We’d love to meet you in person and have you join us for Sunday worship.
We want you to feel at home with us, so start here to learn just about everything you need to know to make your first visit more comfortable. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
The Basics
Worship is at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings. The service generally ends around 12:05 and is followed by fellowship time (snacks and chats), which in a stroke of creative genius, takes place in the Fellowship Hall. Our service is liturgical in style, and typical attire is something akin to business casual.
Occasionally Asked Questions:
It used to be that people always wore their “Sunday best” clothes to worship – suit and tie for the men, dresses and hats for the women. Not so much any more. We try to strike a balance between being comfortable on one hand and being respectful to God on the other. God loves us for who we are, not how we’re dressed, so whatever you wear you will be welcome.
Short answer: In front of the church, or in the parking lot.
Long Answer: See the visual below. Either in front of the church, along High Street, or in the parking lot (“Side Lot”).
Short answer: The big one on the left.
Long answer: Sometimes old buildings are quirky, and local customs can be hard to intuit. There are several ways to get into our sanctuary. Most people use the door on the southeast corner of the building, which is not the one closest to the parking lot. The stairs up to the closest door are uneven, so we tend to avoid them.
If you need to avoid stairs altogether, you can come in the building using the door in the corner of the courtyard between the sanctuary and the education building. Then turn immediately to the right to enter the sanctuary. This will bring you in from the front. Not the way most visitors want to make an entrance, I know, and we’re sorry about that. Unfortunately, this is the best solution we have at the moment. We’ll be so glad to welcome you that hopefully you won’t even notice!
See the visual below for reference.
Short answer: I’d suggest sitting in the middle. If you have young kids, sit where they can see what’s going on. It helps them to understand and be engaged. Otherwise, sit where you feel comfortable.
Here’s a picture of the sanctuary from the main entrance to help you get your bearings.
There are two aisles, one on either side. This was common in the late 1800s.
Down the hallway, on the right. You can find the church floor plan below.
Short answer: More or less.
Long answer: We are more or less handicap accessible, particularly when it comes to mobility. On the “more” side, we have designated handicapped parking spaces in front of the church. You can avoid stairs into the sanctuary by entering near the office and turning right up a slight incline. We have space for wheelchairs and walkers halfway back on one side. Our bathrooms are gender neutral, and one is wheelchair accessible with grab bars. On the “less” side, we don’t have many helps for low vision or hearing, our outside steps are kind of uneven, the second floor and basement are only accessible by stairs, and our bathroom fixtures are period antiques.
If you have specific needs or questions, please contact us.
No charge. It’s all free. We will “pass the plate” so people can give their gifts and offerings, but that is for folks who have chosen to make that commitment. No one is required to give anything, and we certainly don’t expect our guests to have to pay.
Short answer: we pray, we sing, we read, we listen, and we respond.
Longer answer: Our worship service is “liturgical” in style. That means that we participate in the service by using printed prayers and responses for a number of parts. Everyone gets to take part that way. The service is led by a “liturgist” (that’s a member who leads the liturgy) and the pastor.
You can listen to some previous sermons here.
We extend a hand of blessing at the end of the service, either taking someone’s hand or putting a hand on someone’s shoulder, when we receive the benediction. It helps bind us together.
We like to eat with each other after the service, so we have a fellowship time. Sometimes it’s light snacks, sometimes you can make a meal out of it. The point is to share hospitality and enjoy each other’s company for a while.
We sing hymns mostly. We have a pretty darn good choir who lead our singing and usually offer a musical anthem before the sermon. Our music director is a great pianist, and he plays several numbers during the service, as well as the hymns.
If you don’t know the songs, that’s okay. You probably aren’t alone. Listen to the words and music, and see if they have something to teach you or if they touch your spirit somehow. If a song is long enough and easy enough, you can join in once you get it. Otherwise, just enjoy it for what it is.
End time varies, but generally 12:05 or so. There are snacks afterward.
Right now, it kind of depends, actually. We love to have kids in worship with us, really, so your kids are welcome to stay in the service, no matter what age they are. We understand that it’s hard for wee ones to sit still and be quiet for that long. Many of us have been there, so we don’t mind some noise or even some ballyhoo. It’s a joy to have children’s energy in God’s house.
Nevertheless, we are working on refurbishing our nursery, which is taking longer than we hoped. When it’s done it will be available for newborns and toddlers. We do currently have Sunday school for kindergarten through 5th grade that starts about 15-20 minutes into the service. Older kids can generally “stick it out” through the service like the adults do, and we hope they will.
Yes, we have a catalog of past sermons here.
Yes. Pretty much all our folks are friendly and helpful, but we have greeters who have the special job of being the host or hostess on Sunday morning. They are stationed at the main door of the sanctuary before the service and usually sit near the back during the service. If you can’t find a greeter, ask the folks in the back row, center section. They’re all pros.
We hope you will! You’re not the first one in that category to pass through our doors. Pretty sure the roof won’t cave in. You are welcome here.
Doesn’t matter. We’ve had all kinds. You are welcome here.
Short answer: God is in charge, and God loves you. Jesus is God’s Son, he died and rose again, and he loves you. The Holy Spirit is God present in our lives, helping us on our way, and the Spirit loves you. Our #1 job is to glorify God and enjoy God. We do that by worshiping God and by loving and helping everyone else. The rest is details.
Long answer: If you want to know the details, check out this page. It goes a little deeper and has a link at the top to go deeper still.
The Building Layout
Our sanctuary was built in 1882 and our education building was built in 1951. While they tried to match the two buildings in style, there are some oddities about how they fit together. Here’s the basic layout, though. It’s easy enough to find your way around, once you know where things are.
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