Worship is Central at Christ Lutheran Church
Services during the COVID-19 pandemic:
Christ Lutheran Church has resumed in-person services. We encourage folks to remain masked for all in-person services and events, and stay socially distanced depending on comfortability.
We are livestreaming our 10am Sunday worship service on Facebook each week. For those unable or not ready to return to in-person services: You can find the livestream over at our Facebook Page, starting a few minutes before 10am. If you would like to follow along with a bulletin during worship, you can find them here on our website every week. We invite those participating online to prepare their own communion elements. Communion will be served by Pr. Dee for those in attendance for our in-person services.
Usual Services
Holy Communion is offered at weekly worship:
- 10:00 a.m. Sunday Morning
10:00 a.m. Sunday Morning
This is the most traditional of our worship settings, yet it is celebrated with a variety of settings and styles according to the season and mood.
The Good News of God’s Grace is always preached.
Music is accompanied by organ, piano, guitar, flute, percussion or any available instruments appropriate to the musical style. We offer variety in musical styles within each service.
The Sacrament of Holy Communion is offered every Sunday, providing the strength to meet the week ahead.
The Elements of Worship
Worship is central at Christ Lutheran Church:
“Corporate worship expresses the unity of the people of God and their continuity with Christians across the ages. In the liturgical tradition are the gestures, songs, and words by which Christians have identified themselves and each other. The Lutheran Confessions set our liturgical life within that mainstream of Christian worship: ‘We do not abolish the Mass but religiously keep and defend. … We keep traditional liturgical forms’ (Apology to the Augsburg Confession, 24)” — From the Introduction to Evangelical Lutheran Worship, page 6.
Participants:
We all participate in worship, but the most important participants are the people who remain in their places in the pews throughout the worship, whose voices are heard in unison with the others, and whose prayers and meditations are said silently. The leaders in worship — the presider, the liturgy assistant, the lector, the preacher, the choir director, the choir, and the organist — are the participants whose roles are to facilitate the worship of God by the whole congregation. These leaders are your servants.
The Liturgical Settings and Hymns:
We use a variety of settings to keep the ancient and holy words alive and fresh to all who speak and sing them. We use settings from Evangelical Lutheran Worship; The Hymn Mass (poetical versions of the ancient texts set to familiar tunes) from Augsburg Fortress; “Now the Feast and Celebration” by Marty Haugen; “The Kentigern Setting” from the Iona Community in Scotland; “Even as Christ Has Loved Us” by Arlin Aasness; and a simplified setting for Advent with music from all of our sources. Our goal in the Sunday morning service is to vary the musical style — not only monthly or seasonally but also within each service — to appeal to a variety of tastes in worship style and set the mood for the season or festival.
The Environment:
The Liturgical Arts Committee has worked to draw attention to the seasons and festivals of the church year. We hope to inspire you and even make you curious about the season or festival through visual accents.The baptismal font is placed at the entrance to the Sanctuary (which we call the “Narthex/Baptistry”) to remind us of our first entrance into the Church of Christ in our baptism. It’s placement in front of the “For All the Saints” window with resurrection symbols reminds us that we are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection.
The Gifts of Bread and Wine:
We bring to the table the common things that become sacred, ordinary things that become extraordinary. Bread, whether one loaf or wafers, and wine remind us of our unity with Christ and all the saints of old, the saints here with us, and the saints of generations to come.
Shared Space with The Good Table UCC
The Good Table United Church of Christ also meets at this location, and we occasionally join together for various services. You can join them for service at 12 PM every Sunday morning. Contact Pr. Melinda about how you can help their emerging ministry, and check out their website!
The Good Table UCC
https://www.the-good-table.org/
Rev. Dr. Melinda V. McLain
melinda@the-good-table.org
510.526.0110