A Letter from Our Vicar

The word liturgy means “work of the people.” For centuries this meaning has been lost on a worship service that has really been the work of the priest. At Apostles we are reinstating the true meaning of the word. Hence the title of this manual: “Liturgy: The Work of the People.”

The “work” of service begins before members of the congregation arrive at the church on Sunday. All of the ministers -- greeters, ushers, singers, readers, Subdeacons, nursery attendants, altar guild members, acolytes, bread bakers, Sunday school teachers, coffee hour hosts, counters, and clergy -- begin their work praying for his or her part in the liturgy, praying that through worship they will be greeted as if by the Lord. The whole purpose of prayer is to transform the gathering of people into an experience of the kingdom of God.

It is our hope that, through grace, we will leave worshippers with two impressions: that this community serves God, and that they are important and loved.

The liturgy does not end when the doors are locked and the parking lot is empty. It continues as we pray and reach out to others by visiting and thanking the visitors for their attendance and by continuing to meet and work with each other. As we sometimes say at end of a Sunday service, “When the worship is ended, the service begins.”