No. We welcome anyone who would like to come and join us. We will not be pushy, we will not guilt you into anything. We respect you and your beliefs and ask that you do the same towards us. Please feel welcome when you join us. If you have questions about Christianity or the way we do things, we would welcome an opportunity to talk to you about those things.
Can I have communion?We ask that those who participate in communion believe the same way we do about communion. There are many Christians who have a different understanding about what Communion is. This is what we believe.
Jesus started communion the night He was arrested. He would be crucified in less than 24 hours. The bible says this about that night, 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 (ESV): For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Jesus took bread and said, "This is my body." He did not say, "This bread turns into my body." He did not say, "This bread stops being bread." We believe, in communion that the bread is BOTH bread AND the body of Jesus. The wine is BOTH wine AND the blood of Jesus.
There is another factor to consider when we talk about communion. Many Christians believe communion is just between them and God. Nothing else matters. Think of this as a vertical- up and down- view of communion. But there is another important factor. Communion is not just about the vertical but the horizontal- communion is about those who come to the table with you. Communion is not an individual event. Communion is held within a community. As a result, there should be unity with those whom you come forward. For instance, everyone should have the same understanding of what communion is. So, if you have a different view of communion than we do, we should not be having communion together. You need to find a church that believes the same thing you do with regard to communion and participate at that church. We will not have communion at your church for this very reason. We have a different view than you and we want to respect that fact.
If you want further information, The Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, has some good information at:
Kids in ChurchCongregations have different ideas about kids in church. The trend today is for kids to be out of the sanctuary during worship service. Some of those churches will have kids out of the sanctuary for the whole service and other churches have kids leave at some point during the service. WE ARE NOT THAT CHURCH.
We want kids in church for the whole service. We understand that kids can be a distraction to parents and others in attendance. BUT we strongly believe that kids benefit from being in the whole worship service. Worship should be a family affair. We are separated throughout the week so let’s be together, as a family, for worship. Kids will learn what to do in church by watching their parents and others. They will learn the importance of worship and that they are wanted and belong IN church. In addition, kids pick up more than we realize. Many parents have been shocked at the conversations their kids have about church. Kids often repeat and ask about the things that are discussed in church.
We want kids in worship and parents need to know that we expect kids to act like kids. At the same time, we expect parents to act like parents. Kids will make some noise. If that noise is drawn out or becomes too loud, please take your child out of the sanctuary, wait for them to calm down, and then bring them back into the service (like you would do at a restaurant). Kids need to learn that they don’t get to miss church if they make some noise. Bringing them back in reinforces both acceptable behavior and the importance of being in worship.
A few other notes about this issue. Parents, you may find it helpful to sit near a door you can exit quickly if you need to. Secondly, please remember, if your kids are making noise, telling them to "SHHHH" is often more distracting than the noise the kids are making. If you need a room to help in all of this or if a mother has an infant that needs to be fed, we do have a cry room. There is sound in the cry room and you can see into the sanctuary.
