration for all who are broken and in need of help.