Overview
Worship is the defining activity of any Christian community. It is where we most fully and intentionally encounter God. We understand our worship “service” to be first and foremost God’s service to us. In the Word read and proclaimed, God speaks to us a message that is both challenge and promise.
In Holy Communion God draws us into the risen life of Christ, fed with his body in order to become his body in the world for the sake of the world. Through this encounter, God the Holy Spirit creates and strengthens our faith, which we express in prayer, praise, and thanksgiving. This faith becomes active in love toward God and our neighbor as we are sent back into our daily lives.
Services
From the Sunday after Labor Day through the Sunday before Memorial Day, we gather for worship at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings. From Memorial Day Sunday through Labor Day Sunday, we gather for worship at 9:30 a.m. All services of Holy Communion following the ancient pattern of Gathering, Word, Meal, and Sending.
The 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. services differ only in style. The 8:00 service is a bit less formal: Acolytes do not wear robes, much of the liturgy is spoken rather than sung, and Communion is received a continuous manner on the main floor of the worship space. On the first Sunday of each month this service is usually led by guitars rather than the organ.
The 10:30 service is slightly more formal: We kneel for the Brief Order of Confession and Forgiveness at the beginning of the service and for the Prayers of Intercession later on. Acolytes wear robes, more of the liturgy is sung or chanted, the choir sings, and Communion is received at the altar rail. On festival Sundays there is a Gospel Procession.
The Summer 9:30 a.m. service alternates between the style of the 8:00 a.m. service and the 10:30 a.m. service.
