Weekday Services & Daily Office
Weekday Eucharist
A service of Holy Eucharist with healing prayer is held in person at the church at noon on Wednesdays. You can also join this service via Zoom; subscribe to the Sweet Spirit Express newsletter to get the link.
The Daily Office
The Daily Office is a regular round of short services for different times of day that can be prayed with others or alone, in church or anywhere you are. See below for in-person and virtual opportunities to try this ancient form of prayer.
History of the Daily Office
The practice of praying at regular times during the day derives ultimately from ancient Jewish tradition. The Office developed in the Middle Ages as a regimen of prayer centered on chanting the Psalms, prayed eight times a day, in community in monasteries and by all ordained clergy. In the later Middle Ages, an abridged form of the Office became an important part of lay piety with the huge popularity of Books of Hours. And at the English Reformation, a streamlined Daily Office in English became part of the Book of Common Prayer, which we use today.
Morning Prayer
A number of parishes in the diocese collaborate to offer Morning Prayer via Zoom at 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. most days of the week. Subscribe to the Sweet Spirit Express for the current schedule with Zoom links.
The Washington National Cathedral offers Morning Prayer online via YouTube and Facebook weekdays at 7 a.m. See this page for details.
Evensong
Choral Evensong is sung most days in the late afternoon in person at the Washington National Cathedral. Visit this page for details.
Compline
Compline is a brief service of spoken prayer for the end of the day. Ascension prays Compline via Zoom Monday-Saturday at 8 p.m. Subscribe to the Sweet Spirit Express for the Zoom link.
Forward Day By Day
Forward Movement offers the text of the Office for every time of day on its website and app. Audio is available for some Offices. Visit their website for the current service wherever you are, or download their mobile app here.
Book of Common Prayer Online
The full text of the Book of Common Prayer (1979), including the Daily Office, is online in hypertext format here.
