Worship - St. Mark's Lutheran Church

ST. MARK'S LUTHERAN CHURCH

50 YEARS OF MINISTRY

1960 - 2010

Our Regular Worship Schedule...

Saturday Evenings: 5:30 p.m.

Sunday Mornings: 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

All worship services offer full communion. All services are traditional/liturgical in structure, with blended music styles.
The 10:30 a.m. service offers a special children's message.
Our pastors preach and lead worship on a rotating schedule.
Worship lasts about 60 minutes.

Sunday School for age 3 - grade 5 is offered at 9:00 am. during the school year.

Nursery care is available for infants and toddlers

ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE

If you or someone in your family is having a difficult time hearing the worship service, please check at the sound desk. We have devices to help you! They are easy to use and you can control your own volume.
After worship, simply return the device to the sound desk.

"Let anyone with ears, listen!"

WORSHIP FOCUS . . .

Gospel of Mark
The writer of the Gospel of Mark identifies the baptism of Jesus as an acknowledgment of Jesus' divine sonship, and as a starting point in Jesus' adult ministry. Both the voice of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit provide clear links with the additional scriptures.
People who gather for worship have different approaches to and experiences of baptism. Some of us were baptized as infants, others as young children or adults. Not everyone in our community has been baptized. Even so, the nature of Christian community - as a place of radical hospitality and welcome, of nurture, of care and affirmation, of wholeness of our humanity - is such that many people belong before they believe. In the story of affirmation of Jesus as the Child of God we remember that all children of God are welcomed and affirmed in God's love.

A Word About Style ...

From our origins, Lutherans, like Roman Catholics and Episcopalians, have worshipped by following a liturgy. A liturgy can be simply described as an orderly pattern, where certain words and musical elements are repeated each week at the same time in the service. Other parts of the worship, like scripture readings, prayers, and hymns or songs, are different every week. Our liturgy follows essentially the same ancient pattern used in the Roman Catholic Mass, even though our music may be different.

At St. Mark's we also work to keep freshness in our liturgy by changing texts and musical settings throughout the seasons of the church year. The scripture lessons we read and preach about also follow a widely accepted pattern, known as a lectionary. This means that on most weekends, the scripture readings you hear are identical with those read in Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Presbyterian, and United Church of Christ congregations around the world.

Holy Communion is offered at every regular weekend worship service all year long. All baptized believing Christians are welcome to commune. Communicants come forward and stand in front of the altar in each aisle. There they receive a small piece of bread. An assistant offers a cup of wine, which may be received either by dipping a corner of the bread into the cup or by drinking from the cup. For those with health concerns related to alchohol or allergies, a cup of white grape juice and gluten-free bread is available at the station nearest the choir. We believe that the body and blood of the living Christ are truly present in the bread and wine of communion offering us life and hope for a new beginning each day.

More About Worship ...

Worship at St. Mark's is designed to be visitor friendly... at least we hope it is! All worship materials are printed in a single booklet that you will receive when you enter. Ushers and Greeters are on hand to answer questions and we also have a Welcome Center near the entrance. Someone will be there to help you.

You need not be Lutheran to worship with us. All baptized believing Christians are encouraged to participate fully including sharing in Holy Communion. Even if you are not baptized you are welcome to participate in our prayers and praise, and, of course, to hear the Word proclaimed.

Children who have not had their First Communion are encouraged to come forward durning communion to receive a pastoral blessing. When these children come forward, they should cross their arms across their chests rather than holding them open to receive the bread. Please speak with one of our pastors about preparation for children to receive communion.

There is no dress code for worship. Although many of our members have a long-standing custom of wearing dressy clothes to church, many of our worshipers at all services dress casually, year-round.