Although we are constantly journeying, and joyfully so, with our Lord Jesus Christ, sometimes we need to be able to rest along the way and simply live for a while in the familiar. Our worship at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings is that ‘rest from the journey with the familiar’ for many of our folk.
Thus, the format at 9:00 a.m. worship is decidedly on the more traditional end of the worship spectrum, with a more formal structure and a greater variety of elements. By way of example, we typically have an Organ Prelude followed by a Choral Introit, a Call to Worship and an Opening Hymn, that begin the worship, all clearly noted in the bulletin. The standard order for worship at 9:00 a.m. would then continue with a Unison Prayer of Confession, an Assurance of Forgiveness, and two or three “Lessons” from Scripture, followed by a “Gospel” Hymn, Sermon, a Pastoral Prayer, the Offertory and a Closing Hymn.
Every Sunday the “Children’s Sermon” has the youngest of the children enthusiastically coming forward and sitting on the floor in front of the pastor. Contemporary language is used frequently for the Call to Worship and the Confession, together with the frequent use of choral music. The format might best be described as an amalgamation of Lutheran and Presbyterian forms of worship, which reflects the heritage of this particular United Church of Christ congregation.
If you see yourself worshiping in a more traditional or historical fashion, then this would likely be the worship gathering for you. Regardless of the worship gathering you choose, however, one thing remains unchanged at Immanuel Church: our focus is always on God and not on ourselves, and more specifically on the worship of Jesus Christ who has called us to follow Him into the world to make His presence and love known to all people, without exception and without judgment.