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 should I wear? What about my kids? Do I have to give? 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 we have a coat room to the right and a stand with bulletins, or program for the service a short ways into the narthex (churchy word for gathering space.)
Please let the ushers know if you need any assistance to fully participate in our service. We have a hearing loop for the hearing impaired which can be accessed on the T-setting of hearing aids as well as headphones and receivers that can be used for the hearing loop. If you prefer communion in your pew, there is a basket of individually packaged elements as you enter the sanctuary. Please help yourself to them. 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.
Worship service
You can follow along in the bulletin and hymnals are in the bookrack in your pew to sing along to hymns, but most of them will be preprinted in the bulletin.
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
As 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 most often served by wafer and individual cup. You will be invited to come forward and the pastor or communion assistant will put a wafer in your hand. Another communion assistant will be holding a tray of individual cups of wine and juice. The red is wine, the clear is juice. Choose whichever you prefer. You can deposit your empty glass in the basket just beyond the communion assistant. 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 message.
But, we understand that some kids just need their space, so if you and your children 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 refreshment time about 9:00 am between services on Sunday mornings, (10:00am during the summer) where we have fellowship over coffee, juice and treats. It’s a great time to enjoy a treat and for a bit of “visiting.”
