As we said above, our worship is sometimes considered somewhat formal by visitors because we are a “liturgical” church. That means we generally follow a set pattern of prayers, hymns, and readings from the Bible. If you’ve ever been to a Lutheran or Roman Catholic service, our liturgical style of worship will feel more familiar to you.
We usually celebrate Holy Communion (also sometimes called Holy Eucharist, The Lord’s Supper, or Mass) on Sunday mornings, but not always. We also use a service called Morning Prayer, which consists of prayers, music, Scripture, and sermon.
Our worship is intended to be highly participatory. During worship, the congregation is invited to read certain prayers together out loud, to stand and sing together almost all of the music, to greet people around you in the middle of the service, and to come forward to receive Holy Communion (all baptized Christians are invited to receive Communion in our church). As we’ve said, in all things you are invited, not required, to take part.
We will also pass a plate for an offering. This is an important part of our worship in which our members offer the first fruits of their life and labor to the work of God in the world through God’s church. Again, you are welcome to join in, but we have no expectation that our visitors will make a contribution. It is important to know that all gifts regardless of size are received with gratitude.