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For summer 2021, we are transitioning towards hybrid worship, blending in person and on-line. services. Please join in, wherever you may be. Details for this week’s worship can be found here or here.
Sunday Worship with Emmanuel: Join us via Zoom at 9:30 am. Email the office for login information.
CHANGES TO HOW WE GATHER: Following services on 3/15/20, at the direction of our Bishop, we are observing “a fast from in-person worship.” We are also honoring the best medical and scientific advice available concerning public health. Please visit the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire for information and resources.
We invite you to check our Worship page for news of how you can prayand worship together with the people of Holy Spirit & St. Mark’s, even as we are not together physically. Please subscribe to our e-newsletter, with the button above. And we look forward to returning to the practices outlined on this page. Please plan to join us!
Blessings, Kelly+
FAQ: Sunday worship & beyond:
Worship is currently transitioning to hybrid in-person and on-line services. Please see the Worship page for details. All are welcome, from near or far!
Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Ashland: Historic St. Mark’s, 18 Highland St.
Where can I park?
Historic St. Mark’s shares a parking lot with the Ashland Town Hall. A paved path leads to the church buildings. For those with mobility issues, there are two parking spaces right beside the church, at the top of the narrow driveway between the red-brick church and Sherrill Hall.
Where’s the door to the Church?
For worship, you’ll enter the church through the door under the red porch. You’ll be greeted by the priest, the deacon, or a friendly welcomer, who’ll give you a copy of the Order of Service, a handout that outlines the worship service and gives page numbers in the Book of Common Prayer and the Hymnal, our songbook. You’ll also receive a leaflet with the day’s readings from the Bible, and a sheet with community news.
Where are the restrooms?
Two accessible, single stall restrooms are located on the ground floor of Sherill Hall, the brown wooden building across the driveway from the red brick church. A ramped path connects the church building to the door of Sherrill Hall, and there is an elevator between Sherrill’s two floors.
What else happens in Sherrill Hall?
Head to Sherrill Hall for refreshments, meetings, receptions, and restrooms. On Sunday mornings, the kids’ program takes place in Sherrill: after joining in the opening procession of the worship service, kids head to Sherrill with their teachers, and then return to their families in time for Communion. After services, we gather in Sherill for coffee and conversation.
During the week, Sherrill is a busy community center. It has been headquarters for Got Lunch (a summer feeding program) and for numerous community meetings, including Scouts and civic clubs.
What is the Sunday worship service like?
Several minutes before the service begins, our organist will play music (the prelude); conversations quiet, as many people use that time to pray privately and prepare for worship. You might want to look over the service pages in the Book of Common Prayer, which is the red volume, or preview the day’s hymns. Readings from the Bible follow, taken from a mixture of sources—the ancient holy writings of the Hebrew scriptures, and writings from earliest years of the Christian church. There’s always a reading from a Gospel, one of the four books that recount Jesus’ ministry on earth. The sermon, a short talk inviting us deeper into scripture and how it’s relevant to our lives, here and now. We pray for the world and its needs; most Sundays, we say a Confession, examining consciences, and then being assured of God’s forgiveness and love. We greet each other in Christ’s name with “the peace,” sharing a handshake, a hug, or or a smile. An offering is received, and brought forward to be blessed, along with the bread and wine for Holy Communion. Led by the priest, we remember Christ’s gift of himself, for us and for the world. All are welcome to meet Christ in the blessed bread and wine. After prayers and a final hymn, we’re sent back out into the world, to “love and serve the Lord.” Come over to Sherrill Hall and have a cup of coffee, to get you started.
What about music?
The Sunday 9:30 am service offers hymns, music led by an organist, and supported by a choir. Hymns are usually found in the blue Hymnal 1982 and Lift Every Voice and Sing. You’ll also find certain sung parts of the service in the Hymnal’s S- section, at the front of the blue book. From time to time, we use other books of music, and those will be announced. Hymn numbers are printed in the information sheet, and posted on the board at the front of the church. Like to sing? Arrive at 9 am to rehearse an anthem with the parish choir.
Am I welcome at Holy Communion?
Yes.
Really?
Really. All baptized Christians, including children, are called to the table. If you are not yet baptized, and desire to meet Jesus at the table, you are welcome. Take turns coming forward, to receive the blessed bread and/or wine. (Gluten free wafers are available.) If you choose not to receive, you are welcome to come forward for a blessing from the priest.
I’m not baptized…tell me about that?
