There are many elements to our Sunday night worship gathering. It is our desire to create an environment where we can collectively participate in the expressions of our faith. We hope you will be encouraged to practice with us.

Elements of our Sunday night Gathering:

Silence

Music and Worship

Psalms

Historical Reading

Prayer and Confession

Communion

Children

Giving

Teaching

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Silence

Our services often begin with silence. Our world is so full of noise that we are often deadened to the voice of God.    

Be still and know that I am God.  Psalm 46:10

Music and Worship
In response to the Holy and Mighty God, we bring our confessions, prayers, silence and meditations to God. We are free to use our bodies to express our awareness of our humanity by bowing, kneeling, laying on the ground, raising our hands, dancing. Music enhances this time by giving voice to our adoration of God.

Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gds your forefathers worshiped beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.  Joshua 24:14

Psalms

The Psalms are the poetry of our faith. They express real life struggle and beautiful closeness to God. We often read a Psalm during our worhip time.

Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.  1 Timothy 4:13

Historical Reading
We are part of the ongoing and continuously unfolding story of God. Many valuable and inspiring works have been written over the 2000 year history of the Christian Church. Each week we read a scripture, creed, prayer, or quote from the orthodox tradition.

 

Prayer and Confession
Prayer is a conversation with God, in which we use our minds, voices, and bodies. When we meet on Sundays, there are tables which provide opportunities for different forms of prayer: personal prayers, adoration, confession, thanksgiving and prayers for the world. In confession we embrace the knowledge that God knows the darkest parts of us and that, because of the sacrifice of His Son, that the Love of God is deeper and stronger than our guilt and shame.

The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.   James 5:15-16

Communion
Communion is central to our gathering each week. Jesus used the elements of bread and wine to express the deep mystery of his life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. He used these symbols to help us understand that he has freed us from sin and shown us a new way to be human. This part of worship is both a time of remembering him in the historical and spiritual sense, in that he actually gave his life for the world 2,000 years ago. So we ask that you come to the table after examining your heart before God. It is also a present reality - Jesus calls it the new Covenant. It is a new relationship, what we call Jesus living in us. It is also about our future relationship with Jesus and looking forward to the great banquet with him in heaven which is called the great celebration.

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood, remains in me, and I in him.  John 6:56

Children

Children are a blessing to us in our worship; they inspire us because they are so free with their expression. During our Sunday gatherings, our children are often in the back of the room, where they are able to move about with less distraction to others. If a child is too noisy, parents are welcome to bring him/her out to the lobby. Sunday school style children's ministry is provided upstairs during the sermon.

Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast.     Joel 2:16a

 

Giving

For us, the practice of giving our money is an act of worship. Our tithe, which means 10%, is not a guilt offering, but a celebration of the gifts God has given us and a way we live in a financial rhythm that is focused on God. Woode bowls are provided on Sunday night where we can give to worhip, to bless, to give back to God.

Where your treasure is there you heart will be also.    Matthew 6:21

Teaching
This is our time for sharing God's story in a way that allows us to find our place in that story. With historical and cultural understanding of the Bible we see how others lived and how they were changed by following God. Our similarities with those people show us better how to live close to God each day. We encourage people to ask questions.

Let my teaching fall like rain and my words decend like
dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on
tender plants.  Deuteronomy 32:2