Regular Sunday Services
Our 8:00am liturgy is quiet, serene, and the shorter of the two Sunday morning services.
The 10:00am service is more contemporary in style, in contrast with the Elizabethan-style of the 8:00am mass, with more support from the Trinity choir.
At both services you will find that the basic structure of the liturgy is fairly constant, though the details change according to the season. The services are God-centered and yet mindful of the nature and needs of human beings.
Episcopal church services are congregational. In the pews you will find the Book of Common Prayer. This enables the congregation to share fully in every service. We’re also a congregation that likes to sing, so you’ll also find a Hymnal in your pew. And, as a tradition that gives the Scriptures primary importance, we also have Bibles in most pews.
The Episcopal Church observes the traditional Christian calendar. The year begins with the season of Advent, during which we prepare for Christmas. Advent begins on the Sunday closest to November 30. Christmas itself lasts twelve days, after which we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany (January 6). Lent, the forty days of preparation for Easter, begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with Holy Week and Easter. The Easter Season lasts fifty days, concluding on the feast of Pentecost, which is followed by the wonderful long season after Pentecost and leads us, once again, back to where we started in Advent.
Gather Together Sundays
On the first Sunday of each month, the 10 o’clock service is a family centered, simplified, worship service that features well-known hymns, a sermon targeted towards young people, and a Eucharist that invites all children to watch and assist with preparing the Holy Communion behind the altar rail.
When you visit Trinity, you’re automatically our respected and welcome guest. Community members come to church from a variety of backgrounds, and with a variety of customs. Our community only gets stronger in proportion to its diversity. At Trinity we welcome you however you arrive, and only ask that you are aware of those around you who are also preparing for worship. We are a family, and we just try to figure out how to make it work. Our sole aim is to worship, together.
During the service you’ll be invited to take part in the Holy Communion, the taking of bread and wine to commemorate the Last Supper. It’s easiest on the communion ministers (those distributing the bread) if you lay your hands out flat, with one hand on top of the other and, if you are kneeling, lift them up towards the minister. When offered the cup of wine, you may either take a sip directly from the cup, or dip your bread into the wine. If you’re unable to get to the rail or altar, the bread and wine will be brought to you at your seat.
If you’d like to receive a blessing instead of the bread and wine, indicate this by crossing your arms over your chest.
After the 10:00am service, we join for coffee hour across the driveway in the Hawes Room of Honyman Hall. Along with coffee and fruit juices, there are snacks for young and old alike. Trinity’s coffee hours are wonderful times to learn more about our community and enjoy one another.