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Welcome
Welcome is oftentimes an overused word. Let us explain what we mean when we extend a word of welcome.
We hope that all feel welcome in our worship service. When we come to the celebration of Holy Communion, all are definitely welcome. We believe that Christ is truly present in the earthly elements of bread and wine, and that in this meal, Christ has invited all people to share in his love and gift of salvation.
We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or like our pastor who can’t carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re “just browsing,” just woke up or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Catholic than the Pope, or haven’t been in church since little Joey’s baptism.
We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems or you’re down in the dumps or if you don’t like “organized religion,” we’ve been there too.
If you blew all your offering money at the horse track, you’re welcome here. We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or because grandma is in town and wanted to go to church.
We welcome those who are inked, pierced or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers and doubters, bleeding hearts … and you!
This is what we mean when we say, "Welcome!"
We hope that all feel welcome in our worship service. When we come to the celebration of Holy Communion, all are definitely welcome. We believe that Christ is truly present in the earthly elements of bread and wine, and that in this meal, Christ has invited all people to share in his love and gift of salvation.
We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or like our pastor who can’t carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re “just browsing,” just woke up or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Catholic than the Pope, or haven’t been in church since little Joey’s baptism.
We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems or you’re down in the dumps or if you don’t like “organized religion,” we’ve been there too.
If you blew all your offering money at the horse track, you’re welcome here. We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or because grandma is in town and wanted to go to church.
We welcome those who are inked, pierced or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers and doubters, bleeding hearts … and you!
This is what we mean when we say, "Welcome!"
When we Meet
Sunday Mornings
9:00 am in-person and livestream
11:00 am in-person
11:00 am in-person
What To Expect
We take worship very seriously but we don't take ourselves all that seriously. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the primary actors in worship so we let them use our voices to worship.
Wear what you like. We're pretty casual by and large. We don't see suits very often though Pr Lance will at least wear a tie for confirmation Sunday and a tie and jacket on Christmas and Easter. Again, we take worship seriously but not so much ourselves.
We try not to use too much insider language or churchy words opting instead to use regular words. For example, the front entryway in a church is sometimes called a narthex. We call ours the Commons. There are times and places when the 'church word' is the best one to use and we do that but not very much.
Our worship style is liturgically modified contemporary. Which is a fancy way of saying that we use most of the elements of traditional liturgy though not in the order you may expect if you're steeped in traditional liturgy. And most of our music is contemporary but we don't limit ourselves. We try to use the music that fits what is happening that day.
We use what is called the 'narrative lectionary' for sermons. The narrative lectionary is a four-year cycle of readings. On the Sundays from September through May each year the texts follow the sweep of the biblical story, from Creation through the early Christian church:
The texts also show the breadth and variety of voices within Scripture. They invite people to hear the stories of Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the prophets, Jesus, and Paul. Listening to the many different voices within Scripture enriches preaching and the life of faith.
If you're not sure what any of that means, come see us anyway. We try to explain things as we go along so no one gets left behind.
Wear what you like. We're pretty casual by and large. We don't see suits very often though Pr Lance will at least wear a tie for confirmation Sunday and a tie and jacket on Christmas and Easter. Again, we take worship seriously but not so much ourselves.
We try not to use too much insider language or churchy words opting instead to use regular words. For example, the front entryway in a church is sometimes called a narthex. We call ours the Commons. There are times and places when the 'church word' is the best one to use and we do that but not very much.
Our worship style is liturgically modified contemporary. Which is a fancy way of saying that we use most of the elements of traditional liturgy though not in the order you may expect if you're steeped in traditional liturgy. And most of our music is contemporary but we don't limit ourselves. We try to use the music that fits what is happening that day.
We use what is called the 'narrative lectionary' for sermons. The narrative lectionary is a four-year cycle of readings. On the Sundays from September through May each year the texts follow the sweep of the biblical story, from Creation through the early Christian church:
- From September to mid-December the preaching texts begin with the early chapters of Genesis, move through the stories of Israel’s early history, the exodus, the kings, prophets, exile, and return.
- From Christmas to Easter there is sustained reading of one of the four gospels
- From Easter to Pentecost the texts are chosen from Acts and Paul’s letters.
- The texts include the major episodes in Scripture. They are arranged in a narrative sequence to help people see Scripture as a story that has coherence and a dynamic movement. Many of us have struggled with Bible familiarity at one time or another and the narrative lectionary is helpful in tying stories together. The narrative lectionary texts will also be the weekly text for Prime Time.
The texts also show the breadth and variety of voices within Scripture. They invite people to hear the stories of Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the prophets, Jesus, and Paul. Listening to the many different voices within Scripture enriches preaching and the life of faith.
If you're not sure what any of that means, come see us anyway. We try to explain things as we go along so no one gets left behind.