More About Services

WELCOME TO MESSIAH We are a loving, inclusive and active faith community seeking to serve God, follow Christ and change the world. We find strength in the cultural, economic and political diversity of our congregation.

Through the beauty of our Biblical and liturgical traditions we discover relevant meaning for our varied lives as we seek to embrace our most authentic selves.

Empowered by our Christian values, we seek to extend God’s boundless love beyond worship to all creation, making God’s love tangible in the twenty-first century.

SERVICE TIMES
8:00am Service
10:15am Service
12:00pm Service (In Spanish)
more about worship & music

Life Event Forms

ADULT EDUCATION OFFERINGS
Class meets at 9:00 am in the upper
room

CHURCH SCHOOL
10:15am-11:00am
For age 4 through High School

CHILD CARE AVAILABLE
9:00am-1:30pm
From age 0 to 5

MAP AND DIRECTIONS
CHURCH LEADERSHIP
VALUES & HISTORY

Altar Guild
Coro Nuevo Amanecer
Choristers (RSCMA)
Messiah’s Choir
Sunday Liturgy Team
   Ushers
   Crucifers
      MC

Affiliated Organization
OCSA
Auction Ministry
Health Ministry
Office Volunteers
Small Group Socials
Black History Month
Hispanic / Latino Heritage Celebration
Homecoming
Hot Dog Feast
Shrove Tuesday

Hope Nicaragua
Social Justice Films
Homeless Ministry

Affiliated Organizations
  Amos Health & Hope
  Hands Together
  Affiliated Organization - OCCCO
Adult Education
Education for Ministry (EFM)
Women Book Group
Contemplative Prayer Ministry
Intercessory Prayer Ministry
Lay Eucharistic Visitors (LEV)
Wednesday Women
Pastoral Care Team
Health Ministry
Aging-It Happens
Caregiver Support
Mujeres de Fe & Esperanza

Worship at Messiah draws from the wider Anglican tradition as well as our own local customs and history. Regular, occasional and special services are designed to appeal to a variety of worship preferences as we seek to explore the place, relevance and meaning of spirituality in today’s busy world. Diverse liturgical and musical styles provide different sensory experiences and we hope one – or all – of these offerings will help connect you to God’s love and the wider community around you. The Episcopal liturgy utilizes the 1979 Book of Common Prayer as well as other liturgical sources.

SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES

8:00 AM: This service is ideal for those who prefer a more solemn, reflective environment. The service offers the opportunity to experience the Eucharist and engaging sermon with no congregational singing. An organ prelude begins and ends the service and a soloist sings an anthem during the offertory.

10:15 AM: This is a traditional and vibrant service that incorporates organ music with the adult choir in a variety of musical pieces. Special services feature guest musicians playing a variety of instruments and percussion. Inclusive worship language, evocative prayers, relevant sermons and a dynamic congregation will energize and welcome you.

12:00 PM: This service is in Spanish and incorporates both traditional and cultural elements of the diverse congregation. A choir leads the music. Inclusive worship language, evocative prayers, relevant sermons and a dynamic congregation will energize and welcome you. The fellowship continues as parishioners enjoy a meal together after the service.

OCCASIONAL SERVICES

We adapt the ancient and beautiful tradition of the “daily office” – or finding contemplative time at specified times of the day – throughout the year by offering these occasional services:

MORNING PRAYER: This short, quiet morning service is offered once a month on Wednesdays. Led by lay members.

CHORAL EVENSONG: Now offered twice a year, with full Choral ensemble, and guest organist. The service is drawn from the Anglican cathedral tradition, and features music and canticle settings only usually heard at this early-evening service, including the Phos Hilaron, Magnificat, Nunc Dimittis, and Sung Preces and Responses. Held traditionally in February and May.

COMPLINE: A night-time, meditative service drawn from Monastic tradition. Held on the evenings of the fifth Sunday of a month, as publicized in the church calendar.

SEASONAL SERVICES AND CELEBRATIONS:

SHROVE TUESDAY
The day before the beginning of Lent is known as Shrove Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday is also called Fat Tuesday (in French, Mardi=Tuesday; gras=fat) On Shrove Tuesday, many Christians make a special point of self-examination, of considering what wrongs they need to repent, and what amendments of life or areas of spiritual growth they especially need to ask God’s help in dealing with. This tradition at Messiah offers the opportunity for former, current and new members to gather over a pankcake meal and celebrate.

