Why Baker everyone knows that teachin’ Sunday School, setting up the Altar and such is wimmen’s work. 
Ulf Clerk of the Vestry. You poor thing! You have my sympathies. 
-swampbear (Vestry Member)
At Good Ol’ St. Pat’s we welcome all baptized Christians to the table at The Eucharist. It’s also printed in the service leaflet.
So far all of the responses seem to come from a Broad Church perspective; most of the churches I’ve gone to have been fairly “elevated” in their liturgy and closer to the (Anglo-)Catholic end of the spectrum.
The most important point is that posture, crossing, and partaking of communion are mostly left to the liberty of the individual congregant. (Communion is, I believe, to be taken at least annually.) Additionally, you can usually find a church that roughly matches your preference in liturgical altitude (at least you can in Chicago, this is likely less true in sparser parts of the country).
Anyway, here’s a kind of annotated order of service for my Anglo-Catholic parish:
Before the Service
• Oragn prelude
• Dip your first two fingers into the holy water in the narthex and cross yourself.
• Genuflect to the altar before entering the pew. (Technically, you should look for a light hanging over the altar or hanging over a safe built into a side wall. That light indicates the presence of the reserved sacrament. Others say you are just reverencing the altar and should genuflect regardless)
The Mass
• Opening hymn. Stand at this point and whenever singing. Bow (usually more like a nod) your head whenever the name “Jesus” is said during the hymn and throughout the remainder of the service.
• Opening Procession. Concurrent with the hymn. Bow to the processional cross as the crucifer carries it by. We also do a slighter bow to the sacred ministers (priest, deacon, subdeacon) as they pass as a group.
• Introit. Sung in Latin by the choir. Remain standing. Some cross themselves at the beginning, but I don’t know the rules for this. Bow during the Gloria Patri (until "sicut erat in principio. . . “).
• Opening Acclamation. Cross yourself.
• Collect for Purity. Remain standing.
• Gloria. We sing Healey Willan’s, a fairly common setting. Bow at any mention of the name “Jesus,” “we worship thee,” receive our prayer.” Cross yourself at the conclusion of the mention of the three persons of the Trinity at the end (at “in the glory of God the Father.”)
• Kyrie. Usually sung by the choir. Remain standing.
• Collect of the Day. The oremus dialouge (“The Lord be with you.” “And also with you.” “Let us pray.”) at the beginning is usually intoned, by the priest and the people in their respective parts. Remain standing throughout the collect.
• The Lessons. Seated. We have a lector read the Old Testament lesson. Some places chant the Psalm responsorially (which means that the congretation will sing a standard refrain at various, seemingly random points, throughout the Psalm), but we just have the choir sing a Gradual (again, in Latin). The subdeacon chants the Epistle; this occasionally makes dense Pauline texts difficult to follow.
• Alleluia Verse. Sung by the choir in Latin. Remain seated.
• Gospel. Standing. Put your thumb between your first and second fingers and make a little cross on your forehead, lips, and sternum while the deacon announces the location of the reading (“The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ According to Saint _____”). Bow/nod at the mention of the name “Jesus.”
• Sermon. The person preaching (who may not be the celebrant) will usually have an invocation of some sort. Remain standing during the invocation and cross yourself. Then be seated. Catholicism, or at least Anglo-Catholicism, has never felt the need for extended sermonizing, so this portion usually only goes on for 8-12 minutes or so. But it can sometimes feel a lot longer.
• Creed. Standing and plainchanted. Bow at the name “Jesus.” Genuflect during the Incarnatus (“And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man”). Bow at “is worshipped and glorified”). Cross yourself at “and the life of the world to come.”
• Prayers of the People. Standing. Cross yourself when praying for the departed.
• Confession of Sin. Kneel. Cross yourself at the absolution.
• Exchange of the Peace. Standing. The more formal the church, the shorter the duration of this part. But it usually lasts at least a minute.
… At this point, the Eucharist begins.
• Offertory. Standing. There will be a hymn to sing, and maybe an anthem or motet to listen to. This is when the plates are passed. Meantime, the altar is censed by the priest. Then the thurifer will cense the congregation. Bow to the thurifer before and after he/she censes your area in the nave.
• Orate Fratres. This is not in the BCP, but it comes over from the Roman Catholic Tridentine Mass.
• Sursum Corda and Preface. Standing. Intoned.
• Sanctus and Benedictus. Bow during the Sanctus. Bells are rung. Stand upright during the Benedictus, crossing yourself at the “Benedictus qui venit” or “Blessed is he.”
