Worship as Formation
All worship forms us. The words we pray week after week sink into our hearts and become part of our being. The Episcopal Book of Common Prayer is our common document of faith and the source of much of our faith formation. And since, as St. Augustine tells us, “He who sings, prays twice,” our Hymnal forms us as well. The words we sing enter our memory with the tune and are available in times of joy and sorrow.
Saint Andreans gather to worship together every Sunday morning. The 8:15 service is smaller, quieter and a touch more dignified than the 10 o’clock service, due perhaps to the absence of small children. Except during Advent, Lent and part of the summer, there is music during the processional and recessional, but the rest of the service is spoken. The primary service is at 10:30 a.m. with music led by our glorious Chancel Choir with occasional help from the Junior Choir and our two Handbell Choirs.
Knowing that it is sometimes difficult for small ones to sit through a long service, we have provided ways to sooth and inform them during the service.
First, of course is the Nursery, located by the entrance off the parking lot and open from 9:30-1:30 Sunday mornings. In addition, the ushers have copies of Gretchen Wolf
Pritchard’s Sunday Paper, Jr. for children to color and read. Her illustrations neatly illuminate the Gospel reading for children. I heartily recommend Gretchen’s insightful commentary on the back page is recommended reading all parents. They also have blue coloring bags with paper and crayons. A child who is coloring may not look like he or she is doing anything but coloring, but is often absorbing the experience of worship precisely because the hands are occupied and the mind is free to think about the sounds and emotions that fill our worship. Finally, all children are welcome to come to Children's Church during the Liturgy of the Word.