The Prayer Book also is a strong source of unity for the churches in the Anglican Communion, since each of the national churches worships according to its own version of the English Book of Common Prayer in its native language.

Next to worship, St. Alban’s fulfills its mission through the Christian education of children and adults. We recognize that the modern world in which we live does not order its life around the truth of the Good News of Jesus Christ or promote the values of Christianity.  Consequently, it requires intentional effort to learn what it means to live a Christian life.   We believe that this is as true for adults as it is for children, because all of us are so strongly influenced by the non-Christian elements of our culture we encounter daily.

Finally, St. Alban’s believes that its mission to Bay City and Bay County is carried on by its members in their daily life and work.   By the way they live their lives and encourage others to share the outlook and values of the Christian life, they bear witness to the power of God’s love in Jesus Christ.  St. Alban’s does not exist for itself; it exists as a missionary outpost for bringing the Good News of Christ’s salvation to that part of the world in which our congregation is located.

Worship is the most important way St. Alban’s carries on this mission. In our worship services, the saving power of God’s love in Jesus Christ is proclaimed through the reading of lessons from scripture and through sermons based upon those lessons. Worshipers at St. Alban’s are given strength to proclaim this good news in their daily life and work through a tangible, intimate relationship with Jesus given them when they receive the bread and wine embodying Christ’s mystical Body and Blood in the sacrament of Holy Communion.

St. Alban’s orders and conducts its worship through the Episcopal Church’s Book of Common Prayer, 1979. It is the latest successor of the first Book of Common Prayer published in England in 1549 to fulfill the Reformation principle of giving the people a form of worship in their own language. The services of the prayer book provide for the participation of all members of the congregation in the worship of the Church. Worshipers are not passive listeners or spectators of what the clergy and choir do. They take an active role "in common" with all other worshipers, hence the name "Common Prayer."