Order One, in full
The full shape, in order, with what may be left out marked as such.
Common Worship Order One is the standard modern-language eucharist of the Church of England. It falls into four movements — Gathering, Word, Sacrament, Sending — and almost every parish booklet in the country is a local arrangement of what follows.
The Gathering
| Part | Notes |
|---|---|
| Hymn | Optional, near-universal |
| The Greeting | Required |
| Prayer of Preparation | The Collect for Purity. Optional; very widely used |
| Prayers of Penitence | Required, though it may move later in the service |
| Gloria in Excelsis | Omitted in Advent and Lent — see when the Gloria is omitted |
| The Collect | Required; proper to the day |
The Liturgy of the Word
| Part | Notes |
|---|---|
| First reading | Old Testament, or Acts in Eastertide |
| Psalm | Said, sung, or omitted — see printing the psalm |
| Second reading | Epistle. May be omitted |
| Hymn | The gradual; optional |
| Gospel acclamation | Alleluia, or a Tract in Lent |
| Gospel | Required. Never omitted |
| Sermon | Required at the principal Sunday service |
| The Creed | Nicene on Sundays and feasts — see which creed |
| Prayers of Intercession | Required |
The Liturgy of the Sacrament
| Part | Notes |
|---|---|
| The Peace | Required |
| Hymn | Offertory; optional |
| Taking of the Bread and Wine | With a prayer at the preparation of the table |
| The Eucharistic Prayer | Required. Order One offers eight (A to H); most parishes settle on two or three and rotate |
| Sanctus and Benedictus | Within the Eucharistic Prayer |
| The Lord’s Prayer | Required |
| Breaking of the Bread | Required |
| Agnus Dei | Optional |
| Giving of Communion | With the invitation |
| Hymn | During or after communion; optional |
| Prayer after Communion | Required; proper to the day |
The Dismissal
| Part | Notes |
|---|---|
| Notices | Anywhere your parish puts them; commonly here |
| Hymn | Final; optional |
| The Blessing | Required |
| The Dismissal | Required. Alleluias added in Eastertide |
What a parish actually decides
Reading that list, it looks as though everything is fixed. In practice a parish makes perhaps a dozen decisions — which confession, which eucharistic prayer, Nicene or Apostles’, whether the Agnus Dei is sung, where the notices go, whether the psalm is printed — and then keeps them for years. The weekly work is only the readings, the hymns and the notices.
Questions
What is the order of service for a Common Worship Holy Communion?
Four movements: the Gathering (greeting, preparation, penitence, Gloria, collect); the Liturgy of the Word (readings, psalm, gospel, sermon, creed, intercessions); the Liturgy of the Sacrament (peace, eucharistic prayer, Lord's Prayer, breaking of bread, communion, post-communion prayer); and the Dismissal (blessing and dismissal).
Which parts of a Common Worship eucharist can be left out?
The Prayer of Preparation, the psalm, the second reading, the Agnus Dei and all the hymns are optional. The Greeting, penitence, collect, gospel, sermon, creed, intercessions, peace, eucharistic prayer, Lord's Prayer, breaking of bread, post-communion prayer, blessing and dismissal are not.
How many eucharistic prayers does Order One have?
Eight, lettered A to H. Most parishes settle on two or three and rotate them by season.