It’s not easy visiting a new church for the first time. Many things go through your mind, “Can I find my way around? What about my kids? Do I have to give? What should I wear? What’s the music like? Will I be welcome?”
Be yourself! We want to make your visit to St. John an enjoyable experience… one that we hope you’ll want to repeat. So here are some ot the answers to those questions.
Arrival
When you arrive at St. John, park in any open spot in the parking lot and head toward the doors under the canopy. When you enter the doors, you’ll be met by one of our friendly greeters or maybe even one of our pastors.
The greeters can point you toward the ushers, who will hand you a bulletin, or program for the service.
Please let the ushers know if you need any assistance to fully participate in our service, like receiving communion in your pew. Large-print bulletins and a wheelchair are available for use by attendees.
You can sit wherever you like and are encouraged to fully participate.
Dress
Everybody feels free to dress comfortably at St. John. Comfortably means different things to different people, of course, so, how about this for a better explanation…some folks prefer to dress up a bit, but many prefer to dress casually. Yes, jeans are just fine. So is a coat and tie. We don’t judge you based on what you’re wearing – that’s not the Christian way. We’re just glad you came!
Worship service
You can follow along in the program and the pastors will announce the song number if you need to grab the bright red hymnal that’s in the bookrack in your pew to sing along to a hymn.
Lutherans tend to go from sitting to standing and back again a lot. If that is physically challenging for you, please feel free to remain seated throughout the service.
Communion
A Lutherans we believe Christ is truly present in the bread and wine of communion. All baptized Christians are welcome to share in communion with us.
At our church, communion is served by what is called “intinction” which means the pastor or communion assistant will put a wafer in your hand. You may then dip the wafer into the divided cup containing red wine on one side and white grape juice on the other. Gluten free wafers are available upon request.
The kids
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me.” So here at St. John, kids are definitely welcome at worship. There’s even a special part of the service just for them – a children’s sermon.
But, we understand that some kids just need their space, so if you and your kids are more comfortable in an area designated just for you, we provide a “parenting room” stocked with toys where you can hear and see the worship, but your children’s play won’t be disruptive to anyone.
Children who have not yet received their first communion are welcome to accompany you at communion time and receive a special blessing.
After the service
Throughout the year, we have an informal coffee hour after services on Sunday mornings, where we have fellowship over coffee, juice and treats.
In summer, we only have one Sunday service, but we still enjoy the treats and hang around for a bit of “visiting.”
