Worship
The word "worship" has been defined as "the response of the creature to the eternal." It is the primary act by which we, either privately or in a community, pay the divine honor that is due to God. Below are described the types of public worship that we offer at Trinity. We hope you’ll consider worshipping with us!
Holy Communion, also known as Eucharist or, in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions, The Mass is a worship service that typically includes passages from the Old and New Testaments of The Bible and a psalm, private reflection, community prayer and and the offering of bread and wine (or grape juice) following the sacrament that Jesus instituted at the Last Supper. The service is offered regularly on Sundays at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Both services include sung hymns and a 10-15 minutes message delivered by a preacher. The 10 a.m. service includes everything from the 8 a.m. service with the addition of musical selections offered by The Trinity Choir and The Choir School of Hartford. The 10 a.m. service is our largest and most popular service. In the Summer, weather permitting, the 8 a.m. service is held outdoors in the Memorial Garden.
Evening Prayer is one of the principal Daily Offices in the Anglican Church. The Book of Common Prayer provides forms for Daily Evening Prayer in traditional and contemporary language. Evening Prayer may begin with an opening sentence of Scripture and the confession of sin. The Invitatory may include the canticle Phos Hilaron, an ancient hymn praising Jesus Christ at the lighting of lamps at sunset. The office continues with a psalm, readings for scripture followed by canticles (typically the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis), the Apostle’s Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, a set of suffrages one or more prayers, general intercessions, the General Thanksgiving, a concluding sentence of scripture, and the dismissal. Evening Prayer may also include a hymn or anthem.
Evensong is a sung version of Evening Prayer. Since the late middle ages “evensong” has been the popular name for vespers (from the Latin vesperis, “evening”), the evening office of the western church. Thomas Cranmer used it in the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. Although in 1552 he replaced it with “Evening Prayer” the common name remains Evensong. In many Anglican cathedrals and larger churches evensong is sung by clergy and choir as a choral liturgy. This service is periodically offered by the Trinity Choirs.
