In your pew, you will find the Book of Common Prayer, the 1982 Hymnal, and Lift Every Voice which are used during the service. ​

Upon entering the sanctuary, you will receive a service bulletin for the day and a visitor’s card to complete.  You may turn your visitor’s card in to any of our ushers or place it in the offering plate. 

Dr Geraldine R. Waters
Vestry Service
Member since ‘57​

I love the beauty of the service.
This place is like a safe haven. There’s a solemnity that carries you through the ensuing heats of life.

Leatrice Curtis
Office Administrator
​Member since ‘47
​ (Orchard Street)

"St. Mary's: my home all my life. The nuns were instructing when I was a child.
​
An open mind will absorb the traditions. Father Mercer preaches sensibly from content that you experience in everyday life."

​We begin with an opening hymn followed by the Collect for the Day and prayer; there are two readings, a psalm and the reading of the Gospel from one of the four books of the Gospel.  During the Gospel reading, we stand out of reverence to Jesus Christ.

The sermon follows the reading of the Gospel.  We listen intently to receive the message from the Lord. The congregation then recites the Nicene Creed which is found in the Common Book of Prayer.  

Next, we pray together for the Church, the World and those in need. We pray for the sick, offer prayers of thanksgiving for all the wonderful things in our lives and finally we pray for the dead.  Fr. Mercer concludes with a prayer that gathers all the petitions into a communal offering of intercession.  

We then confess our sins before God in a communal statement of what we have done and what we have left undone, followed by a pronouncement of absolution by our Priest.

Barbara McFadden
Baltimore
Member 70+ years

" The church means everything to me. Some of the best friends I have I got from St Mary’s."

The center of our service is Holy Communion or the Eucharist. Our priest stands at the table which has been set with bread or wafers and wine, raises his hands and greets the congregation.

Next the Eucharistic prayer begins; which includes the story of our faith, from the beginning of Creation, through the choosing of Israel to be God’s people, to our continual turning away from God, and God’s calling us to return.

Finally, our priest tells the story of the coming of Jesus Christ and about the night before his death, the night he instituted the Eucharistic meal as a continuous remembrance of him.  The bread and the wine are blessed and we sing the Lord’s Prayer and the priest breaks the bread and wine and offers them to the congregation.  The congregation then shares the bread and wine.   ​

Felix Vaughan
20 year member

" I’m a prodigal son. In my times of being in the world doing my thing, I turned my back on the church and sometime on God too.

​He pulled me back into the fold and I think it’s my humble duty to serve, doing my little part for God."

Matthew 18:20
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.

All baptized Christians, no matter what age, are welcomed to receive communion. Visitors who are not baptized Christians, are welcome to come forth during Communion to receive a blessing from the priest. Simply cross your arms across your chest to indicate you wish a blessing. At the end of the Eucharist, the congregation prays once more and then we are dismissed.

Pam Shipley and India

"So much warmth when you walk in. I needed more from life, and success comes from the Grace of God moving you the way you need to be moved."

"St. Mary's has helped me through alot and allowed me to be refreshed. It's a very personable experience."

The Church of St Mary the Virgin
3121 Walbrook Ave
Baltimore, MD 21216
410.383.1575

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