In worship, we hear God speak to us through the Scriptures and receive His forgiveness through the body and blood of Jesus in Holy Communion. We respond to these gifts with thanksgiving and praise.
Our services are:
Liturgical
We follow a regular pattern and order of worship. We use a hymnal called Lutheran Service Book.
Traditional
The core of the Lutheran service has been in place in the Christian church for nearly two millennia!
Contemporary
The Gospel is taught and proclaimed today as we hear God's Word together in this beautiful service.
We realize that our order of worship has a learning curve. If it's your first time in a Lutheran church, you will likely miss a few cues or make mistakes. That's okay with us. You don't need to impress anyone and it's okay to not know how everything works your first time. If it were your first time at a football game, you wouldn't know all the cheers or traditions. If it were your first time at a square dance, you wouldn't know all the steps.
If you would like help, ask one of the ushers or anyone near you in the pews. Our church members are always glad to help! The good news is that once you become familiar with our service, it doesn't change drastically week to week. You will be rooted in a way of worshipping God that is shared by Christians all around the world and through the centuries.
Services generally last between sixty and seventy-five minutes.
See the rest of the videos in this series here.
We have no dress code other than to be dressed sensibly and modestly. Worshipping God is not a matter of what we wear but of receiving God's gifts with faith and thanksgiving. Most worshippers at Zion dress casually.
Traditionally, Christians have dressed up for service in their "Sunday best", not as a means to please God or other people, but with reverence and respect for being in the presence of our Holy God. We still encourage this, while recognizing that the standards of what dressing up looks like change with time and culture.
Children are welcome at our church! We believe the service is not just for adults but for everyone. Don't worry if your young children make noise or are squirmy. We expect that and enjoy hearing them learning to worship.
If you do need to take your child out of the sanctuary during the service, you can follow the service on the video screen in the north narthex area. Go through the short hallway to your left as you exit the sanctuary.
North narthex with video screen
North narthex
There are handicapped accessible restrooms located in the north narthex through the short hallway to your left as you exit the sanctuary.
In addition to restrooms, the north narthex also has a coat rack, member mailboxes, chairs positioned to watch the service on the video screen, a telephone, water fountain, and a library with adult and children’s books, as well as other literature.