WHAT TO EXPECT

PARKING

Our parking lot is located behind the church, off of Maple and Third Street. If you see the cross and flame pictured to the right, you are in the right place!

WHAT TO EXPECT

NURSERY

Our Nursery is available for children Infant to 3 years and provided through Morning Worship Service.

‍Nursery Attendants
Anna Drummond
Amy Wanta

WHAT TO EXPECT

Sunday School

We have Sunday School Classes for Adults, Teenagers and Children that start at 9:30 a.m.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Sunday Morning Worship Service

Service Starts at 10:30 AM

Our order of Worship SFUMC incorporates timeless elements into our weekly worship expression, using a variety of readings, songs, prayer and liturgies that represent the best of contemporary and traditional worship. In our order of worship, we have included elements which have endured through the ages, such as the Apostle’s Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, as well as newer worship elements.

Welcome & Prelude

We view the welcome as a time to set the tone for the worship service. Here, we affirm that we are glad to be worshipping God together and we begin to center ourselves for worship by listening to a musical prelude.

Call to Worship

‍The call to worship is our chance to corporately celebrate our opportunity to join in worship as the Body of Christ. We open with a brief hymn or praise song.

Pastoral & Lord’s Prayer

‍The pastoral prayer is a chance for us to offer up our joys and prayer concerns that often lay so heavy on our hearts. It is a time to pray actively together as the pastor leads us. We always close our prayer time in the communal prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

Congregational Singing

Methodists are a singing people! As we sing together, we offer a witness of God at work in the world, we share the riches of our Christian experience and understanding, and we join our voices in praise to God and the witness of our faith in Jesus.

Apostles’ Creed & Gloria Patri

The Apostles’ Creed is a statement of core Christian beliefs that developed initially as part of the baptismal rites in the early church (around the 2nd century). The Gloria Patri is a song of praise of our Triune God.

Apostle's Creed: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”
Gloria Patri: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. World without end. Amen, amen.”

Offering & Doxology

We believe that in the giving of our tithes and offerings we present a portion of ourselves to God in recognition of God's ownership of all things. Our worship in giving is composed of three parts: a prayer; the collection of the offering, during which an offertory is played or sung; and the singing of the Doxology. The singing of the Doxology is our corporate acknowledgement that all our blessings come from the triune God.

Children’s Moment

Children’s Moment is one of the ways we show how truly special they are and teach them of Jesus’ love. We gather our children up front for a short lesson. On the first and fifth Sundays, our children remain in worship. On the Second, Third and Fourth Sundays, they are dismissed to Children's church at this time, with specially trained and screened volunteers.

Special Music

The many gifted musicians of our church, as soloists, accompanists, and members of our adult choir present musical offerings to God on behalf of the congregation. It is our intention that God alone receive the glory.

Reading of Scripture

A selection or two of scripture is read from the Old or New Testament. Afterwards the reader proclaims, "The Word of God for the people of God."" To which the congregation responds, "Thanks be to God!"

Sermon

Preaching is a gift of God in which one called of God is inspired to interpret scripture in a practical way for the contemporary congregation. The worshiper is encouraged to take notes on the sermon in order to help hear what God is saying. The same sermon may be used of God to speak to people at different points or levels of their lives.

Response (Hymn of Invitation)

Benediction

We are dismissed with a blessing called the benediction or “good word.” Two things are accomplished in this: we are sent out to live and work in the world, and we receive the blessed promise—a pronouncement, not a prayer—that the triune God goes with us as we scatter into the world. The words used may vary with the day, the season, or the challenge of the sermon.

Postlude

The postlude is often used to send the worshipers out to serve in the world. The music is often exuberant and joyful, providing a celebratory ending to the worship experience.