Worship & Music
Washington Memorial Chapel is a parish of the Episcopal Church (ECUSA) in the Anglican Communion. We invite you to share the unforgettable experience of Christian worship and musical celebration at Washington Memorial Chapel.
Heritage and Faith
We hope you will discover in this historic setting what many have found here: a welcoming, committed fellowship of seekers and Christian believers who desire to honor our Revolutionary forebears and make a difference in the modern world.
Worship & Music
A SACRED TRADITION
Since early in the twentieth century people have gathered at Washington Memorial Chapel to worship the Living God. Worship and music are at the heart of our community life. We gather in one of the premiere worship sites in North America, worshiping in the Anglican tradition, and in accordance with the Book of Common Prayer.
A PROFOUND EXPERIENCE
“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.'” – Psalm 122: 1
From earliest times every culture and society has had within it an altar and a jail. Such structures represent the two great realities: we seek strength from outside ourselves and left to our own devices we fail.
We gather for worship four times each week:
- Wednesday afternoon at 12:10 p.m.: A service with spoken mass and brief homily.(Meet in the choir)
- Saturday evening at 5 p.m.: A service with modern language and hymns.
- Sunday morning at 8 a.m.: A spoken service using the traditional language of worship (Rite One from the Book of Common Prayer).
- Sunday morning at 10 a.m.: The principal service with hymns and choral music. This service uses the contemporary language (Rite II of the Book of Common Prayer), but occasionally we use the traditional language of Rite I in the seasons of Advent and Lent. This service begins with the National Anthem and a prayer for one of the states of our nation.
Volunteers support worship at Washington Memorial Chapel in many ways, serving on the Altar Guild, ushering, greeting, as well as serving as acolytes, crucifers, chalicists, lectors, and choir members.
Please come and experience the unforgettable experience of worship at Washington Memorial Chapel. We hope you will discover what many have found here: a welcoming, committed fellowship of seekers and believers who desire to make a difference in our world.
Would that there we might rear the wayside chapel, fit memorial of the Church's most honored son, to be the Nation's Bethel for all days to come, where the American patriot might kneel in quest of that courage and that strength to make all honorable his citizenship here below, and prove his claim to that above!— Rev. Dr. W. Herbert Burk, founder of Washington Memorial Chapel