Liturgy, the work of worship, at Trinity Church is more formal than most of the Protestant churches in this area and significantly less so than the high churches. In higher church practice, the service takes the form of worship as it was performed (to the best of our understanding) in the ancient Jerusalem Temple but now fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The center of the Temple service was the offering of a blood sacrifice, the blood of an animal sacrifice, the lamb being the most desirable - and in the church, the blood sacrifice of theLamb of God, Jesus Christ, as presented in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, the Eucharist. His sacrifice,full, perfect and all sufficient, ends all other blood sacrifice. Hence, the purpose of ancient Temple worship has been perfectly fulfilled in the Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world.
The great value of the Protestant tradition, often designated as low church, is the proclamation of the Word of God as He has revealed Himself in and through the apostolic witness given in the Bible. In lower forms of worship, the proclaimed Word in the sermon becomes the center of the worship service around which the liturgy is constructed. Reflective of the worship forms as they were practiced in the synagogue service of ancient times (to the best of our understanding), this structure evangelically proclaims salvation exclusively in Jesus Christ. The faithful preacher educates the congregation in God's Word as the he relates contemporary life to the Word and the Word to daily living. Jesus Christ remains the focus of worship as the Word made flesh to dwell among us, full of grace and truth.
In both cases, Jesus Christ must be the center of worship. Eucharistic worship (high) and evangelical worship (low) are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Evangelical worship often ends with an altar call when those so moved come forward to receive Christ. Eucharistic worship has an altar call as well, to come forward to receive Christ in the Sacrament. All authentic Christian worship should be both evangelical and Sacramental.
At Trinity Church, we practice Christ centered worship both in the sermon and in the Sacrament. Our services might bebest described as low church liturgical. Our liturgy calls for dignified worship free from the distractive coming and going of the worshippers and general casualness of so many congregations today. Good behavior and a respectful demeanor are expected. But neither do we encourage a rigid formality that inhibits participation. Our altar call is offered on the first Sunday of each month in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. But the sermon always calls for the reception of God's saving Word in heart, mind, body and soul. We are unapologetically traditional in language, style and order. We avoid all the popular and ever changing worship fads. We believe that the church should be the place where one can cast his life anchor in a secure harbor rather than ride the waves of a liturgical storm.