Worship

An informal early service is held  at 8:15am in the Upper Room. This early service of worship is shorter in length, without a choir, and does not have  greeters. It's a simpler and more intimate service. Just come on in and join us.

The Upper Room (pictured right) has been recently renovated back to a chapel and meeting space.  It was the sanctuary of the church built in the 1930s to replace the old Mission School, and was used for that purpose until the building of the current sanctuary in 1984.

A Sunday morning Children's Story at the 10:30am service.    

We encourage church members and friends to choose whichever service they desire to attend and to make an intentional effort to come to the adult education hour at 9:15am.

Child care for infants through age 5 will be available from 10:15am until noon.

Communion is served the first Sunday of every month at both services. We serve grape juice instead of wine so that all may partake.

During the summer months of June, July and August, we hold one service at 9:15am in the Sanctuary with special music provided by guests, as the choir is on summer break. Check the calendar for exact dates.

The Worship Committee:

The Committee regularly meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month, except that once a quarter it meets after church on Sunday morning in order to include Kent Wall, Music Director, concerning choir and music issues. Members of the Committee take turns calling Spanish and English liturgists each Sunday, as well as greeter/ushers.   Committee members include: Jeanne A, Leah A, Bunny B, Leland B, Associate Pastor Ken Cuthbertson, Vivian GD, Janice L, Bill L, and Moreau P. Elder Doug C is the chair of this committee.  Our pastor attends each meeting.

The Committee has spent some time discussing the arts in Worship, as well as the tasks delegated to the Worship committee by the Session. Flowers, candles, banners, paraments and other “objects of art” enliven our worship in the sanctuary. Special thanks goes to Jeanne A who changes the paraments to match each liturgical season as well as preparing the candles, watering the plants, and straightening up the pews and hymnals in preparation for each Sunday. 

Committee News:   

Missed a service?  Going out of town?

The Sunday service is recorded each week and edited onto a CD. There are free copies of recent worship services on a table in the Fellowship Hall, or you may use a sign up book to receive past or future dates of your choice.

For the Hearing Impaired:

Our sanctuary is equipped with a public address system for the hearing impaired.  It operates on a radio frequency which is transmitted to special assisted hearing devices that are available for use during the service. Please ask the greeters or sound technician for this equipment as you enter the sanctuary.

Our Spanish Heritage: 

In honor of our congregation's Spanish heritage, we include Spanish elements in the liturgy in every service.  The Spanish hymn is usually from the red hymn book. An English translation of the lesson read in Spanish is printed in the bulletin.

Outdoor Worship:

About once a year we hold a Sunday morning worship service at the Sandia Conference Grounds up in the Sandia mountains, weather and fire hazard permitting.  In 2005, with the help of the Earth Care Committee, this service was held on August 7^th. Afterward everyone stayed for a picnic lunch.

Click here to see photos of our Passion/Palm Sunday Celebrations.

Easter Sunday Celebrations: 

Dressing the Cross on Easter! Pastor Elizabeth taught us a lovely southern tradition called "dressing the cross.” Wayne U built a plain wooden cross covered in chicken wire. On Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008, many brought cut flowers and cut greens  to "dress" this cross (pictured left).  The flowers and greens were placed in the chicken wire, much as a Rose Bowl float is dressed. After the service, the cross was set out by the highway for passing traffic to enjoy for the afternoon. The completed "dressed" cross is pictured below.

Isn’t Easter Early???

Easter Day this year falls on March 23 and is almost as early as it can be! The earliest possible date is March 22, as Easter is always on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the Vernal Equinox (March 21). This means that there are 35 possible dates, but Easter has not fallen on the earliest date since 1818, and will not do so again until 2285. It will not fall on March 23 again until 2160.

Easter last fell on the latest possible date, April 25, in 1943 and will next fall on that date in 2038. However, it will fall on April 24, just one day before the latest possible date, in 2011.

Someone has worked out that the cycle of Easter dates repeats after exactly 5,700,000 years, with April 19 being the most common date, occurring 220,400 times.

Above: Christmas Eve Candlelight service, 2007.  Below Our Acolytes, Advent 2007

Each Sunday during Advent a different family 
lights the Advent wreath candles.