INTRODUCTION    HIGH MASS AT ALL SAINTS'

High Mass is the main Sunday Service at All Saints' Church. It is a celebration of the Eucharist using traditional music, ceremonial and ritual, and is rare in Episcopal Churches, let alone other Christian denominations.  It involves several clergy and ministers in the sanctuary, a choir and members of the congregation reading scripture and prayers, as well as the congregation- all offering worship from the heart and mind. All the senses are used in this act of worship, and the experience inspires and challenges everyone.

However, High Mass is more than a traditional Rite I Mass. Beneath the vestments, candles, incense, music and ceremonial there is a feeling that one is truly at worship. In the words of the patriarch Jacob: "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven." (Genesis 28:17)

An obvious feature of the Mass is that for the sacred parts of the Mass, particularly the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest faces east with the congregation. In recent times the emphasis in many churches has been on the Eucharist as a meal, with the priest facing the congregation over the altar. In the Eucharist the priest represents Christ to the people. However, he is also representing the people to God. The Eucharist is primarily the offering of the eternal sacrifice of Christ, and the ancient tradition of the church was that the priest stands with the people facing the altar, which traditionally stands at the east end of the church.

The altar is thus the central focus of the church, and of the worship therein. In the center is the tabernacle, containing the reserved Sacrament. In the Holy Sacrament of the Altar Christ is truly present.