Worship

Worship has four primary components:

Gathering the faith community: Music, greetings, and prayers bring us together.

Hearing God’s word: A message for children, scripture, and the sermon focus our intentions and work.

Sharing God’s work: We name joys and concerns, pray together, and offer gifts to God.

Going forth to serve: An ending blessing and closing music send us on our way for the week.

Communion is usually on the third Sunday of each month. Communion is open to all who believe in Jesus Christ; there’s no need to be a member of any church. Most children in the congregation take communion; that’s a matter decided within individual families. Communion is served from trays passed to people in the pews or by intinction, dipping bread into a chalice of juice.

 

The coffee is faith in action. It’s fairly traded coffee from Equal Exchange. The conversations are entertaining and stimulating.

 

Three downtown churches share Ash Wednesday, Holy Week services and a summer worship in the park.

First Christian Church and United Church of Christ – Congregational have shared July worship services for decades, long ahead of their denominations’ 1989 partnership which proclaimed mutual recognition of their sacraments and ordained ministry. Two services are at First Christian with a minister from UCC preaching and two are at UCC with a minister from First Christian preaching.