Service Time
We gather every Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary of Christ's Church of Amherst. Our normal service is the Holy Eucharist, also known as: the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion. However, because CCA serves Communion the first Sunday of each month, we say Evening Prayer the first Saturday of each month.

When You Enter
When you enter, you will notice the altar table at the front of the sanctuary. Depending upon when you enter, the candles on the table may already be lit; we invite you to use the period between when you enter and when the service begins to meditate and pray.

You will see a smaller book on the seat beside you; this is our Book of Common Prayer; you will use this to participate in the service. Our priest will help you navigate through the prayer book.

Worship Style
For an Episcopal Church, we are fairly low church: We pray the service rather than sing it; we don't use incense, and we don't deliberately work to enhance the ceremony. For an evangelical congregation, however, we are fairly high church: we use the 1928 Book of Common Prayer in all our services.

Liturgy and Ritual
We are a liturgical church - we follow service forms and pray from texts that don't change greatly from week to week. This gives you the chance to learn the prayers, and to pour your own life and meaning into them as you pray.
If this is your first visit to a liturgical church, you may find the service exciting and meaningful, or utterly confusing. Questions such as, "When do I stand? When do I sit? When do I kneel?" may flood your mind. Please do not worry about making a "mistake". We use these bodily movements to help shape our response to God, not to grade each other on how well we do the steps. Follow the lead of the priest, or of the other worshippers, and enjoy the chance to worship God with your body.