“In the waters of baptism, we are lovingly adopted by God into God’s family, which we call the Church, and given God’s own life to share and reminded that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ.” Holy Baptism, which can be performed through pouring of water or immersion in it, marks a formal entrance to the congregation and wider Church; the candidates for the sacrament make a series of vows, including an affirmation of the Baptismal Covenant and are baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are marked as Christ’s own for ever, having “clothed [themselves] with Christ” (Galatians 3:27).”
In the Episcopal tradition, a person of any age can be baptized. For babies and very young children, sponsors (or “godparents”) make the promises to grow in faith on their behalf, promises that a baptized person renews at confirmation. ( Learn more about baptism, confirmation, as well as about other ways of becoming an Episcopalian, under “Life Events.”)
what happens at the Thursday morning Service?
The Thursday healing service at 11:00 am is open to all. People may get anointed with the oil if they choose. This service is usually a Eucharist (communion) though at times prayers led by a lay person.
I’m attending a funeral. What do I need to know?
In addition to our parking lot (which is shared with the Ashland town hall), you may park on either side of Highland Avenue. There are two handicap spaces at top of narrow driveway, close to the church door. Episcopal funerals are often a communion service, and you are welcome to receive the blessed bread and wine; if you would prefer not to receive, you are welcome to come forward for a blessing from the priest. Seats near the front of the church are usually reserved for family members, and will be marked.
I’ve been invited to a baptism. What do I need to know?
Thank you for your presence and your support of the person being baptized! See Sunday worship (above) for the basics. Families and sponsors are usually seated near the font (which holds the water for baptism) and those places will be marked.
Emmanuel Episcopal Church at the Holderness School, Holderness NH
Where can I park?
The Holderness School is located on Rt 175, just over the Pemigewasset and up the hill from downtown Plymouth, NH. Entering the campus on Chapel Lane, the road comes to a stop sign. On Sundays when we worship at Holderness, please park in the lot directly ahead, which is next to Weld Hall, the school’s dining hall, or closer to the Chapel of the Holy Cross (GPS address for the Holderness School is 33 Chapel Lane, Holderness, NH 03245.)
Where’s the restroom?
Weld Hall has restrooms on the ground floor. An elevator is located along a short hall to the left of the entrance to the West Wing.
What is the worship service like?
The worship service is from the Book of Common Prayer, which you’ll find in your chair. In part because we sit facing one another, our worship service feels connected, spirited, and at times, less formal. The service is mostly spoken, though at times we will sing unaccompanied. We begin by listening to scripture; we hear a sermon, a short talk by the priest or deacon that invites us deeper into scripture and how it’s relevant to our lives, here and now. Together, we affirm the faith of the church, we pray for world and its needs. In the confession, we examine our consciences and are assured of God’s love. We greet each other in Christ’s name with “the peace,” sharing a handshake, a hug, or or a smile. An offering is received, and brought forward to be blessed, along with the bread and wine for Holy Communion. Led by the priest, we remember Christ’s gift of himself, for us and for the world. All are welcome to meet Christ in the blessed bread and wine. After prayers and a final hymn, we’re sent back out into the world, to “love and serve the Lord.”
Other locations
DOWNTOWN plymouth office: 11 S. main st, Plymouth, NH
The Episcopal Church is thrilled to have returned to downtown Plymouth in February 2020. Our office space—primarily used for pastoral conversations, small meetings, and prayer services—is in space shared with the Brian W. Ray Law Practice. Please confirm office hours by contacting the administrative associate or the clergy directly.
Chapel of the Holy Cross, Holderness School
The Holderness School community holds chapel services weekly in this 1884 red brick building. It’s the site for our Easter Vigil service on Holy Saturday, as well as other occasional services, including our 2021 Zoom-casts, and outdoor worship during Covid.
Trinity Church, Holderness
The “mother church” for Episcopalians in the Pemi Valley, this 1797 wooden chapel is used by the Holderness School for worship several times a year. We often hold our Pentecost Sunday service at Trinity.
263 Highland St, Plymouth
We have left 263 Highland, which was for many years the location for Episcopal ministry and worship in Plymouth. We’re deeply grateful that Griswold Hall and the CLC were our home, which the church shared with many community groups. In-person worship has moved to the Holderness School and the historic St. Mark’s building in Ashland; the church office is now at 11 Main St, in downtown Plymouth.
170 Main St, Plymouth
This building, where the Church of the Holy Spirit worshipped from its founding in the 1920’s until 2017, is owned by Plymouth State University, and is being renovated as an accessible chapel and meeting place for spiritual practice and other uses.