• The Canon of the Mass. Fancier types can tell you which parts of this is the anamnesis or epiclesis or whatever. Anyways, kneel during this part. Bow during the part that describes the events at the last supper. After the (separate) consecretation of each element using the Words of Institution (“This is my body.” “This is my blood.”), the priest will elevate them (separately). Bells will be rung. Cross yourself at each. Likewise, when the priest prays to “sanctify us also” or “unite us to your Son,” make the sign of the cross. Some also cross themselves at the Great Doxology at the end ("By him, and with him, and in him . . . ") when both elements are elevated together.
• Lord’s Prayer. Sung. Kneeling.
• Breaking of the Bread: Christ Our Passover, Invitation, Agnus Dei. Intoned. The Agnus Dei is sung. Cross yourself at the Invitation.
• Communion. Genuflect when you leave your pew. Kneel at the altar rail. Offered in both kinds. Bread can be taken on the tongue or in the hands. Wine can be taken from the chalice directly or by intinction. Communion in one kind is a complete partaking of the sacrament. Cross yourself before receiving each. Say “Amen” after the priest has said his spiel but before eating or drinking. Cross your arms over your chest for a blessing instead of partaking. Genuflect when you return to your pew. Most people will resume kneeling while in private prayer following communion.
• Post-Communion Hymn. We usually kneel for this.
• Post-Communion Prayer. Kneeling.
• Benediction and Dismissal. (I can’t recall if we kneel or stand for this.) Cross yourself at the final blessing.
• Recessional. Standing. There will be a hymn to sing.
After the service
• Organ voluntary. Seated. Most people seem to stay for this.
• Exit. Genuflect after leaving the pew. Holy water when departing through the narthex.
• Coffee hour. As I’ve mentioned before on these boards, this is a Folgers and Entenmann’s affair, but probably worth an appearance nevertheless.
The above, obviously, is a bit exceptional (particularly things like the Orate Fratres), but by and large, if you go to an Episcopal church that calls itself Anglo-Catholic or of a high liturgical style, you could expect most of the above to happen and certainly would not be out of place abiding by it.
Very interesting, Kimmy. Thank you! As a point of reference, here’s what a typical service would look like at my church. So we’re clear, the black ink below is Kimmy’s; the red is my commentary. Interesting how different they are. For what it’s worth, my church is known neither as a “high” church nor as a “low” church, at least in the context of Episcopalianism in this region.
[quote=“Kimmy_Gibbler, post:22, topic:586329”]
Before the Service
• Oragn prelude
• Dip your first two fingers into the holy water in the narthex and cross yourself.
• Genuflect to the altar before entering the pew. (Technically, you should look for a light hanging over the altar or hanging over a safe built into a side wall. That light indicates the presence of the reserved sacrament. Others say you are just reverencing the altar and should genuflect regardless)
–Organ prelude, yes. Holy water, no (there isn’t any provided). Genuflect, some do, some don’t. I don’t.
The Mass
• Opening hymn. Stand at this point and whenever singing. Bow (usually more like a nod) your head whenever the name “Jesus” is said during the hymn and throughout the remainder of the service.
–Hymn, yes. Bowing on the name of Jesus, no. Some others in the congregation may, but I’ve never noticed!
• Opening Procession. Concurrent with the hymn. Bow to the processional cross as the crucifer carries it by. We also do a slighter bow to the sacred ministers (priest, deacon, subdeacon) as they pass as a group.
–Procession, yes. Processional cross, yes. Bowing, many do, I don’t.
• Introit. Sung in Latin by the choir. Remain standing. Some cross themselves at the beginning, but I don’t know the rules for this. Bow during the Gloria Patri (until "sicut erat in principio. . . “).
• Opening Acclamation. Cross yourself.
• Collect for Purity. Remain standing.
• Gloria. We sing Healey Willan’s, a fairly common setting. Bow at any mention of the name “Jesus,” “we worship thee,” receive our prayer.” Cross yourself at the conclusion of the mention of the three persons of the Trinity at the end (at “in the glory of God the Father.”)
• Kyrie. Usually sung by the choir. Remain standing.
–We do some of this. Little if any is in Latin. (Kyrie eleison, when said or sung, is about it. The Gloria, when we do it, which we don’t always, is in English, usually sung. We have used Willan’s setting at times but vary it. Some bow, some don’t. Some cross themselves, some don’t. (I don’t.)
• Collect of the Day. The oremus dialouge (“The Lord be with you.” “And also with you.” “Let us pray.”) at the beginning is usually intoned, by the priest and the people in their respective parts. Remain standing throughout the collect.
–Yup.
• The Lessons. Seated. We have a lector read the Old Testament lesson. Some places chant the Psalm responsorially (which means that the congretation will sing a standard refrain at various, seemingly random points, throughout the Psalm), but we just have the choir sing a Gradual (again, in Latin). The subdeacon chants the Epistle; this occasionally makes dense Pauline texts difficult to follow.
