When you worship with us on Sunday morning at 10:00 you will be joining a congregation of 75-125 people of all different ages, marital status, interests, abilities, vocations, and spiritual experiences. Many of the congregation are folks who have come to be a part of our church family in the last 15 years. Others will be able to trace their ancestral family memberships back to the founding of the church in 1794.
Our service begins when one of the children, acting as acolyte, comes to the front of the church to light the candles on the alter. We have a welcome, and a time for announcements. The pastor will open the service with a prayer, and the congregation will sing a hymn. The children will come to the front of the church for a few moments for their special time with the pastor or another adult during our Time with Younger Christians in the first part of the service. After the Time with Younger Christians, the little ones are invited to go to a Children's Church, led by volunteers from our congregation. During the service, a nursery is provided for infants and toddlers in rooms 205-207.
The Chancel choir will sing an anthem, chosen to compliment the day’s Scripture and the pastor’s morning message. A lector, a member of our congregation, will come forward, lead a Prayer For Illumination, and read the first passage of the week’s Scriptural lesson, usually from the Old Testament. The pastor will read a second Scriptural passage. The pastor’s sermon, based on one or both Scriptural passages follows.
We sing our music from a hymnbook that includes a generous supply of both traditional hymns and modern hymns. The Chancel Choir sings each Sunday and occasionally we have special musical solos, duets or quartets. The hymns and choir music are accompanied by organ or piano, with occasional use of percussion, trumpets, flutes, trombones, etc. The music ranges from the earliest Hebrew songs to hymns and anthems written in the last couple of years. Most of our music is sung to "live" accompaniment. Anyone who feels a call to worship through music is welcome and encouraged to join our choir.
Generally, morning worship follows what would be considered a traditional Presbyterian format with praise, prayer, singing, sermon, giving/sharing opportunities, and sending into the world. In the past, every month which has 5 Sundays, however, on the 5th Sunday we hold morning worship in our Fellowship Hall, following a more "contemporary" format, using multimedia and having a more informal feel to the service. We hope that we may be able to resume “casual 5th Sundays” as COVID19 recedes from our daily reality. Our music varies, and we sing hymns from many musical traditions, including early American, international influence, Celtic influence, gospel, traditional historic composers, and straight out of the Presbyterian Hymnal.
We have sophisticated audio/visual equipment, and most of the service will be visual onscreen, to aid and enhance the worship experience. We also have weekly bulletins, available at the entrances to the sanctuary. At specific seasons of the church year – Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter, Pentecost, Thanksgiving, and perhaps other special observances, the services are designed to acknowledge and celebrate those special days and times.
Our service begins when one of the children, acting as acolyte, comes to the front of the church to light the candles on the alter. We have a welcome, and a time for announcements. The pastor will open the service with a prayer, and the congregation will sing a hymn. The children will come to the front of the church for a few moments for their special time with the pastor or another adult during our Time with Younger Christians in the first part of the service. After the Time with Younger Christians, the little ones are invited to go to a Children's Church, led by volunteers from our congregation. During the service, a nursery is provided for infants and toddlers in rooms 205-207.
The Chancel choir will sing an anthem, chosen to compliment the day’s Scripture and the pastor’s morning message. A lector, a member of our congregation, will come forward, lead a Prayer For Illumination, and read the first passage of the week’s Scriptural lesson, usually from the Old Testament. The pastor will read a second Scriptural passage. The pastor’s sermon, based on one or both Scriptural passages follows.
We sing our music from a hymnbook that includes a generous supply of both traditional hymns and modern hymns. The Chancel Choir sings each Sunday and occasionally we have special musical solos, duets or quartets. The hymns and choir music are accompanied by organ or piano, with occasional use of percussion, trumpets, flutes, trombones, etc. The music ranges from the earliest Hebrew songs to hymns and anthems written in the last couple of years. Most of our music is sung to "live" accompaniment. Anyone who feels a call to worship through music is welcome and encouraged to join our choir.
Generally, morning worship follows what would be considered a traditional Presbyterian format with praise, prayer, singing, sermon, giving/sharing opportunities, and sending into the world. In the past, every month which has 5 Sundays, however, on the 5th Sunday we hold morning worship in our Fellowship Hall, following a more "contemporary" format, using multimedia and having a more informal feel to the service. We hope that we may be able to resume “casual 5th Sundays” as COVID19 recedes from our daily reality. Our music varies, and we sing hymns from many musical traditions, including early American, international influence, Celtic influence, gospel, traditional historic composers, and straight out of the Presbyterian Hymnal.
We have sophisticated audio/visual equipment, and most of the service will be visual onscreen, to aid and enhance the worship experience. We also have weekly bulletins, available at the entrances to the sanctuary. At specific seasons of the church year – Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter, Pentecost, Thanksgiving, and perhaps other special observances, the services are designed to acknowledge and celebrate those special days and times.