What to Expect When You Visit

When To Arrive

Our Sunday morning services are held at 8:00 and 10:00AM. You should plan to arrive a few minutes early if you prefer close-in parking, particularly at the 10:00 service.

What to Wear

There are no expectations about dress. Come as you are, or as you are most comfortable. We began our parish life in a barn, and have always tended toward informal dress. Business casual probably best describes the way we dress for worship, but jeans and tennis shoes are perfectly acceptable, as are suits and ties. For us, presence has always been much more important than appearance.

Entering the Church

We are a friendly, informal congregation, which takes seriously the biblical imperative to welcome all. You can expect to be warmly greeted and invited into worship your first time with us, and greeted by name on subsequent visits.  We’re small enough to know and care about one other, but large enough to provide programs of interest for all ages.

Getting Involved

We encourage you to get involved in our various programs and ministries right from the start. We believe that God brings us together to minister to each other and to the world, using the varied and unique gifts with which we are blessed. It’s hard to be a “visitor” for long at St. Augustine’s, and nearly impossible to stay anonymous. We are an active and engaged laity, and we don’t leave all the ministry to the clergy.

If you are new to the Episcopal Church, you will notice on your first visit that lots of people are involved in the service. Youth and adults assist at the altar. Lay readers deliver the readings. Clergy preach and preside at Eucharist. Children bring forward the gifts and offerings. All participate in the prayers, songs, and communion. In the Episcopal Church, we say our worship is “liturgy,” which means, quite literally, “the work of the people.” Clergy preside, but the worship is done by and for all. Without the people, there is no worship.

We publish the entire contents of the service in the bulletin, which will be handed to you by the greeters when you enter. There aren’t any prayers to memorize or tricks to learn – just come in and read and pray along as you are comfortable. We celebrate communion every week, and anyone who has been baptized in any Christian tradition is welcome to receive communion in our church. Again, there is no trick to that, either. Just come forward at the direction of the ushers and receive however is your custom. You will be offered both bread and wine, and you can take both, or just the bread, or just the wine, or dip the bread in the wine. Whatever is most comfortable. If you wish to come forward but not receive communion, you may receive a blessing instead.

Coming Back

On your first visit, you will most likely be invited to come back, not by one person, but by several. On your second visit, you will probably be invited to get involved. If this kind of welcome makes you uncomfortable, we hope you will forgive us. It is just our nature to invite folks to come back and get involved in the ministry we believe God is calling us to do in our community. This is a family-friendly, inclusive, welcoming church, and we continue to grow because we love and pay attention to people -- their gifts, their needs, and their lives.