Times and types of worship
During the summer months (June through August) we have one Sunday morning worship service at 9:15 am. Summer worship styles alternate between the two morning styles. There is no evening worship during the summer months.
- Choral Eucharist (all the Sundays in June)—This service is a little more formal with more traditional hymns accompanied by organ. Special music is provided by the LCH Choir. The service includes both holy communion and a sermon, and it usually lasts about 75 minutes. Take a “virtual tour” of this worship service in the 10:30 Choral Eucharist Slideshow.
- Holy Communion (all the Sundays in July)—This service is a little more informal with more contemporary music accompanied by piano, flute, and guitar. Special music is provided by the Eight O’Clock Ensemble. The service includes both holy communion and a sermon, and it lasts about an hour. Take a “virtual tour” of this worship service in the 8:00 Holy Communion Slideshow.
From September through May, we have two morning worship services every Sunday at 8:00 and 10:30 am and evening worship on the first and third Sundays of the month at 7:30 pm. We celebrate Holy Communion at both morning services.
Overview of Morning Worship Services
Inside the Nave an usher will hand you a bulletin (and perhaps a liturgy booklet) and help you find a seat. The bulletin lists the hymns, lessons, prayers, and special music that change from week to week. There are a couple of hymnals in the pews, and the pastor will identify the book we will use that day at the beginning of worship. We either follow one of the liturgies in the cranberry-colored Evangelical Lutheran Worship or a separate liturgy booklet for that Sunday or season. If you’re not familiar with Lutheran worship, the form is similar to that used in Catholic or Episcopal churches. But don’t worry if it’s all new to you; one of the people sitting near you will be happy to help you follow along.
There are no reserved seats, so feel free to sit anywhere you’d like.
The first half of both morning worship services is centered around readings from the Bible and a sermon.
About the middle of the service, we receive our offering. You don’t have to put anything in the offering plate, though you are certainly welcome to if you would like. Our members and regular attenders freely give to support our ministries.
The rest of the service is devoted to holy communion. All are welcome to come forward to receive communion, whether or not you are a member of our church. An usher will indicate when it is time for people in your area to go to communion. You will have a couple of choices:
- On the organ side of the table, wine is serve in a common cup. If you choose this side, eat the bread first and then drink from the cup.
- On the other side, either wine or grape juice is available in individual cups. As you approach the table, you will be offered a small cup. After you have eaten the bread, your cup will be filled with wine from the larger glass pitcher or grape juice from the smaller metal pitcher.
We usually use home-made communion bread. However, on both sides of the table, gluten-free wafers are available upon request. Just ask the person who is distributing the bread.
Children in worship
Nursery care is provided all morning, but LCH is also family friendly, so many parents bring both their older and younger children to worship. We know that God loves each of us the way we are, so we don’t mind a little crying or laughing from our young folks. There is a children’s conversation before the sermon, and some children go out to child care when the children’s conversation is over. Others stay through the whole service. One of the ushers will be happy to help you get to nursery care if you want.