Most Sunday mornings at St. Peter's have a several components that help us grow in love of God and love of our neighbor. Whether you are joining us as a visitor or as a member, we invite you to participate in our full worship experience!

Worship

The Episcopal Church is part of the Anglican worship tradition centered on the Book of Common Prayer. Over 80 million Episcopalians and Anglicans in 165 countries use some variation of this prayer book, and we are bound together in deep affection by our common heritage and common worship, adapted to speak to and represent each local community.

Our worship is a bridge bringing together the various Catholic and Protestant traditions. A Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox Christian would find our rituals familiar. A Protestant would hear the deep influence of the Reformation in the words we say. An Evangelical would find great comfort that our texts and rituals are shaped by the Scriptures themselves. A seeker would find that the liturgy gives structure and guides us through our encounter with God so that one can participate simply by being present, watching, and listening.

The Holy Eucharist, also known as Communion, Mass, or the Lord's Supper, is the central act of Christian worship on Sundays and other Feast Days through the year. Each celebration of the Eucharist includes three readings, generally from the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures), New Testament (Christian Scriptures), Gospels (accounts of Jesus' life and ministry), and a Psalm. A 10-15 minute sermon helps explain the Scriptures and connect them with our daily lives and growth in faith. We offer prayers for our own needs and those of others, and celebrate communion. Depending on the season and service style, there may also be music in the form of hymns sung by all and/or anthems sung or played by one of our musical groups. The order of service is found in a weekly bulletin and supplemental worship booklet.

Formation

Faith formation, or the forming of people as disciples of Jesus Christ, is a lifelong journey.  So, we offer a variety of programs to help equip people of all ages for this journey. Worship is, in itself, a formational activity. On Sundays, we also offer opportunities for group and individual spiritual growth as we build a culture of discipleship. Resuming in fall 2021, during the 10:00 am service we gather children through age 10 for Wiggle and Worship. From the Gospel reading through the Peace we experience Scripture, prayer and worship in the choir room where we can practice a slightly more "active" faith! We also offer many resources through the “Grow” pages on our website. Through these weekly activities, we aim to bridge the church-home gap and enable people of all ages and stages to make faith and a relationship with God part of their daily experience.

Service

There are two components of service at St. Peter's: worship ministry and outreach ministry. All worshippers are participants in worship. Some like to offer their time and talents to help prepare for or lead worship in ministries such as ushers, acolytes, Altar Guild, and lectors. We also take our commitment to love our neighbors as ourselves, and serve other members of our Freehold community through a variety of outreach ministries, such as Community Suppers and our Thrift Store. We take our baptismal vows to "seek and serve Christ in all persons" as a call to action!