This Sunday’s service is Morning Prayer, one of the regular services appointed for public worship in the Episcopal Church. The Reformation in the 16th century largely removed the celebration of Eucharist from the weekly Sunday service, and the body and blood of Christ were generally offered only a few times a year. A service of prayer with an emphasis on preaching, offered in the vernacular, i.e. the language of the people rather than Latin, took its place.
With some exceptions, weekly Morning Prayer was the standard Episcopal form of worship until the 1979 Book of Common Prayer established The Holy Eucharist as the principal act of worship on the Lord’s Day (Book of Common Prayer, p. 13). Morning Prayer still remains an acceptable and meaningful form of Sunday worship and has the benefit of bringing more laypersons (people who are not ordained as clergy) into leadership of the service. While only priests or bishops can preside at Holy Eucharist, deacons and laypersons may officiate at Morning Prayer. Laypersons also read scripture lessons, lead Prayers of the People, and – during Holy Eucharist – serve as chalice bearers. John DiBlasi, Eileen Menton, and Erik Stallman will be our leaders for Sunday’s service and I hope you will plan to be present to support them and together offer prayer and praise to God.
See you next Sunday!
Pastor Lori+
