Worship is the first job of the church, and the Episcopal church places a high priority on liturgy and music.  The Liturgy and Music Commission assists the Bishop in liturgical matters in the diocese.

The Book of Common Prayer orders all Episcopal liturgy and is easily downloadable in several formats

The Holy Eucharist is the principal act of Christian worship on the Lord's Day and at other major feasts.  The best basic resource for understanding its forms and rituals is Howard Galley's The Ceremonies of the Eucharist, available from Cowley Books.

Ordained persons - Bishops, Priests and Deacons - are the normal leaders of public worship, acting as Celebrant or Officiant as appropriate.  Other liturgical roles are:

Lectors or Lay Readers
Eucharistic Visitors / Ministers
Musicians
Acolytes

Vestments
Customs regarding the vesting of liturgical ministers vary widely within the Episcopal Church, and there are a wide variety of vestments used.  The Episcopal Glossary prepared by St. Paul's Church, Augusta, Georgia, contains both definitions and pictures of liturgical vestments.  There are several exhaustive websites dealing with the history of vestments, and liturgical paraments in general of which catholicliturgy.com is perhaps the clearest.

Calendar
The Calendar of the Church Year according to the Episcopal Church (with links to the Lectionary for each feast day).  James Kiefer has provided biographies of many (if not all) Saints in calendar format at his invaluable Christian Biographies site.

Lectionary
Readings at liturgies of the Episcopal Church are designated by the Lectionary.  The Revised Common Lectionary was approved for continued trial use in the Episcopal Church by the 2000 General Convention.

Contact information
Site last updated 5/15/2008.
This is an official Web page of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island, copyright 2004. All rights reserved.
It is published by the Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf, and governed by the Policies and Style Guide.