Worship
Worship is our weekly opportunity to "sing our love song to God," and it is also God's love song, sung back to us through Word and Sacrament. The primary focus of our Episcopal liturgy (which means the "work of the people") is the Eucharist (a Greek word meaning "Thanksgiving"), but there are two main parts of the service: the Word of the Lord, which includes proclamation of Scripture, the Creed, Prayers of the People and the Confession, and the Holy Eucharist, when Christ, through the bread and wine, becomes tangibly present to the congregation gathered. In turn, the gathered community becomes Christ's Body to one another and to the world.
Tune into the livestream of Sunday Worship available at 10 a.m. on Sundays via facebook.
Download this week’s Worship Bulletin.
Baptism at St. Paul's
Baptism is an occasion for joy and celebration when a child or adult are welcomed into the community of Christ. St. Paul's Church welcomes all who wish to be baptized. If you are interested in baptism, please contact the church office at office@stpaulschatham.org.
Confirmation at St. Paul's
Confirmation is a rite at which youth and adults affirm for themselves the vows made by their parents and Godparents at their Baptism. If an adult has been confirmed in another denomination, the ceremony of Reception takes place which recognizes the validity of their previous Confirmation, but also welcomes them officially into the Episcopal Church. For more information about confirmation, please contact the church office at office@stpaulschatham.org.
Weddings
“Holy Matrimony is Christian marriage, in which the couple enters into a life-long union, make their vows before God and the Church, and receive the grace and blessing of God to help them fulfill their vows.” (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 861)
Marriage is a sacramental rite in the Episcopal Church. All weddings St. Paul’s are performed with reverence and joy according to the rite prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer. To be married at St. Paul’s, at least one of the persons must be a baptized Christian. If one, or both persons, are divorced, the clergy must obtain permission from the Bishop of Newark to perform the marriage ceremony.
The Priest in Charge will decide to perform the marriage after the first meeting with the couple. Premarital counseling with the Priest in Charge is required by Episcopal canon for all couples who wish to be married.
We welcome all couples interested in a wedding at St. Paul’s to contact us. Please email your inquiry to office@stpaulschatham.org or call 973-635-8085.
St. Paul’s Memorial Garden
St. Paul’s has a beautiful memorial garden courtyard. It is a lovely, quiet, meditative space where we inter the ashes of family members and friends who have entered into eternal rest. Three forms of burial are offered in the garden. Ashes can be Individually interred in the Columbarium, Individually interred in the Repository, or commingled in the Repository.
Memorial gifts in memory of loved ones may be offered every year at Christmas and Easter, and these funds are used to maintain the garden space.
“Give rest, O Christ, to your servant with your saints, where sorrow and pain are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting.” Book of Common Prayer, p. 499