Worship & Music at St. Paul Lutheran Church
Worship Services
It’s important to us that we come together as a Christian community and hear God’s Word on a weekly basis. We celebrate the sacraments of Holy Communion and Holy Baptism. Our worship consists of a traditional liturgical framework. The basic monthly schedule of liturgy is:
| First Sunday | Lutheran Book of Worship |
| Second Sunday | Lutheran Book of Worship |
| Third Sunday | Now the Feast and Celebration |
| Fourth Sunday | With One Voice, Setting Five |
| (Fifth Sunday) | Tree of Life |
Our worship times are:
| September through May | 10:30 am | June through August | 9:00 am |
It’s important for us to hear God’s Word of forgiveness in the name of Jesus Christ. Also important is the strengthening of our community through the sharing of the Peace of the Lord. One of our confirmation students wrote the following about how important worship is to her:
“I enjoy coming to worship around Christmas time, because of the beautiful tree in front of the sanctuary. What I really enjoy is communion. It’s a great time to receive the body of Christ through bread and wine. I love to help out with communion. It’s my favorite job out of the whole worship. Passing out the individual cups is my specialty. Though, when I do communion with my dad, he wants to take the cups. Offering is another thing that is special to me. At the begginig of the year, when I asked mom and dad if I could start getting 5 dollars a week, they said that I had to donate at least 10% to the church. So I take a dollar out of each pay I get and give it to the offering at the end of the month. This helps with the structure of the church. Giving peace is something that can brighten a persons day. It shows that you are offering the holy spirit to bring peace to that person. To top off my worship: I give thanks for prayer. It’s a time where I can ask God, with love ones around me, to help me with my problems and my school work along with friends and family.”
Music Ministry
Content in progress.
Seasons of the Church Year
Advent
Advent is celebrated during the four Sundays prior to Christmas and lasts between 22 and 28 days. Advent represents Jesus coming into the world, into our hearts, and the promise that he will come again. Blue is the color of hope and the color adorned during the Advent season.
Christmas
Christmas is celebrated on December 25th each calendar year and the day we celebrate Jesus' birth. White is the color during Christams and represents light and purity. It is used when we celebrate special seasons remembering the life of Jesus and the Holy Trinity. The Christmas season continues for 12 days until Epiphany.
Epiphany
Epiphany is celebrated on January 6th each calendar year and is the "Revealing" of God to mankind in human form. We remember when the wise men were shown where to find baby Jesus. The color during Epiphany is white.
The first Sunday after Epiphany celebrates the Baptism of our Lord, and also our own baptisms. The 2nd to 8th Sundays after Epiphany we learn about our life in Christ during the "green" season and which is the color during this period. The last Sunday after Epiphany is known as Transfiguration (changing) Sunday. The story of how Jesus' appearance changed is in Matthew 17 and other gospels in the Bible.
Lent
Lent is a season lasting forty-six days which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on the eve of Easter. Ash Wednesday starts 40 days prior to Easter (not counting Sundays). The color is black which represents the ashes placed on foreheads. The five Sundays prior to Palm Sunday are decorated in purple which is the color of kings and Jesus is the King of all kings.
Palm Sunday (also known as Passion Sunday) is the Sunday prior to Easter and is called Palm Sunday in remembering when Jesus entered Jerusalem and Palms were put in his path. The Thursday before Easter is known as Maundy Thursday where we celebrate the gift of the Lord's Supper. The color for both Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday is scarlet. Good Friday is the Friday before Easter and black is the color symbolizing Christ's death on the cross for our sins. An Easter Vigil is held on the Saturday before Easter with white adornments. A long service of scripture readings and hymns may be done leading up to midnight and the first celebration of Easter day.
Easter
The Easter season begins on Easter Sunday and continues for fifty days until Pentecost. Easter Sunday is the most joyful day of the Christian year. Easter Sunday itself is the day of days on which Christ's Resurrection is celebrated. It is the oldest of Christian festival days. The color during Easter is white. The color can also be gold, because of how precious this day is to us. Because Jesus lives, we can live well now and have eternal life after death.
The 40th day of Easter (always on a Thursday, but celebrated on the following Sunday) is Ascension Sunday. We remember Jesus ascension into heaven and the promise to send the Spirit and be with us always.
Pentecost
Pentecost, which means "fiftieth day," is the beginning of the longest season of the church year. It lasts until the first Sunday in Advent. The color is red which reminds us of the flames of fire seen on the disciples' heads when they received the Holy Spirit. The first Sunday after Pentecost is Trinity Sunday, when we celebrate God Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Sundays after Trinity Sunday but before Christ the King Sunday are decorated in green and a long season of life and growth when we learn much about our faith and life in Jesus. The color is white. The last Sunday after Pentecost is Christ the King Sunday. Jesus is the one promised to save his people, which we remember just before beginning Advent again. The color reterns to white.