Worship with Us

This Week's Service

By Peter Trumbore April 1, 2025
It's not every year that our Pub Theo conversations fall on April Fools Day, but here we are. In fact, near as I can tell, the last time this happened was in 2019, you know, those glorious pre-pandemic days before everything started to fall apart and we all lost our senses of humor. It is sometimes suggested that worship is holy and serious stuff, and that church is no place for jokes. What's your take? How serious, or how lighthearted can we be or should we be? Is there a place for humor in church? Better yet, let's take our questions right to top. In short, does God have a sense of humor? What would you point to as evidence for your answer? And does that tell you anything broader about how you think about God and your relationship with the divine? There is a long debate about the role of humor in the Christian faith. Seriously, people argue over whether Jesus laughed or not. (For what it's worth, the Bible doesn't offer us any examples of Jesus laughing, let alone smiling, but that doesn't mean he didn't.) Over at the website Patheos, there's an interesting article about irreverence, faith, and what we want our relationship with God to be like. This line from the article resonates: "But we only get a cardboard cutout Jesus in scripture—to see him as a human being, I think some irreverent thoughts. Given that we human beings are flawed, imperfect, and funny to our toes but have perfectionist delusions, irreverence is a universal humanizer." So in our discussion this evening, we're going to talk about humor and the place of irreverence in our religious and non-religious lives. This conversation will be no joking matter! Join us this evening starting at 7pm at Casa Real in downtown Oxford.

Our Welcoming Prayer

HOLY SPIRIT living within us, guide our hearts and minds as we welcome today all those who worship with St. Mary’s.
Give us discerning hearts so that everyone who crosses our threshold feels welcomed in the spirit of your love.
Help us to recognize each person as an individual sent by you who will enrich our lives.
And most of all, O God, let this be a community of love and acceptance for all your children;
in the name of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

This is the Welcoming Prayer with which we prepare ourselves for worship each Sunday. This is how we understand our worship together: as an invitation extended to everybody to come into God’s presence. We recognize that it is God who has gathered us together, and we prepare our space and our hearts to welcome all that God wants to show us. We come together to lift up our hearts to God in adoration, to confess the ways we have fallen short of our calling as followers of Jesus, to plead with the God of all mercy on behalf of a hurting world, and to offer our never-ending awe and thanks for all the blessings of this life.


Our worship service would be better if you were here with us. Everyone of us has experienced challenges to our faith. We come each week with experiences that shape our faith and our relationship with Christ. By worshiping together we lift each other up and find the commonalities that make us stronger. We are looking forward to welcoming you!


The heart of our service is the celebration of Holy Eucharist, according to the  Book of Common Prayer (1979).

Service Times


8:30 a.m.


 

A spoken service, with minimal singing of parts of the service, offering the opportunity for quiet contemplation.

 

10 a.m.


 

A service that includes choral music and the singing of hymns and other portions of the service. Nursery care is offered during the service, and opportunities for children and youth formation and participation.



Online


 

Our weekly 10 a.m. services and several other special services are live-streamed on Youtube. You can also find previous services there.

 

Common Prayer

How we worship

Book of Common Prayer

The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) is the guide to worship and devotion in the Episcopal Church. It frames our worship life, our faith and belief, and our daily relationship with God. So, how does the BCP shape our worship?


As the BCP says, "The Holy Eucharist, the principal act of Christian worship on the Lord's Day and other major Feasts, and Daily Morning and Evening Prayer, as set forth in this Book, are the regular services appointed for public worship in this Church."


Our Sunday worship is a service of Holy Eucharist and follows the liturgical forms of the BCP. Those forms are not so different from what one might experience in a Roman Catholic mass, and while we do celebrate the Eucharist with reverence, we do not unnecessarily exclude anyone from the Sacrament. All who long for the grace of the Eucharistic Sacrament are invited and welcome at the altar of our Lord.


Our services are interactive--all are encouraged to participate. The 10 a.m. service also includes the singing of hymns, mostly from the Episcopal Hymnal 1982, and choral music.


Everybody is welcome at our services. And we mean everybody. Whatever your age, race, gender, gender identity, or ability, you are welcome to worship with us! Come as you are.

Sing to the Lord a New Song


Our Music Ministries

St. Mary’s has been fortunate to foster some extraordinary musical opportunities, both within worship services and with special concerts and recitals.

In recent years we have hosted an opera company for their concerts and a concert of Handel's Messiah.

In addition to our choir and bell choir, our Easter and Christmas Services also regularly feature special music and a brass quintet.

Serving in Worship


Altar Guild

The Altar Guild is a group of men and women who are the set designers for the church and communion service. They design the beautiful flower arrangements that often reflect the season of the year or the season of the church. They care for all the vestments, linens, chalices, and other items used during the Eucharist. They are responsible for setting up and disassembling the altar every Sunday. Two or three people, led by an acolyte, present the bread and wine to the altar for the Eucharist.

Lectors (Readers) and Intercessors

Anyone can volunteer for one of four readings that take place during the service. They are the New Testament lesson, the Old Testament lesson, the Psalm, and the Prayers of the People.

Acolytes

Young people age 9 and older serve as acolytes. They have several responsibilities including lighting and putting out the altar candles. They carry the processional and recessional crosses. They carry a cross for the presentation of the bread and wine and they assist the priest in preparing for and reading the Eucharistic prayers.

Lay Eucharistic Ministers and Visitors

These people receive special training to help the priest with the Eucharist. Our Lay Eucharistic Ministers offer people a chalice with wine.

Choristers and Musicians

The choir usually performs a special piece of music at each service, typically just before the Eucharist. The congregation also looks to the choir for support when we sing the hymns during the service.

Ushers

A team of ushers greats everyone as the enter the church. They also distribute the service bulletins, help with seating, manage the collection plates, and guide the congregation when the Eucharist is received.

Counters

After Sunday Services, we depend on trained and reliable members to count and record the offerings of the day.

Called to Serve?

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