Divine Service - Sundays 9 AM
Holy Communion - 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month
Holy Communion - 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month
Plan a Visit!
We would love to welcome you to a Sunday service--how about this week?
Read on for all you need to know about how to find us,
getting your bearings in the building, and what to expect in the service.
Read on for all you need to know about how to find us,
getting your bearings in the building, and what to expect in the service.
How to get here
What do people wear?
Entering the building,
In the narthex
Entering the sanctuary
See our About Us page for a map!
What do people wear?
You'll find a variety of styles among us, as our community includes office workers, construction workers, farmers, retirees, and stay-at-home moms. Dresses and skirts and slacks and jeans and shorts may all be in evidence, depending on the season. When you're coming to meet with the Almighty, it's certainly appropriate to spiff up if you can, but He will never turn you away because of your clothing (and neither will we).
Entering the building,
you will see coat racks and two different doorways. To the left are the church office, restrooms, our fellowship hall, and a ramp from the main level up to the sanctuary. To the right are stairs up to the church sanctuary and stairs down to the education areas and old fellowship hall.
In the narthex
(the gathering area just outside the sanctuary) we have a visitors' registration book (please sign in so we can touch base with you after your visit!), an information table, more coat racks, a low display featuring busy-bags for young children, and a desk with the day's service bulletin and various announcements and handouts. Be sure to pick up a service bulletin!
Entering the sanctuary
Some folks go right in and sit as soon as they arrive, and some chat in the narthex before service, so feel free to do what feels comfortable to you. If you would like to give an offering, the plates are just outside the sanctuary. Don't feel you have to sit in back if you have children with you—children often respond well to sitting up front where they can see better and can feel closer to the action.
About the Service
God is with us.
We follow a formal order of service,
The Sunday bulletin is your "road map" through the service.
If the service includes communion
Should you commune?
We believe that when we gather for worship, the one true God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is present among us, bringing us his gifts of the forgiveness of our sins and new life in Christ. He is our loving Father, Redeemer, and Comforter, but he is also our Lord, worthy of our highest respect and reverence. We come to be filled with all he has to give, since as sinful human beings we have nothing he needs—he is serving us. The means he uses to give us these gifts are his word—the holy Bible, absolution, the Scripture readings, and preaching—and the sacraments Jesus instituted during his earthly life: baptism and the Lord's Supper.
We follow a formal order of service,
or "liturgy," for several reasons. It is a historic practice of the Christian Church, it keeps us grounded in Scripture, and it provides for uniformity across Christendom. If you attend a church that uses a traditional liturgy, you can be at home in churches all over the nation and even the world. People who know the liturgy often can still participate in it long after their mental faculties have deteriorated. And it helps buffer the human weakness of a pastor—if a particular sermon isn't quite as biblical as it should be, you still leave having been fed on God's word in the rest of the service.
The Sunday bulletin is your "road map" through the service.
For a quick overview, open it up and look at the right-hand column. "LSB" indicates page numbers in the Lutheran Service Book (hymnal). Wherever you see "In bulletin," look on the left-hand page for the Introit (responsive psalm readings), the Collect (pronounced "COLL-ect"—a prayer), and the Gradual (short responsive Scripture reading) or psalm of the day. Note that the section below the words "use for communion service" will only be used on communion Sundays—it begins after "Prayers of the Church." The day's Scripture readings are printed on the back of the bulletin.
If the service includes communion
(usually the second and fourth Sundays of the month), communicants will be ushered forward from the pulpit side first. If you need to avoid alcohol, you may choose the nonalcoholic white wine in the center cups of the tray. If you are not a member in good standing of a Missouri Synod Lutheran church, you are welcome to come forward for a blessing, crossing your arms over your chest to indicate you are not communing.
Should you commune?
If you are not a member in good standing of a Missouri Synod Lutheran church, we respectfully ask that you not partake of the Lord's Supper, because you could be taking Christ's body and blood to your harm and also because communion expresses unity of doctrine. Our pastor would welcome an opportunity to discuss communion and our doctrine with you in preparation for your joining us in the sacrament on another day.
If you are a Missouri Synod Lutheran, please introduce yourself to the pastor before the service and let him know you will be coming forward. When you are seated, take a moment to fill out the communion card and include the name of your home church, if you have one. Give this card to the usher when you go to receive the sacrament.
Next Steps
Get social
Check the Calendar
Get involved
Visit our YouTube channel to view our recorded services. If you have Facebook and/or Instagram, Like the churches' page. These sites contain the most up-to-date news about events and opportunities at both St. Paul's and Zion.
Check the Calendar
Take a look at our Calendar (which opens on a new page) for an at-a-glance view of what's happening.
Get involved
Take a look at the prayer requests in the weekly bulletin and schedule some prayer time for them.
We need ushers and greeters for Sunday mornings—there's usually a signup sheet on the desk in the narthex.
St. Paul's hosts a Sunday morning adult Bible study and, from fall through spring, Wednesday night classes for kids. There's a chapter of the Lutheran Women's Missionary League, who do all kinds of service projects in and beyond Green Isle. In the late summer we need lots of volunteers to make our Vacation Bible School happen.
Don't see an activity you're interested in? Talk to the pastor—maybe you can help start something new! God has given you a unique set of gifts and abilities—ask the Lord to show you where and how he would like you to use them!