–We do basically no chanting of lessons. The Psalm is typically said responsivley; sometimes the choir does it as a musical setting. No “standard refrains.” Dense Pauline texts are difficult to follow no matter what. Sometimes the Epistle is replaced with a second OT lesson.
• Alleluia Verse. Sung by the choir in Latin. Remain seated.
• Gospel. Standing. Put your thumb between your first and second fingers and make a little cross on your forehead, lips, and sternum while the deacon announces the location of the reading (“The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ According to Saint _____”). Bow/nod at the mention of the name “Jesus.”
–Some parishioners do the crosses and (maybe?) the nods/bows. Not all, though. The priest typically comes out into the congregation for this and an acolyte holds the book.
• Sermon. The person preaching (who may not be the celebrant) will usually have an invocation of some sort. Remain standing during the invocation and cross yourself. Then be seated. Catholicism, or at least Anglo-Catholicism, has never felt the need for extended sermonizing, so this portion usually only goes on for 8-12 minutes or so. But it can sometimes feel a lot longer.
–Our priest very rarely goes past 9 minutes. We had an interim once, though…
• Creed. Standing and plainchanted. Bow at the name “Jesus.” Genuflect during the Incarnatus (“And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man”). Bow at “is worshipped and glorified”). Cross yourself at “and the life of the world to come.”
–Sometimes we do the creed. Sometimes we do not. The previous rector to the current one dropped it altogether for a couple of years. Not sure how many folks missed it. Bows, crosses, etc., strictly optional, though the cross at “the life of the world to come” seems quite common.
• Prayers of the People. Standing. Cross yourself when praying for the departed.
–Likewise. Again, crosses optional (I don’t).
• Confession of Sin. Kneel. Cross yourself at the absolution.
–When we do this, which is not always, nearly everyone sits or kneels, but a few do stay standing. See above for info on crossing.
• Exchange of the Peace. Standing. The more formal the church, the shorter the duration of this part. But it usually lasts at least a minute.
–Ours used to be very short. These days it lasts a while. On the whole, though I believe services should aim for shorter not longer, I think a longer peace is a good thing.
… At this point, the Eucharist begins.
• Offertory. Standing. There will be a hymn to sing, and maybe an anthem or motet to listen to. This is when the plates are passed. Meantime, the altar is censed by the priest. Then the thurifer will cense the congregation. Bow to the thurifer before and after he/she censes your area in the nave.
–Offertory, music, plate passing, all yes. We do not use incense, however, and since I choke on the stuff it’s a good thing. (We used to use incense every other Xmas Eve. That is now a thing of the past. Yay!.
• Orate Fratres. This is not in the BCP, but it comes over from the Roman Catholic Tridentine Mass.
–Never heard of this.
• Sursum Corda and Preface. Standing. Intoned.
• Sanctus and Benedictus. Bow during the Sanctus. Bells are rung. Stand upright during the Benedictus, crossing yourself at the “Benedictus qui venit” or “Blessed is he.”
• The Canon of the Mass. Fancier types can tell you which parts of this is the anamnesis or epiclesis or whatever. Anyways, kneel during this part. Bow during the part that describes the events at the last supper. After the (separate) consecretation of each element using the Words of Institution (“This is my body.” “This is my blood.”), the priest will elevate them (separately). Bells will be rung. Cross yourself at each. Likewise, when the priest prays to “sanctify us also” or “unite us to your Son,” make the sign of the cross. Some also cross themselves at the Great Doxology at the end ("By him, and with him, and in him . . . ") when both elements are elevated together.
–No bells. No Latin. Some intoning, but generally not as much as described here, and it varies. People stand or kneel in roughly equal numbers where you describe kneeling. Elevation of the elements, yes. Most people (but not all) do cross themselves at these points.
• Lord’s Prayer. Sung. Kneeling.
–Spoken. Standing.
• Breaking of the Bread: Christ Our Passover, Invitation, Agnus Dei. Intoned. The Agnus Dei is sung. Cross yourself at the Invitation.
–Basically, with the standard disclaimer on crossing oneself.
• Communion. Genuflect when you leave your pew. Kneel at the altar rail. Offered in both kinds. Bread can be taken on the tongue or in the hands. Wine can be taken from the chalice directly or by intinction. Communion in one kind is a complete partaking of the sacrament. Cross yourself before receiving each. Say “Amen” after the priest has said his spiel but before eating or drinking. Cross your arms over your chest for a blessing instead of partaking. Genuflect when you return to your pew. Most people will resume kneeling while in private prayer following communion.
