Whether you are a life-long Anglican, just coming back to church after a long time away, visiting from another denomination, or even if you've never encountered church at all, our hope for you is that you might find your time in our parish to be an uplifting, and hope-filled encounter with Christ.​

There are three opportunities for worship each Sunday morning.

The first is the 8 am service as St. Mary’s, Summerside. This service is always a service of Holy Communion from the Book of Common Prayer. It is what is traditionally called a “said eucharist” or for some, a “low mass”, meaning that it is said rather than sung, and there are no congregational hymns.

At 9:15 at St. John’s, and at 10:45 at St. Mary’s we offer the same service of Holy Communion. These services are drawn from the Book of Common Prayer, a book, language, and worship that has been informing Anglican spirituality for almost 500 years. At St. Mary’s the service of Communion is sung, meaning the choir and people sing several parts of the service itself - please join in as you are able, but don’t worry if the tune isn’t familiar!

At these services the Sunday School meets, our priest offers a children's talk, and we sing hymns. After the 10:45 service we gather in the hall for coffee and tea and for fellowship with one another.

Often, people who have never worshiped in an Anglican church will notice that in our services there is a lot of standing, kneeling, and sitting.

We want our whole selves engaged in worship, and so we allow the posture of our bodies to reflect what is happening in our minds and hearts. When we proclaim something as a congregation or when we join our voices together in hymns of praise to God we stand up, we sit to listen, and we kneel when we are in prayer.

It can be a bit disorienting and confusing at first, but don’t get anxious about “getting it right.” Not everybody is able to stand or kneel, and that is fine. We welcome you to follow what the congregation is doing, but know that God welcomes you whether you are sitting, standing, or kneeling. It is, fundamentally, about the posture of our heart.

At a certain point in the service the congregation will be invited to approach the altar rail and receive the Eucharist .

The Anglican Church of Canada welcomes all people who are baptised in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and receive communion in their own denomination to receive the Eucharist (this means that you don’t have to be an Anglican to receive). If you wish to approach the rail and receive a blessing instead you can stand or kneel and cross your arms over your chest and a priest will offer you a blessing.

Children are always most welcome in church and typically there is are a few moments set aside following the sermon when the Rector will sit with the children and chat about the readings and themes for the day, always ending in prayer for any things the children want to pray for. We always have books and colouring sheets available as well. Please see our news section to check whether Sunday School is currently running, and if your child is interested in joining please let us know.

We understand that sometimes smaller children can't stay as quiet as parents may like during a service, but please don't feel embarrassed or like you're disturbing everyone if this is the case, we welcome the sounds of children and are all very happy that they’re with us! However, if you do need a quiet place to go there are rooms at the back of St. John's church, and a room in the basement of St. Mary's that are open and available for your use.

Just as love cannot be love if it is forced, neither can a gift be truly a gift unless it is given freely. Giving is something in which we are meant to find joy, and that is the spirit in which we give to the church.

Every Sunday we take a collection by passing a plate throughout the congregation whereon people place envelopes or a token that represents their electronically-given donation. Like most churches we operate on a break-even budget and so any donation made to the parish goes to support our ongoing ministry.

Church is a place that is in the world but not subject to the world's ways, but to the ways of God's Kingdom. Giving is never about 'paying' for your time in church, and you don't need to give to attend, but it is good to prayerfully consider how giving, and letting go of our attachment to money for the service of God, might help you spiritually.

You are welcome to reach out to the Rector if you would like more guidance on giving, but a good place to start is to think about how much you're comfortable with giving each week and then give just a little bit more - a reminder that it is in God whom we trust to care for us, and not the world or our wealth.

If you still have questions or wish to talk to Rev’d Colin about Anglicanism, Christianity, or our services, please don’t hesitate to contact him by email.

At our 9:15 and 10:45 services there will be greeters to welcome you at the door and they would be more than happy to help you find a seat, get you situated, and to answer any questions you might have about our worship.