Please note: Due to the ongoing risk of contracting COVID, the wearing of masks during worship is strongly encouraged. Thank you!

Our Order of Worship

We welcome visitors to worship with us!  To give you a quick orientation, our worship proceeds in five stages:

1. Our gathering for worship - We begin with a time of announcements, a time to share happenings in the church and community. This is followed by a musical prelude so we might center ourselves. Our pastor begins our time of worship by leading us in a call to worship. Next, a liturgist offers the prayer of the day, leads us in a confession of our wrongdoings and assures us that God forgives all our sins.     

2. Our listening to the Word of God - In this part of the service, we listen for the Word of God in Scripture as it is read and preached.

3. Our response to God’s Word - We respond to God through affirmation of our faith and our offerings to God. We then take a moment to share our personal celebrations and concerns. Together, we offer a prayer thanking God for the good things in our lives and asking for God’s help to right wrongs, cure ills and bring hope to a hurting world.

4. Our enactment of the Word - On some Sundays, we enact the Word of God through our church’s sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, communion. 

 5. Our going out into the world - We close by singing a hymn, hearing the charge to serve God in our daily lives and receiving God’s blessing.

Participation in the Lord’s Supper

We celebrate the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion) on the first Sunday of the month. At communion time, our elders will pass the tray of bread to you. Please take one piece, pass the tray on and hold the bread in your hand until all have received. We then eat the bread together. The same process is repeated for the sharing of the wine (grape juice). All are invited to participate in this important sacrament. Due to the ongoing risk of contracting COVID, pieces of bread and grape juice are served in individual cups, and pre-packaged, sterile containers of each are available for those who wish to use them.

A word about our music

Music is integral to our worship service. Musician Ethan Hamburg is an accomplished pianist, having played keyboard with the Latin Jazz-Fusion band Caldera and vocalist Rikki Lee Jones. He plays a variety of musical instruments and is also a composer.

Children in Worship

We always welcome children in our worship. To parents of young children, may we suggest you relax. God put the wiggle in children; don’t feel you must suppress it! The church has activity bags of crayons, markers and coloring pages to keep the wee ones busy in their pews. 

Fellowship

Please stay and meet our congregation! After worship we often offer coffee, cookies and, in the summer, lemonade or ice tea. Don’t forget to complete a visitor card so we may send you a follow-up note of welcome.