–A few people do genuflect, certainly less than half I’d say. Most kneel but some stand. Some kneel upon returning, probably most, others sit. We always have a hymn (or two) or an anthem at this pt.
• Post-Communion Hymn. We usually kneel for this.
–Rarely post-communion. During-communion.
• Post-Communion Prayer. Kneeling.
–Or standing.
• Benediction and Dismissal. (I can’t recall if we kneel or stand for this.) Cross yourself at the final blessing.
• Recessional. Standing. There will be a hymn to sing.
–Same.
After the service
• Organ voluntary. Seated. Most people seem to stay for this.
• Exit. Genuflect after leaving the pew. Holy water when departing through the narthex.
• Coffee hour. As I’ve mentioned before on these boards, this is a Folgers and Entenmann’s affair, but probably worth an appearance nevertheless.
–Organ voluntary, yes. Nearly everybody stays, which doesn’t thrill me but is nevertheless what happens and it ain’t changing any time soon. Genuflect, some do, some don’t. Holy water, no; see above. Coffee hour, yes, and actually an increasingly important part of the “experience” at the ten o’clock serviuce, which I think is a good thing
The congregation I belong to, Grace Cathedral, http://www.gracecathedraltopeka.org/ has two Sunday services. The early one is Rite One, which has no singing and little music, and uses the older language style, “thee” and “thou” and such. The second service is Rite Two, which has more ritual, hymn singing, and music.
No Latin at all, unless it’s something the choir is singing. Incense maybe three times a year, Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas, the three greatest festivals of the church year. Kneeling and standing is always optional, although we generally stand to sing the hymns. There’s a reminder that kneeling or standing are “as you are able” because some folks, being elderly or handicapped, can’t do either easily. No holy water that I’ve ever seen.
Coffee hour, ah yes. Not a requirement, but we have some GOOD folks who sign up to provide refreshments. Nummy, nummy.
Back in 1999 I was looking for a new church home. It’s a long story, and not relevant. But about this time I got a card in the mail. Grace was inviting folks to visit, and they were having a Saturday reception to welcome people. All free, no pressure, no obligation. I’d attended Episcopal services while stationed in Korea. One of the military chaplains was Episcopalian, and I found their service preferable to the Army’s “Regular Protestant Worship”. Also, another local Episcopal church had kind of, early on, led the fight against Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church, when they were picketed by him and his.
So I attended the reception and wow, they really had some good food, including my favorite cheese, Brie. Mmmmm, Brie. Not that food should be a deciding factor, but the people were great too. So I started attending. At the very first service the gentleman who sat in front of me complimented me on my voice, and tried to get me into the choir! How many churches have you visited where nobody spoke to you? Not at Grace. I made the decision to join, took the classes, and was received into membership.
Well, not entirely. Even during the English Civil War, the religious controversy was whether the character of the C of E would be Reformed or Catholic. Bringing back the Pope wasn’t necesarily on the table; but many Anglicans (including Henry VIII) thought they could remain good Catholics notwithstanding.
More importantly, the Oxford Movement of the 1800s and its associated Liturgical Movement, has made the Anglican church perhaps the closest to the RCC out of all of the churches that originated during the Reformation.
Many Anglicans today don’t describe their church as Protestant (although some gladly do). Others adopt the line that it is “Protestant (or Reformed), yet Catholic.”
As to your other question about relations between Anglicans and Episcopalians:
There is a body called the Anglican Communion. It encompasses, among others, the C of E, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Church of the U.S.A., the Anglican Church of Canada, the Church of Nigeria, the Church of Uganda, etc. Members of the Anglican Communion are appropriately called “Anglican.” That includes American Episcopalians.
In the United States, there are some individuals who are not in the Anglican Communion, but have nevertheless appropriated this terminology. In particular, these so-called Anglicans believe that they better preserve the orthodox faith (to wit, they oppose ordination of women and a tolerant attitude toward homosexuality). These so-called Anglicans see themselves in opposition to the Episcopal Church of the U.S.A.
Years ago, my best friend was a Methodist (I’m lapsing Roman Catholic). The Methodists use the Nicene Creed (I think maybe most Christians do?) - but they apparently don’t capitalize Catholic - using it as a synonym for “universal”.
Let us know how it all goes for ya sassyfras. Hope we’ve helped answer your questions. 
ETA: I see you’ve changed your user name. Got a a wiki cite for that?
That’s because the kneeling is done as a show of respect - it’s not “sitting down with no chairs available”. Sitting on your ankles would be equivalent to slouching while shaking hands.
So, that makes butt kneeling (knees on kneeler, butt resting on edge of pew) ok? 
The Methodists were originally a movement within the Church of England, before splitting off from it, so presumably they’ve inherited something of the terminology and viewpoint of the Anglicans.