We’d love to have you join us on a Sunday morning here at The Episcopal Church of the Resurrection! Here’s a little information that should help you know what to expect when you arrive.
Location and Parking
Our church is located on a hill in downtown Starkville, MS. While the address is 105 North Montgomery Street, we have property that extends to University Drive and to HWY 182. You can access our main parking lot by taking the Montgomery Street entrance and turning left into our gravel lot. Most people enter through the door at the top of the wooden stair and ramp which is easily visible from that lot. Additional parking is available along the driveway that exits on Hwy 182. Once you know where you’re going, you can also park in the lots of various nearby businesses on Sunday mornings.
What to Wear?
While our worship style is more traditional, we’re also a very comfortable and inclusive church. People may dress a bit nicer than usual on Sunday, but you’ll see both t-shirts and ties worn in our pews. Dress so that you are most comfortable, and we’ll just be glad to see you!
Nursery and Kids in Church
Children are welcome and invited to participate fully in worship at ECR. That being said, sometime squirming kids can make church less worshipful for parents. For that reason, we offer a Nursery all morning long. The nursery door opens to the center courtyard. If you need any help finding your way, there should be someone available to help just inside.
8:00 a.m. Rite I Communion Service
Our mornings begin with a quiet communion service at 8:00 a.m. in the church building. Make sure and pick up a worship booklet so you’ll know how to follow along with the service. You’ll see references in the service booklet to the BCP. This stands for the Book of Common Prayer. There are plenty of these red, hard-cover books inside the church, so use your service booklet , the right page, and participate as you feel comfortable.
Learn more about our services here.
9:15 a.m. Sunday School
During the school year, Sunday school is offered for all ages. Our current adult class is held in Johnson Hall, which is the large room adjacent to the church itself. Children’s Sunday School classrooms are in the top floor Christian Education building on the west side of the campus. There are several Godly Play classes for our PreK – 6th Graders. There’s also a Jr, High Class for 6th-8th graders in “centering prayer room” in the back corner of the building. Our Sr. High (9th-12th grade) offering is in the front of our office building, which is a home at 319 University Drive. The home backs up the rest of the church campus.
Learn more about our formation programs here.
10:30 a.m. Rite II Communion Service
Our principal service of the week is our 10:30 offering. Make sure and grab a booklet on your way inside. The booklet contains all the music, prayers, and readings that we’ll be using that day, so following along with us and participate as you feel comfortable.
Receiving Communion
All baptized Christians are welcome to receive communion in the Episcopal Church, but you can certainly stay in your pew if you prefer. If you do choose to participate, just come forward when your pew is invited to do so and take a spot at the communion rail. You may choose to stand or kneel at the rail. To receive the bread, simply hold out your hands, palms up, one on top of the other. If you’d like to receive wine by intinction (dipping the bread into the wine), then please only offer one palm. That will signify to the celebrant that you’d like to then dip the wafer into the small intinction cup. If you choose to instead drink wine from a common chalice, we’re offering that as well. We will not, however, be allowing intinction from the chalice. If you wish to participate but not receive, come forward to the altar rail and simply cross your arms over your chest to receive a blessing from the priest.