What to Expect at the Church of the Ascension
This is a first-time guide to visiting Church of the Ascension – an Anglican Church. Most important, remember this: You will be welcome. We extend a cordial welcome to you to worship with us, and offer this information as a brief introduction to our Church.
Until we move back to our Church at Potong Pasir at the end of 2004, we strive to keep much of what it means to be an Anglican Church in a temporary location.
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The Place of Worship As you enter, you will notice an atmosphere of worship and reverence. Anglican churches have many architectural styles; but whether the church be small or large, elaborate or plain, your eye is carried to the altar, or holy table, and to the cross. So our thoughts are taken at once to Christ to God whose house the church is. On or near the altar there should be candles to remind us that Christ is the “Light of the world” (John 8:12). Often there are flowers, to beautify God’s house and to recall the resurrection of Jesus. On one side at the front of our church, there may be a lectern-pulpit, or stand for the proclamation of the Word; here the Scriptures are read and the sermon preached. In other Anglican churches, however, the lectern is separate from the pulpit and stands on the opposite side of the church. |
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The Act of Worship
Anglican church services are congregational. At the 8 am service, you will likely to find the Diocesan Service Book, and at 10 am, you will find a projection of our Order of Service on the screens. These facilities are to enable the congregations to share more fully in every service. At 2 pm, the Chinese-speaking congregation also uses the Diocesan Service Book for its weekly services.
You may wonder when to stand and kneel. Practices vary from time to time. The general rule is to stand to sing – hymns and other songs. We stand too, to say our affirmation of faith, the Creed; and for the reading of the Gospel in the Holy Communion Service. Psalms are sung or said sitting or standing. We sit during reading from the Old Testament or New Testament Letters, the sermon, and the choir anthems. We stand or kneel for prayer to show our gratefulness to God for accepting us as children or as an act of humility before God.
The Regular Services
The principal service is the Holy Communion. In some Anglican churches it is celebrated quite simply, without music, early on Sunday morning. Weekday celebrations also are frequently without music, and without sermon. When celebrated at a later hour on Sundays, or other great Christian days such as Christmas, music and a sermon are customary.
Another service is Morning Prayer. The parallel evening service is Evening Prayer. These services consist of psalms, Bible readings, and prayers; and may include sermon. They may be with or without music.
While some parts of the services are always the same, others may be changed. At the Holy Communion, for example, two or three Bible selections are read. These change each Sunday. So do the psalms. Certain prayers may also be changed in order to provide variety. Page numbers for parts of the service printed elsewhere are usually announced or given in the service leaflet. But do not be embarrassed to ask your neighbour for the page number.
You will find the services of Church of the Ascension beautiful in their ordered dignity, God-centred, yet mindful of the nature and needs of human beings.
Before and After
It is the custom upon entering church to kneel in one’s pew for a prayer of personal preparation for worship. In the Anglican churches it is not unusual to bow to the altar on entering and leaving the church as an act of reverence for Christ.
Most Anglicans do not talk in church before a service but use the time for personal meditation and devotions. At the end of service some persons kneel or sit for private prayer before leaving. Others sometimes sit to listen to the music postlude.
If there are ushers they will greet you, and may escort you to a pew. If your desire, they will answer your questions about the service. Pews are usually unreserved in Anglican churches. Following the service the pastor greets the people as they leave.
What Clergy Wear
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To add to the beauty and festivity of the services, and to signify their special ministries, the clergy and other ministers customarily wear vestments. Choir vestments usually consist of an undergown called a cassock (black or white), and a gathered overgown called a surplice. The clergy may also wear cassock and surplice. Another familiar vestment is the alb, a white tunic with sleeves that covers the body from neck to ankles. Over it (or over the surplice) ordained ministers wear a stole, a narrow band of coloured fabric. Deacons wear the stole over one shoulder, priests and bishops over both shoulders. At the Holy Communion a bishop or priest frequently wears a chasuble (a circular garment that envelopes the body) over the alb and stole. The deacon’s corresponding vestment has sleeves and is called a dalmatic. Bishops sometimes wear a special headcovering called a mitre. Stoles, chasubles, and dalmatics, as well as altar coverings, are usually made of rich fabrics. The colour changes with the seasons and holy days of the Church Year. The most frequently used colours are white, red, violet, and green. |
The Church Year
The Anglican Church observes the traditional Christian calendar. The season of Advent, during which we prepare for Christmas, begins on the Sunday closest to November 30. Christmas itself lasts for twelve days, after which we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany (January 6).
Lent, the forty days of preparation for Easter, begins on Ash Wednesday. Easter season lasts fifty days, concluding on the feast of Pentecost.
During the times the Bible readings are chosen for their appropriateness to the season. During the rest of the year – the season after Epiphany and the long season after Pentecost (except for a few special Sundays) – the New Testament is read sequentially from Sunday to Sunday. The Old Testament lesson corresponds in theme with one of the New Testament readings.
You Will Not Be Embarrassed
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When you visit us, you will be our respected and welcome guest. You will not be singled out in an embarrassing way, nor asked to stand before the congregation nor to come forward. You will worship God with us. Should you wish to know more about our Anglican Church or how one becomes an Anglican, the priest will gladly answer your questions and suggest the way to membership.
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Revd Gilbert Wong