Worship
Sunday Worship is at 9:30 a.m.,
and special Holy Day services as announced
But before than on most Sundays, is Morning Prayer, a brief service of Bible readings and prayer, at 8:10 am, and an All-Ages Class downstairs from 8:30–9:15
The Daily Office
Haha, no, it’s not your daily slog to work. Office, from Latin officium, basically means duty. In the Church, the daily duty of us all is to pray. So what we call the Daily Office is that round of prayer-offerings that punctuate the day… every day. The Psalmist said, “Seven times a day do I praise you because of your righteous judgments” (Psalm 119:164). So since seven is the biblical number of completion/perfection (see biblical numerology), ancient monastic communities developed the practice of gathering in for prayer seven times a day. But we secular Christians (= we who aren’t monks) have a different lifestyle. So the Book of Common Prayer provides four daily opportunities for prayer, inviting us to use any or all of them as we can work them into our days (clergy are expected to pray Morning and Evening Prayer at least).
So here are some links, if you’re interested, to more on praying daily with the Church:
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Pray the Daily Office right now! –
In the drop-down menu under DAILY OFFICES, click the top one- TODAY’S OFFICE- and it will take you directly to the appropriate service for the time of day. Since we think you should dive right in, we recommend doing this. That menu also lists all the daily prayer offices.
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The Daily Office Tutorial
– A how-to, just as the name implies
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An optional set of Daily Readings
– a schedule of Bible readings is called a lectionary. We follow the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) on Sundays and other Holy Days. RCL Daily Readings is not the same as the one included in the Daily Office linked above (the one in the back of the Book of Common Prayer). The purpose of this one is to aid our understanding of the readings on Sunday, which is the Church’s principal day of worship. The Thursday, Friday and Saturday readings look forward to the coming Sunday, and the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday readings reflect back on the previous Sunday. If you like that idea, you can always open two pages on your device and read these ones instead of the ones included in the Daily Office- or read both.
- A word of warning though: It’s better to read Scripture in digestible bits, rather than trying to read as much as you can for the sake of, well, reading as much as you can in as little time as possible. Reading the Bible in one year, for example, is a tall order, since you’ve got to read about four chapters every day. If you’re the type of reader who can absorb that much Scripture, go for it. But if you’re an ordinary mortal, it’s probably better to follow a lectionary.
When you click on any of the Sunday readings links on this page, you’ll stay on the same website. But clicking any of the weekday readings links will take you to Bible Gateway (BG) where you can choose which translation of the Bible to read from. On the BG page you can also subscribe to receive the RCL Daily Readings in your inbox. So that’s a good thing, right?
- And if all this has got you more confused than enlightened, just contact us
Calendar and Upcoming Events
Christian Formation
Christianity and World Religions:
In late February we started a six-session video-based program that explores how the other major world religions compare to and differ from Christianity. See the Announcements page for more info, also HERE’S AN INTRO VIDEO.
which
begins
with
Ash Wednesday, March 6th, 2019
- Imposition of Ashes & the Holy Eucharist, 12:00 noon
- Imposition of Ashes & the Holy Eucharist, 7:00 pm
Fridays in Lent
- Stations of the Cross, 12:00 noon
The 1st Sunday in Lent, March 10th
- brief Morning Prayer, 8:30 am
- The Litany in Penitential Procession & the Holy Eucharist, 9:30 am
The 2nd through 5th Sundays in Lent, March 17 – April 7
- brief Morning Prayer, 8:30 am
- The Holy Eucharist, 9:30 am
Then comes
Palm Sunday, April 14th
- brief Morning Prayer, 8:30 am
- The Liturgy of the Palms and Holy Eucharist, 9:30 am
Maundy Thursday, April 18th
- The Liturgy of Maundy Thursday (Institution of the Holy Eucharist), 7:00 pm
- followed by the Stripping of the Altar
- followed by the Watch before the Altar of Repose, which begins right after the liturgy and continues until noon on Good Friday, the hour our Lord was crucified
Good Friday, April 19th
- Stations of the Cross, 12:00 noon
- The Liturgy of Good Friday, 7:00 pm
Holy Saturday, April 20th
- brief Morning Liturgy
- followed by preparation of the church for Easter
Then it’s EASTER!
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The Easter Vigil, 8:00 pm
- Lessons and Prayers
- Holy Baptism or Renewal of Baptismal Vows
- first Mass of the Resurrection
Easter Day, April 21st
- brief Morning Prayer, 8:30 am
- Mass of the Resurrection, 9:30 am
Sundays in Eastertide through Pentecost, April 28 – June 9
- brief Morning Prayer, 8:30 am
- the Holy Eucharist, 9:30 am
Trinity Sunday, the octave day of Pentecost, June 16th
- brief Morning Prayer, 8:30 am
- the Holy Eucharist, 9:30 am
About
We are a family-friendly mission church in the Metro East area of Southern Illinois and close to Scott Air Force Base.
We are active in many local outreach programs including Feed My Lambs, the O’Fallon Food Pantry, and Convoy of Hope. We have active education programs for youth and adults.
We are led in worship by Fr. Ian Wetmore.
Contact
Phone: 618-632-6168
Email: stmichaels62269@gmail.com
