Sunday Worship All are welcome to come as you are to our Sunday worship at 10:45 a.m.. Through preaching,
prayer, music, and praise, our faith is informed and fed.
Sunday morning worship is the central event in our life together at Messiah. Through Word and Sacrament (the scriptures and communion) God's gift of grace is shared with all. Our worship service is a 'work of the people' where our members serve each other and share their spiritual gifts for the good of all. Our service starts with a strong base of traditional Lutheran worship centered on God's holy word and communion which we celebrate every Sunday. This ancient Christian liturgy, made relevant to our daily life, is celebrated in a joyful, inviting and respectful style.
Every church has its own style of worship. We know you will find ours rich in scripture and song where you will receive the good news of God's love and will respond with praise and thanks. We love to sing and use many great hymns and songs from various traditions. Each week the complete service is printed in a "visitor friendly" worship booklet.
Communion Holy
Communion is celebrated every Sunday. Messiah Lutheran practices "open communion" which means all baptized people from other Christian faiths are
welcome to the Lord's table. Lutherans believe in the real presence of
Christ in the bread and wine. These gifts of our gracious Lord, offered to all in need, provide grace for our daily lives. Young children who have received instruction
are also welcome to the table. Others may come forward for a blessing. Want to know more about communion? Special Services
Special services are held on Christmas Eve, Ash Wednesday, Maundy
Thursday, and Good Friday. Special services are also held on the
Wednesdays in Advent and Lent.
Baptism In Baptism, the triune God gives us new birth, frees us from evil and sin, adopts us as children, and makes us members of the church. This sign of God’s unconditional love serves as initiation into the Christian family. As Lutherans, we baptize infants and adults and are eager to welcome new Christians into our community. We also recognize baptisms in the name of the Triune God done by other christian denominations. Want to know more about baptism?
Church Seasons Just as seasons change, we shape our worship life around a liturgical calendar that has its roots in the ritual and practice of the ancient
church. This liturgical calendar creates a rhythm of scripture and song that guides us through a church year. It helps us
to remember God's marvelous plan of salvation accomplished through the life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible does not command us to do this. But Lutherans find that
annually retracing the story of salvation informs our
faith and connects us to the community
of believers in Christ throughout all time.
Seasons of the church liturgical calendar: Advent Season - A season of four Sundays which begin our church year. Advent originated in France in the 4th century. The name comes from the Latin "adventus" which means "coming" or "arrival". Advent's message is that God, through the messiah, Jesus the Christ, is coming to the world, fulfilling the promise foretold by the prophets. The themes are to prepare, to watch, to wait, to rejoice. The color for this season is blue. Christmas Season - Begins with a worship service focusing on the birth of Christ, a major festival in the church, and continues for 12 days through to Epiphany, which is celebrated on Jan. 6. The color for these services are white and gold. Epiphany Season - Begins with two major church festivals: Epiphany and the Baptism of Our Lord, and ends with the festival of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Epiphany celebrates the revelation that God became human in the person of Jesus Christ. This "epiphany" is remembered with three scriptures. The first references the visit of the magi to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. The second revelation at Jesus' baptism and the third where Jesus is transfigured on the mountain and became visibly radiant to some of his disciples. On the Sundays in between, the scriptures focus on the life and ministry of Jesus, particularly the calling of the first disciples and his miracles. The colors for the festivals are white and gold, while on the Sundays in between the color is green. More to come on the other church seasons: Lent, Easter and Ordinary Time.
The Revised Common Lectionary Year C Our church uses the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) which provides a three-year
plan for Sunday readings starting with the season of Advent, four weeks
before Christmas day. We are currently using the readings in the C cycle. For each Sunday and festival, four readings are
suggested and include: a Gospel reading, an Old Testament reading, a
reading from the Psalms, and a New Testament reading. The RCL is a work
of The Consultation on Common Texts,
an ecumenical consultation of liturgical scholars and denominational
representatives from the United States and Canada who produce
liturgical texts for use in common by North American Christian Churches.
Each year of the RCL centers on one of the synoptic Gospels (Year A
– Matthew, Year B – Mark, Year C – Luke). John is read in each year in
the major seasons of Christmas, Lent, and Easter.For much of the year, the Old Testament lesson is closely related to
the Gospel reading. However, from the first Sunday after Trinity Sunday
to the end of the church year, two provisions have been made: a
continuation of the complimentary readings or a semicontinuous pattern
of Old Testament readings.
