Does our congregation have more than one worship service?
Yes. We have an early service at 8:15 and a second service at 10:45. In the summer months, we have a service at 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.
We also have special worship services in the evening such as Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Hanging of the Greens and the Christmas Eve. The special services provide alternative approaches to worship. The Ash Wednesday service for example, has been a self-guided meditation worship service with continuous organ music and offering of communion. The Hanging of the Greens service prepares the congregation for Advent and involves new members in the worship service. The Christmas Eve service brings the church together for a sincere remembrance of the reason for the season. We do not take collections at special services.
Describe our worship services?
Our worship service is contemporary but follows a traditional format and structure: prelude, introit, processional hymn, call to worship, invocation, Lord's prayer, Gloria Patri, announcements, prayer hymn, pastoral prayer, offertory invitation, offertory, Doxology, prayer of dedication, scripture reading, sermon, invitation to join, communion hymn, elder's meditation, words of institution, prayer of consecration, benediction, recessional, postlude. All of the worship services are on Sunday and communion is served every service.
Our worship services are characterized by the active participation of lay ministers. Each service includes deacons who collect the offering and serve communion, elders who receive the offering and lead the communion, a lay member liturgist and music from a wide variety of choral groups or individuals. The ministers provide the pastoral prayer, scripture reading, sermon, words of institution and benediction.
Our worship services are contemporary in sermon topics, casual dress, friendly announcements of activities, and calls for support of mission efforts. They are also contemporary in that all ages and groups of the congregation participate as lay ministers including youth, women, elderly, families and so forth.
A variety of music is performed and sung with contemporary as well as old favorite hymns being sung on a regular basis. Youth choirs, guest performers and other choral groups likewise sing many contemporary as well as classic musical numbers. To assure highest quality, we have not permitted recorded music or synthesizers to become a common element of worship music, although a wide variety of instrumental and vocal music has been a part of our services (as well as more experimental forms of worship expression such as liturgical dance).
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Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
(217) 428-4336
email the webmaster at gbarron@cccdisciples.org