St. Francis' Episcopal Church

Serving Eureka, Wildwood, and Surrounding Communities

Why Do We Do That? 

Why do we sometimes change parts of the service?

In the service of Holy Eucharist in the Book of Common Prayer 1979, a framework is provided for our worship.  As outlined on page 400, the structure looks like this:  Gather in the Lord’s name; proclaim and respond to the Word of God; pray for the world and the church; exchange the Peace; prepare the table; make Eucharist; break the bread; share the gifts of God.  Think of it like the frame of a house, solid and reliable.

Within that framework we have the freedom to embellish according to the needs of the community.  Our tradition is rich with musical offerings, and so we will change the service music such as the Gloria and the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) according to the season of the church year.  We have also used different Eucharistic Prayers.  Within Rite II in the BCP, there are four prayers.  In the church year, we use all of them.  Prayer A is the shortest; we use that during the summer months. Prayer B is frequently used after Easter and other times of the year; currently we are using Prayer C for Lent; we will use Prayer D at our Maundy Thursday service.  The Episcopal Church has made available other Eucharistic Prayers that use more expansive language.  We have used that material in the past. 

But why change?  Or why not just change every week?   We make some changes in order that we may hear anew these familiar words.  It’s like hearing the same words in a different dialect or accent.  It shakes us out of our complacency and into renewed mindfulness.  We don’t change every week because there is comfort in the familiar.  We will keep changes for a season or a logical period of time to maintain the sense of structure.  Just as you decorate your house for a season or a time, not every day or every week, so do we embellish our praise of God.

If you are uplifted by anything new that you experience in worship, let one of the members of the Worship & Music Committee or the pastor know this.  If you are bothered by something new, please try and live with it for a few weeks.  In either case, if you could reflect on why you like or don’t like it, this feedback would be most helpful.  All positive and negative comments will be graciously accepted unless they are given anonymously.  If you like something new and tell someone, you’ll most likely see it again.  If you don’t like something new, remember, it will change. 

The members of the Worship & Music Committee are:  Paddy Wrob (Chair), Rich Mayfield (Acolytes), Jerry Smith and Diana Stuckey (Altar Guild), Cassie Eckhardt (Greeters), Kevin Selle (Eucharistic Ministers), Lori Scissors (Music), Bob Smith (Ushers), Kathleen McDonald (Congregational Rep.); and Mother Barbarito.