ASH WEDNESDAY
Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting, is the first day of Lent in Western Christianity. It occurs 46 days before Easter. On this day, we gather to begin the journey towards the Cross and the Resurrection. Several services are offered throughout the day for the imposition of ashes

LENTEN MORNING PRAYER SERVICES
During the Lent season, these early-morning services use the New Zealand Prayer Book. Lay parishioners offer the meditation, and the service is followed by a light breakfast.

Walk of The Cross

SUNDAY OF THE PASSION PALM SUNDAY
This service commemorates Jesus’ dramatic descent into death before the great miracle and mystery of Easter. The crowd's cheers at Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday turn to jeers and demand his blood on Good Friday. Palm Sunday crosses are blessed for distribution at this service

TENEBRAE
“Tenebrae” from the Latin word for “darkness” or “shadows” is a dramatic, candlelight service using the Psalms and Lamentations, and providing an extended meditation upon, and a prelude to the events in Jesus’ life between the Last Supper and the Resurrection.

MAUNDY THURSDAY
This bilingual (Spanish/English) service recalls the last supper Jesus shared with his disciples. The congregation is invited to participate in the ceremony of foot washing; symbolic of the servant ministry that Jesus instituted with his disciples. The service begins in the Parish Hall at 6:30pm with an Agape potluck meal of soups, breads, cheeses and wine.

The Church remains open after the service for an All Night Silent Vigil. Prayer and readings for meditation are provided. People can stay as long as they wish. A Security Officer stays on campus all night long.

GOOD FRIDAY
This service commemorating the passion and death of Jesus is a major moment in Holy Week. The Rector and four members of the congregation offer five meditations on the meaning of the crucifixion in our own time. Each meditation is a part of the fabric of worship and reflection that includes hymns, scriptures, prayers and silence. People are free to come in and leave discretely at any time during transitional parts of the service.

VIA CRUCIS
The congregation gathers in the sanctuary for reflection and goes out in a procession carrying a large cross to 14 stations to symbolize the suffering and struggle in our inner city and how it impacts our lives. We return to the patio at the church for concluding prayers (Bilingual).

THE GREAT VIGIL OF EASTER
The Great Vigil of Easter is the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. The congregation gathers in darkness in the patio where fire is kindled for the lighting of the new Paschal candle. We process into the church bearing candles. During this festive service we listen to the promise of redemption, renew our baptismal vows and welcome into the body of Christ those who wish to be baptized.

EASTER SUNDAY
The church gathers on Easter Sunday to celebrate with great shouts of “Alleluia!” The service features glorious music and inspiring preaching about the resurrection of Jesus and the promise that death is overcome by life eternal.

ADVENT MORNING PRAYER
Reflections on Advent followed by breakfast and discussion. All are welcome. Church members offer the meditations.

ADVENT LESSONS AND CAROLS
A magnificent service focused on the meanings of the Advent season that includes traditional readings and exceptional music. The service is followed by a festive Christmas celebration in the Parish Hall.

LA POSADA
An experiential and moving service that draws on local traditions and allows participants to enact the Christmas story through music, readings and, of course, food. Participants will walk through the neighborhood surrounding the church for much of the service.

A SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE AND COMFORT
For some, the seasons of Advent and Christmas – a time when we are supposed to celebrate hope, love, joy and peace – present a paradox. The season can also bring up feelings of sadness and grief. This service offers a contemplative space to embrace us all.

CHRISTMAS FAMILY EVE SERVICE
In a warm ambience of beauty and joy, the journey of the Christmas Story is reimagined with participation by the children and youth of the parish. The Choristers offer the musical accompaniment.

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE
A joyful service to celebrate the mystery and beauty of the birth of the Christ Child on Christmas Eve. There is a Choral Prelude featuring favorite Christmas’ carols and hymns prior to the service.

CHRISTMAS DAY SERVICE
A celebration of the Nativity of Jesus in a beautifully decorated sanctuary. Red poinsettias are delivered after the service to brighten the day of someone, especially the homebound.

FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS
This service is theologically enriching and features a reading of the Gospel of John, which records the birth of Jesus as a second “Genesis account.” For John, this birth started in Heaven: Jesus, the Word was in the beginning, and was God, and the Word became flesh and chose to dwell among us. John clearly communicates that this birth is the most significant event in the history of the world. God became flesh to shine light in darkness, an event that mirrors the creation of the heavens and earth.

