Church of the Resurrection is an inheritor of the the fifteen-century-old Anglican expression of Christianity. Our worship is liturgical in nature, and we worship with both traditional and contemporary music. For people who who have never experienced liturgical worship, some of our practices may seem unusual or even unnecessary. To help you understand why we do the things we do, we have prepared this guide to answer some of your questions. It is our hope that these answers will help you to discover that the liturgy engages all the senses and addresses the spiritual needs of the whole person.

Why use written prayers? Isn’t this “vain repetition?”
“Liturgy” comes from a Greek word that means “a common work.” Liturgy, therefore, represents a common effort to worship God.

We use these written prayers for a variety of reasons. When we use very ancient prayers, we are joining with our brothers and sisters in all times and all places to worship God in well-crafted words. This is not at all unlike the use of songs and hymnody in worship; no one would suggest that we create new music with which to sing the praises of God on the spot when “Amazing Grace” serves so wonderfully to thank him for the work he has wrought in our lives.

Another use of liturgy is to expose the faithful to ideas and beliefs that are truly orthodox. The hearing again and again of ideas that have been part of the corpus of the Faith throughout the ages reinforces them in the mind. It helps to form the hearer.

As to whether or not this is “vain repetition,” this is not the intent at all. Indeed, the stability and continuity of these prayers as they cycle from day to day, from week to week, allows one to move past the mere words on the page and into an intentional embrace of the prayers as calls of thanksgiving, cries of repentance, and ultimately as words of hope in Christ.

Why is the liturgy for Holy Communion called the Mass? Isn’t that a Roman Catholic term?
The word “Mass” in the Western Church originates with the use of Latin as the primary liturgical language. At the end of the Liturgy, a deacon would announce a dismissal to the congregation, “Ite, missa est.” The word Mass is simply a traditional English derivation from this dismissal. It is used by many groups of Western Christians.

Is childcare available during services? Is there a children’s church service?
There is a Sunday school class available for children. Childcare is available on Sundays for children three years of age and under in our nursery. For children four and above, we do not offer a separate children’s church service. We believe that children should be exposed to our beliefs and practices so as to encourage their formation. Children of all ages are welcome to join us during the Mass. We understand a certain level of noise from very young children, the sound of a healthy and growing community. Of course, very disruptive children should be taken outside until they become cooperative again. We happily welcome, however, the whole community to worship together, regardless of age.

Childcare is not available for weekday liturgies.

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