What should I expect when I visit?
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
Welcome to St. Alban's!
At St. Alban's, you can expect a loving and welcoming parish with folks from all over the greater Reading area. You can expect a lot of smiling faces from people who are genuinely glad you've come to visit. You can expect to worship God in the beauty of holiness. You can expect people who've been here since the beginning (1963) and people who are just beginning their journey with God and with us. You can expect to see children and adults and everything in between.
Come join us on a Sunday soon and see what St. Alban's is all about!
The main entrance
Our Campus
We look forward to having you join us on a Sunday morning for worship and fellowship! First, if you need directions to St. Alban's, look here for a Google Map and the layout of our parking lot. Our entire campus is accessible to our friends in wheelchairs.
Our main doors are located directly under the covered porch. These doors lead to the narthex, a foyer-esque room, where you'll be greeted by our ushers. Directly ahead of the narthex is our sanctuary where we worship. Many of our parishioners will gather here before going into the sanctuary for worship.
The Sanctuary
Worship
St. Alban's is an Episcopal church, and our worship follows the services from The Book of Common Prayer. A typical worship service on a Sunday will feature readings from the Bible, a sermon from our priest, prayers, and Holy Communion. If you join us for the 10:00am service on Sundays, there will also be hymns and anthems. In the Episcopal Church, all baptized Christians are invited and encouraged to receive communion or to come forward at Communion for a blessing. We receive Communion in two kinds, wafer (the Body of Christ) and wine (the Blood of Christ). Currently, wine is by intinction (dip the wafer into the wine before consuming). You do not need to receive both wafer and wine. If you prefer wafer only, you have received Christ fully.
An exercise class in the Narthex, with the front doors on the left
Fellowship and Formation
Each week at St. Alban's we also meet for fellowship and Christian formation. Grab a cup of coffee and a bite to eat! Sit in on a book group, bible study or an adult forum if you'd like. If you have children, they're welcome to come to Sunday School even if it's your first time here.