Visiting Christ the King in Person

Thank you for visiting the website of Christ the King Anglican Church in Grover Beach, California! We’d love to have you visit in person—we’re pretty small, so you won’t be lost in the crowd. And you are welcome to join us after the service for some lunch. We generally have a potluck every Sunday after Holy Communion.

If you have never been to a liturgical service, your first few visits could be confusing as you try to follow along in the prayer book and the hymnal. Our worship service is rather formal and fixed in order, including written prayers and responses. Please don’t feel like you have to know exactly what is happening all the time. In fact, we often recommend that visitors simply put the books down, observe the actions of the priest and the people, and listen to the words that are spoken and sung.  If you are curious what our worship looks like in practice, here is a video of one of our recent services.

We are intentional about worshiping the Triune God, and thus our service is responsive and participatory. The general principle for the posture of the people during the service is that we stand to praise (singing, reading the psalms, hearing the gospel), sit to listen (to hear other Biblical lessons and the homily), and kneel (as able) to pray. For a more detailed explanation, please see the essay at this link which explains more about why we do what we do.

The highlight of our worship is the sacrament of Holy Communion, which Jesus instituted for the Church on the night that He was betrayed. In the service of Holy Communion (our regular Sunday worship), all of our liturgical actions direct us towards communion with God.

All persons baptized in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost (the Holy Spirit), and who are in good standing with their home church, are invited to participate in the Lord’s Supper. If you have questions or unique circumstances, then please email Fr. Kent, and he would be happy to provide guidance regarding participation. If you are not baptized or for other reasons are refraining from the receiving the sacrament, then you may still come forward and cross your arms over your chest to receive a blessing instead.

There are various ways to receive Holy Communion. The most traditional (and preferred) mode is to receive the host directly to the tongue and then to sip from the common cup. When the priest comes by with the bread, simply open your mouth so that he can place the host directly on your tongue. Another way to receive is to hold your hands out in front of you with the right palm over the left, so that the host can be placed in your right hand. Then the host is lifted up to the mouth and consumed before the cup-bearer administers the wine from the common cup. When the cup-bearer comes by, he will gently place the chalice’s rim to the lips, and the person receiving the wine should help tip the chalice by lightly grasping the base, since the cup-bearer can not see when the chalice has been tipped sufficiently.

Should anyone prefer not to drink from the common cup, such as when recovering from illness, one may receive the sacrament by intinction. Hold out the hands as described above (palms up, right hand over left), and the priest will place the host in the palm of the right hand. Then when the cup-bearer comes by, he will see the host in the hands and then pick it up before lightly dipping it in the wine and administering it to the tongue. Please do not dip the host in the chalice yourself for this increases the probability that multiple fingers would contact the rim where others will be placing their lips.

One final note on receiving communion. Though not generally preferred, it is acceptable to receive in one kind only. Usually this means partaking of only the Body without drinking from the chalice. To indicate this, simply arise from the communion rail after consuming the host.

Again, thank you very much for learning about us here at Christ the King Anglican Church. We look forward to your visit.

All peace and blessings to you in Jesus’ Name,
Fr. Kent+