All worship services include Holy Communion,
and all are welcome!
Sunday
8:00 AM in Zion Chapel
10:30 AM in the Sanctuary
Click the button above, and then click the Facebook Live option on our FB page. 10:30 AM Sundays.
Summer Worship at St Paul Church!
What to expect at worship
Expect joy! Expect peace! Expect an encounter with the Divine!
But seriously, what do we do at St. Paul Lutheran Church in the context of worship? Are we different from other congregations/denominations? What makes us different?
If you stand at the front door of the church (the portico) and look through the narthex (entryway), you will see in front of you:
pews - where you can sit anywhere; we don’t reserve seats,
an altar - where we celebrate the Eucharist* (yoo-ca-rist)
a pulpit - where the Word* is preached
reading desk - where the Word is proclaimed
baptismal font - the ‘way’ we enter the church
When you enter the building, you will be greeted by a greeter/usher, who will hand you a bulletin and will invite you to sign the visitor’s book (you don’t have to if you don’t want to! And the Pastor will not ask you to stand and identify yourself at announcements!😇)
You will notice that some people, on entering, will either make a small bow, cross themselves, or just take a seat.
The bulletin will have everything you need to participate in worship - the liturgy*, (means work of the people - the parts of the service that the congregation speaks) the hymns, and any spoken or sung responses the congregation will do. (It’s fine if you don’t know the tune!)
We start worship with Confession and Forgiveness where we take time to remember the times where we haven’t been a good neighbor and hear the healing words that remind us we are forgiven for Jesus’ sake.
After the gathering hymn, canticle of praise, and the prayer of the day, a person will go to the reading desk and read the readings (some churches will call them lessons). These are the readings that will be proclaimed by the preacher, and referred to in the hymns, notably the Hymn of the Day, which follows the sermon/homily.
We speak (confess) our faith (what we believe) in the words of either the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed.
We pray, and there is space for you to pray for someone out loud or silently.
We greet each other with words of peace (some folk hug, kiss, shake hands; whatever you’re comfortable with as we continue to live with COVID)
There are announcements - what is happening in church, what we are doing in the community and the world.
Then, we get to the Meal, which is also called the Eucharist (it is Greek for thanksgiving), also known as the Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion. Everyone is invited to come forward and receive the Bread (a small wafer) and the Wine (it’s real wine, 18%, which is strong enough to kill germs on the cup, although we are not encouraging drinking at this time). You can dip the Bread in the chalice (cup) holding the wine, and return to your seat.
There are more prayers, a benediction (blessing) and sending hymn, and you’ve just worshiped at St. Paul Lutheran Church!
