Our worship service begins at 9:30 a.m. on Sundays. Our service is fairly structured. We often have a call to worship printed in our bulletin. We sometimes include written prayers, responsive readings, or an historic creed. Typically we have multiple scripture readings. 

 

At the same time, while the style is structured, the mood is informal. Dress is casual. You may see a smattering of neckties among the men, but not many. Jeans are usually represented.

 

Our average attendance last year was 76. It tends to be higher around the holidays and lower in the summer. Our sanctuary can seat around 200.

 

We value the presence of children in our congregation (in part because of the special place they held in Christ’s ministry). While children are always welcomed in our worship, we realize they can sometimes be distracting to their parents. Therefore, we maintain a staffed nursery for children five years of age and younger. After the pastor’s Children’s Time near the beginning of the service, the children who wish to participate leave for Sunday School. 

 

We try to shoot for a blended worship musically. We include a lot of traditional hymnody as well as some of the popular contemporary choruses and hymns. Most of our music is sung to piano accompaniment, but we occasionally use prerecorded music for contemporary songs. (Since these are often written for a wider variety of instrumentation than we can currently accommodate.)

 

Most of the year we celebrate Holy Communion (Eucharist) as part of our regular worship service on the first Sunday of each month. During Lent (the 40 days prior to Easter) we celebrate Communion each Sunday. We also serve Communion at our 11:00 Christmas Eve worship. 

 

In keeping with our denominational tradition, we observe an “open table” – anyone who wishes to partake of the sacrament is welcome to do so. The congregation comes forward and receives of a common loaf and cup in a style called “intinction,” meaning that the bread is dipped into the cup and then eaten. Again, in keeping with our denomination’s tradition, we use grape juice rather than wine. 

 

The age at which children are communed (fully participate in Communion) is at the discretion of the individual pastor and the child’s parents. Our current pastor is comfortable communing children from infancy upward. So it is not unusual to see young children come forward and receive the sacrament. At the same time, we know that some parents prefer that their children reach a particular point of understanding before they participate in this sacrament. So some parents may bring their children forward but indicate to Pastor that they are not to receive, in which case Pastor offers a blessing instead.