Our Worship

At St. John's we practice a traditional liturgical structure (primarily Rite II) that is infused with a sense of joy, and at times even revelry We recognize the value of ritual, but try not to take OURSELVES to seriously We strive to leave room for wonder and mystery and even a little fun... by designing liturgies, music, visual arts and homilies that can be thought provoking long after the day's final dismissal. In addition to our primary service on Sunday morning, we also offer Rite I Morning Prayer for early risers, a Celtic Compline on Sunday evening and a Wednesday morning informal service of Morning Prayer

We encourage children to participate in the service -- whether thru Children's Time, special celebrations and processions or simply sitting on the bean bag chairs in the side balcony for a bird's eye view of the action!

We are also creating a digital library of on-demand slide shows to guide individuals through some of the less familiar spiritual practices such as the Anglican Rosary and Stations of the Cross.

We are a family of faith that worships together, prays together and plays together, but we also believe that grief cannot be ignored We offer special liturgies and vigils to acknowledge those feelings, while also offering the hope our faith provides. The week before Christmas each year, we offer a "Service of Light for the Longest Night" (sometimes called Blue Christmas) to gather and acknowledge the emotional struggles the holiday brings for many.

Since 2018, we have offered regular prayer vigils (both in our Sanctuary and in public spaces) to allow the community to gather in prayer after events ranging from deaths due to gun violence, the opioid epidemic and natural disasters to the war in Ukraine.

Out of necessity, our Covid response propelled us to a worship structure that was more flexible and responsive to the needs of our members and the community. While already livestreaming prior to the pandemic closing our doors to in-person worship, we learned that we had to become more proactive in finding ways to reach both existing parishioners and seekers We are committed to being open to experimentation with worship and outreach in new forms. We envision a future that is less about how things have traditionally been done and more about how we can build more inclusively and deeper intention into our worship.