During the COVID pandemic, our community invites you to worship with us online. When the weather is good, we may worship outside in Avondale Park (though there will still be the option to join in online). Our worship is designed to be participatory, and to engage the spiritual insight of everyone there! We read from Scripture, preach the Good News to one another through a conversational sermon, and offer prayers for our neighbors, ourselves and the world.
The Abbey is a mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama. The Episcopal Church is a liturgical church. Our worship follows a pattern set out in the Book of Common Prayer (1979). We follow the Revised Common Lectionary. We also observe the traditional liturgical seasons, which include Advent, Christmastide, Epiphany, Lent, Eastertide, and Pentecost.
Our worship is rooted in our Anglican tradition. The Episcopal Church is the American expression of the Anglican Communion, which centers on sharing a common prayerbook and a relationship with the Archbishop of Canterbury of the Church of England. Our current prayerbook includes our English tradition and also brings in ancient prayers and liturgies of the Christian Church.
We worship together every Sunday at 4:00pm. We praise God through music, prayer, a reflection on Scripture, and a celebration of the Holy Eucharist (the Lord’s Supper). There are many ways to be involved. Everyone is welcome to receive communion – the Table belongs to God.
Abbey community member, Rick Putman, offers a Meditation on Communion at The Abbey.
For children ages 3-10 we offer Godly Play, a Montessori-style Sunday school. Children start out in church with their parents, then process to the back of the church for Godly Play during the readings and sermon. Children are invited to gather around the altar and play important roles during the Eucharist.
Anyone. Seriously, anyone and everyone. Kids, teenagers, young adults, adults. Everyone is welcome at The Abbey, regardless of race, ethnicity, faith tradition, class, age, political party, education, gender, marital status, physical or mental ability, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Our service is a relaxed environment. Wear what makes you feel comfortable and invite anyone you think would be interested.