CANDLEMAS
This ancient festival marks the midpoint of winter, halfway between the shortest day of the year and the spring equinox. Candlemas is a Christian festival that commemorates the ritual purification of Mary, which according to Jewish law, took place forty days after the birth of her son, Jesus. On this day, Christians also remember the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem, another Jewish tradition that took place forty days after a son’s birth. In pre-Christian times, this day was known as the “Feast of Lights” and celebrated the increase in strength of the life-giving sun as winter gave way to spring. During the early Middle Ages, February 2nd was the day of the year when all the candles that were to be used during the coming year were brought into the church for a blessing to be said over them. The day became known as the Festival Day (or Mass) of the Candles which, over time, became shortened to “Candlemas.”

ALL SAINTS’ SUNDAY
10:15 am, early November – A powerful service featuring musicians and choir performing a Mass for Remembrance. This is a profound spiritual experience in which we remember loved ones who have passed. There is also an opportunity for remembrance at a Day of the Dead service, during which participants are invited to share pictures, symbolic objects and stories in remembrance of their loved ones.

DAY OF THE DEAD
At this service, family and friends gather to pray for and remember those who have passed to the greater life. The Altar is decorated using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed. This celebration honors them in the way we remembered them while they were alive.

THE DAY OF PENTECOST
Pentecost is the great festival that marks the birth of the Christian church by the power of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost means “fiftieth day” and is celebrated fifty days after Easter Sunday. The Day of Pentecost is one of the seven principal feasts of the church year in the Episcopal Church and is identified as one of the feasts that is “especially appropriate” for baptism.

TRINITY SUNDAY
This Sunday was originally no otherwise distinguished than as an octave of Pentecost. The Church, however, in consequence of the heresies of Arius and others, who opposed this divine mystery, thought proper to order that the mystery of the Trinity should be more solemnly commemorated on a particular day.

On Trinity Sunday we remember and honor the Triune God revealed to us in and through the life of the Resurrected Christ. On this Sunday, white is the color of the day.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION
This celebration is held during February at the 10:15am service and features a sermon by a notable member of the local African American community. Musician guests perform music from the African American cultural tradition. The service is followed by a lunch and discussion in the Parish Hall.

HISPANIC HERITAGE CELEBRATION
This is a bilingual service held at 10:15am. The service features music from Hispanic and Latino cultural traditions and is attended by parishioners from the 10:15am and noon services. After the service, the Leadership Committee from the Spanish Service hosts a festive luncheon.

INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION
On the Sunday closest to July 4, we celebrate American independence with patriotic hymns and the National Anthem. After the 10:15am service, we host the American Hot Dog Feast. The patio is decorated in red, white and blue and we enjoy hot dogs, hamburgers and a variety of delicious salads brought by Messiah parishioners.

Feast Day Services

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
This bilingual service begins with traditional Mexican songs and a candle procession into the sanctuary decorated with red roses. We gather in the dark to sing the beautiful songs— Las Mañanitas in memory of that early morning when a simple Aztec Indian man, Juan Diego, was walking while it was dark and heard the beautiful songs of birds beckoning him to come aside for an encounter with her.

In the Guadalupe story there is a visitation from the holy, which shows that God is not interested in the domination of one culture over another. God is not even interested in the domination of one religion over another. Rather, Guadalupe, who said she was the mother of God, also said she was the mother of the Aztec God, Teotl. And here in this mystical event there is a bridge of the two parts of Mexico—the white Europeans who were in power and the of-color Aztec indigenous who were oppressed by an authoritative practice of Christianity. In the Guadalupe story there are brought together two different faces of religion, a father-God-oriented European practice of Christianity and a mother-God-oriented indigenous religion.

This bilingual, multicultural celebration at Messiah prays that no one culture at Messiah and no one culture in Santa Ana and Orange County will dominate over another culture and that God and Jesus and Guadalupe will continue to speak to us through those who are different from us.

HOMECOMING SUNDAY
On the second Sunday of September a biligual service is held from 10:15am to 11:15am. The service is followed by a lunch in a beautiful patio decorated for this celebration. There are lots of fun activities for children, dancing and local musicians perfom. This celebration marks the beginning of the program year at Messiah.

BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS
Often celebrated on October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, or on the Saturday near that date. The bond between person and pet is like no other relationship. At Messiah we enjoy the opportunity this service provides for people to take their animal companions to church for a special blessing. This service is the place where the bond of creation is celebrated.

THANKSGIVING DAY
On Thanksgiving Day people gather at Messiah in worship to give thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. We pray to be faithful stewards of God’s great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need. This service offers us the opportunity to express our gratitude to God, our Creator and Sustainer.

CHRIST THE KING
Christ the King Sunday is the last Sunday of the church year. It celebrates Christ’s messianic kingship and sovereign rule over all creation. At Church of the Messiah the children’s choir offers the music and children are assigned to lead the readings and prayers.