Worship Schedule
St. Anne's encourages an active spiritual life for all its
members.
Worship is
our central act of praising God and His Son, Our Savior, Jesus
Christ. We have discovered our worship style over the past few
years with a meditative quiet worship at 8:00 am to the
Contemporary Music and instruments of our 10:30 am worship.
Episcopal Lectionary Schedule
Service Times
Sunday:
8:00 am
Traditional Service
9:15
am
Adult Bible
Class
10:30
am Youth
Education for ages 3-grade 6
10:30 am
Family Worship
"Kids Praise"- Worship on Sundays 10:30-11:10 am (ages
4-12)
9:00-11:15 am Nursery
available for newborn to age 3
Monday:
7:00 pm Order of St. Luke Healing Ministry at the
Karlen's (call church office at 515-964-5152 for more
information)
Tuesday:
10:00-11:30 am
Kerygma Bible Study – Parish Hall
Wednesday:
7:30am Worship & Healing
Service
What to Expect
It can sometimes feel intimidating to enter a church you’re
not familiar with. People usually take their religion
seriously, and you might feel self-conscious when everybody
but you seems to know what they’re doing. St. Anne’s is
relatively informal in its approach to worship, and nobody
will be singled out or made to feel uncomfortable. If you
have any questions about worship, don’t hesitate to ask our
greeters any questions or for assistance during the service.
All persons are welcome at St. Anne's. All baptized
Christians are invited to participate in the worship service
and receive Communion if they wish.
The Place of Worship
As you enter
the church at 8:00am, you will notice an atmosphere of quiet
reverence in the few minutes prior to the start of worship.
Most of our worshippers cherish that quiet at 8:00 am service
and the moments that help to make the transition from the
world outside into the Spirit of God’s presence.
A different
call to worship is heard at the 10:30 am worship. You will
hear an upbeat song calling us to worship extemporaneously and
express the outward joy that Christ gives to us. Contemporary
music and instruments will be heard and the clapping of hands
to the beat.
On and alongside the altar are candles to remind us that
Christ is the "Light of the world." [John 8:11] The outer
candles are lit for the first part of the service to symbolize
the illumination of the word of God we hear through scripture,
preaching and prayer, but the candles on the altar are not lit
until the consecration of the bread and wine itself begins,
symbolizing the presence of Jesus Christ.
To the left of the altar is the lectern, which is used for the
reading of scripture from the Bible by the congregation.
The Act of Worship
Episcopal worship services are congregational. For Sunday
Services, a service bulletin is prepared that includes the
order of service, scripture readings and music which enables
the congregation to share fully in every service. In addition,
you will also find in the pews a copy of the Episcopal Hymnal
and the Book of Common Prayer.
You may wonder when to stand, sit or kneel. You may also
notice that there are times in the service when some people at
St. Anne’s are standing while others are kneeling. The general
rule is to stand to sing. We stand, also, to say our
affirmation of the faith (the Creed) and for the reading of
the Gospel. Some of our parishioners stand during the
consecration while others kneel—either is appropriate. We sit
during readings from the Bible, the sermon, the announcements
and music. We generally kneel, though some stand, during
prayers to show our gratefulness to God for accepting us as
his children, or as an act of humility before God.
The Prayer Book
All worship at St. Anne’s is drawn from the Book of Common
Prayer. The Book of Common Prayer serves as a guide to the
worship service at St. Anne's, but don't mistake it as only a
rote document - we have a diverse order of worship that
stresses vitality. Each Sunday a Service Bulletin is prepared
that guides the experienced and less-experienced through the
service.
The Regular Services
The central service of worship at St. Anne’s is the Holy
Eucharist, the remembrance of Christ’s death and resurrection
made concrete in the bread and wine. As you participate in the
Eucharist over time the logic of this service will grow
clearer. In a nutshell, we begin by listening to scripture and
reflecting on its meaning for life, and then move through
prayer, confession and forgiveness to becoming the family of
God gathered around the table of God, living ever so briefly
the life of heaven before we return again to the world,
hopefully transformed and renewed to live life differently.
There are variations on the Eucharist service you will
encounter if you come to worship at different times. The form
of Eucharist we celebrate at the 10:30 a.m. service utilizes
more contemporary language and music, whereas the 8 a.m.
service each Sunday is conducted in more traditional language
without music.
Healing services and various prayers are held regularly at
St. Anne's in Ankeny and at the Des Moines Jewish Life
Center.
Read some of our recent
Sermons.
Vestments
To add to the beauty and festivity of the services, and to
signify special ministries, the clergy, deacons and other
ministers wear vestments. Acolytes, young people who assist
with worship, wear a muslin tunic.
The priest wears an alb as well—a white tunic with sleeves
that covers the body from neck to ankles. Over it, the priest
wears a stole, a band of fabric in the color of the liturgical
season.
The Church Year
The Episcopal Church observes the traditional Christian
calendar in which we move through the life of Christ in the
course of a year. The season of Advent, during which we
prepare for the birth of Christ at Christmas, begins on the
Sunday closest to November 30. Christmas itself lasts twelve
days, after which we celebrate the Epiphany (January 6) in
which the light of Christ breaks out into the world.
Lent, the forty days of penitential preparation for Easter,
begins on Ash Wednesday. The night before Ash Wednesday, St
Anne's holds their annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner. The
most deeply spiritual services of the year take place during
the week before Easter in which we commemorate the last days
of the life of Christ culminating in his resurrection on
Easter Sunday. During the Easter season, we focus particularly
on the experiences of the risen Christ in the early Church,
culminating in Pentecost, 50 days after Easter, when the
disciples are filled by the Holy Spirit and sent into the
world.
During all of these seasons, the Bible readings are selected
for their relevance to the events being commemorated. During
the rest of the year in the long season after Pentecost, the
New Testament is read sequentially from Sunday to Sunday so
the congregation can experience the total teaching and
experience of Christ and of the apostle Paul and other authors
of New Testament letters. Old Testament lessons are selected
to correspond with the theme of the day’s Gospel.
Where do I go from here?
To church, we hope! As you experience worship at St.
Anne’s, please feel free to ask any questions that come to
mind. Our priest will be happy to schedule time to visit with
you. We trust and pray that, as worship becomes more familiar
to you, the experience of being with Christ at St. Anne’s will
open the doors of the kingdom of God to you.
The above material is based upon the excellent materials
from St
George's Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas. We are in their
debt.