About Our Worship Services

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On Sundays mornings, Eastern Shore Chapel offers an 8 a.m. Rite I service and a 10:30 a.m. Rite II service in the main Sanctuary. Both worship services have organ accompaniment, and our 10:30 service includes choir and handbell choir. We also offer a contemporary Rite II service on Wednesday evenings. Read on to learn more.

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What is a "rite"?

“A rite is a form for religious ceremony. It includes both what is said and what is done in the religious observance. Rite expresses the church's relationship with God through words, actions, and symbols. It orders the church's common worship. Rite enables the community to share its faith and experience God's presence in a particular liturgical and pastoral context.”
— An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User-Friendly Reference for Episcopalians

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In the Episcopal Church, Rite I and Rite ll both come from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer (BCP), which provides the services of Morning and Evening Prayer, the Holy Eucharist, and the Burial Office in both traditional language and contemporary language rites. The traditional language rites are known as Rite I, and the contemporary language rites are known as Rite II.

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Rite I

8 a.m. Sunday

The Rite I liturgies reflect the language and piety of the Elizabethan era and the first BCP, although the structure of these liturgies also reflects the influence of modern liturgical scholarship.  Rite I is very similar to the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, keeping the older English language (thee, thou, etc.) with little updates to the Creed and prayers.  The Confession, and Prayers of Consecration remain the same.

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Rite II

10:30 a.m. Sunday |  6 p.m. Wednesday

The Rite II liturgies reflect more fully the influence of the liturgical movement and contemporary theology.  Rite II liturgies tend to reflect greater sensitivity for inclusive language issues. The proper liturgies for special days (such as Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday), pastoral offices (such as the Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage), and Episcopal services (such as ordinations) are printed in contemporary language in the BCP.

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Contemporary Worship

What about contemporary music? Guitars? Drums?

Our Wednesday evening Rite II service of the Holy Eucharist is a contemporary Episcopal service. This 6pm service of Holy Eucharist is led with guitar. We sing a variety of music, ranging from hymns to the wealth of contemporary Christian music from the last 50 years until today. You never know what you will hear, but our worship will always center on Christ!  At this Wednesday service, we focus and learn about the life of a saint in the church, reflecting on how we can incorporate attributes of their faith into our lives.

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Morning Prayer

7:30 a.m. Thursdays in the Narthex

Join us live in the narthex (entryway of the main church building) at 7:30 every Thursday for Morning Prayer Rite II. It's come-as-you are casual. Everything you need is provided, even hot coffee!

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​7:30 a.m. every morning on Zoom

Join us virtually on Zoom every morning (except Sunday) for a morning prayer service. The room opens around 7 a.m., and the service starts promptly at 7:30 and is over before 8 a.m. You don't need to bring anything ... you can even leave your camera off if you aren't "camera ready" at that hour. Our service is lay led, participation is optional - you can just listen and pray along with us if you are more comfortable. Come, join us, and be open to God's presence! Please contact Lee Davis cleedavis3@gmail.com if you have any questions or are having trouble with the Zoom link.