Welcome to St. Dunstan’s!

Walking into a new church for the first time can be exhilarating, intimidating, and overwhelming. Questions and concerns may fly through your head like: What are the people like? Will I know what to do? What do I wear? Will I be accepted?  Or perhaps your questions are more faith-based: What are the beliefs and practices of this church? Maybe you are going through a life transition or crisis and are you are seeking answers and support from God to give you strength, guidance and comfort. It may even be that you have hit “rock bottom” and feel like you have nowhere to turn.  Be assured that you are not alone, God is with you, and we at St. Dunstan’s Church are here for you. Our clergy and leadership are here to guide you as you take this next step, and our community will welcome you with warm smiles and kind hearts.

Here is a quick guide on what to expect at your first worship service. If you ever have any questions during a service, please ask an usher, greeter, or anyone else, they will be delighted to help you!

Our Worship.

Our worship consists of prayers, several readings from the Bible, music, singing, a sermon, and Holy Eucharist (also known as the Lord’s Supper or Communion). You can follow along with the liturgy easily in the bulletin where all the responses are printed out or open up a Book of Common Prayer. You can participate as much as you want or just sit, observe, and become acquainted. It’s all up to you. Most people dress comfortably and casually.

For the kids.

Babies, children, and youth are always welcome at our worship services! We also offer childcare for children 3 and under in the nursery located on the right side of the church building year round. From September to May at 9:00 to 9:45 a.m. we offer Sunday School for ages 7 – 11 in the Classroom in the Parish House. For young children, ages 3 – 6 we offer the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in our Atrium in the Parish House from 9am until approximately 10:30am when they rejoin their parents/ older children for Communion.  Middle and High school students (grades 6 through 12) have Bible Study in the Youth Building. During our 10am worship we offer a “Pray-Ground” in the front of the church for all children of all ages to enjoy activities together as well as a children’s sermon. Following the children’s sermon all children are invited to depart with their teachers for Children’s Chapel and will return to the Pray-Ground at Communion.

Follow along with your bulletin.

The greeters will hand you a worship bulletin as you enter the church. In the bulletin, you’ll find the book names and page numbers to follow along with the service and music. The Prayer Book, Bible, and hymnals are located in the book rack found in each pew. 

• BCP = Book of Common Prayer. The BCP is usually red in color with a cross on the front.    
• Hymnal = Our hymnal is blue.
• J-Book = A white spiral-bound songbook.

The week’s readings are printed in the bulletin, or you can use your own Bible or one of the Bibles provided in the pew to follow the Scripture lessons.

Do I stand, sit or kneel?

It can be a little confusing at first but there are notes in the bulletin to guide you and you can always watch what other people are doing. Our service will become familiar quickly.

Some general guidelines:

• We stand when we sing and during the Eucharist.
• We kneel at the prayer of confession and some kneel during the Eucharist
• We sit during readings, announcements, and the sermon.
• We stand when we recite the Nicene Creed and when we “pass the peace” with a handshake or just a bow or a peace sign to those around us. 
• We stand (or kneel) for prayer and confession to show our gratefulness to God.

Holy Eucharist means coming together.

Holy Eucharist (Communion) is when we come together as one body to remember Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection. The Lord’s Table is open and we welcome all  Christians to receive Communion regardless of their denominational background or tradition. Everyone is invited to come to the altar rail (where you can either stand or kneel) and you may receive a blessing if you prefer not to receive Communion: simply cross your hands over your chest. We have both bread and gluten free wafers available and wine.  You can extend one hand to receive just the bread (no wine) or cup both hands out to receive the bread dipped into wine. You can also drink directly from the wine chalice after you receive the bread if you prefer.  Please ask for gluten free bread at the rail.

And after the service.

Please introduce yourself and join us after each service for conversation, coffee, and refreshments. We also encourage you to sample our Christian Education hour, which begins at 9:00 a.m. All are welcome!

An Explanation and Guide to Anglicanism (Downloadable)