For those who need special assistance, the following services are available to enhance your worship experience at First Presbyterian Church:

• Elevator to the sanctuary from the Wooster Street Entrance
• Advanced hearing devices, available from an usher
• Handicapped parking on Wooster and Fourth Streets
• Church bulletins and hymnals with enlarged print
• Audiotapes of the Sunday Service are available if requested (No charge). Please request of the pastor or Building Superintendent, Bob Gray - prepared during Sip & Chat.

GUIDE TO WORSHIP

This Guide is for the use of all who worship with us at First Presbyterian Church. It is especially intended as an aid for those visiting with us.  But even those familiar with our order of worship may find it helpful as a reminder of why we worship as we do. Our normal service follows a simple pattern indicated by the heading in the bulletin. Our service on Communion Sunday varies slightly from this guide.

We begin by ASSEMBLING IN GOD'S NAME. During this part of the service, we gather together to greet each other, share a few announcements concenring the life of the church and focus on coming together to worship and praise God.

The Greeting and Welcome is a brief period of greeting and announcements that are important to our church community. 

The Prelude is a selection of instrumental music that is intended to begin our time of worship and allows us to prepare ourselves spiritually for the service.

A Moment for Mission focuses on the the life of our church or missions that our local church or the Presbyterian Church supports.

The Call to Worship is a responsive reading that is printed in the bulletin. The congregation reads the part in bold and itlaic type. This is led by our worship leader who is usually a member of our congregation. At times the choir may substitute a brief choral introit.

Hymn - Our first hymn is generally a hymn of praise or adoration.  If there is an asterisk (*) before the hymn in the bulletin, we stand to sing. Our organist plays the hymn through once before we sing during which time we stand - usually taking our cue from the pastor. Our choir processes into the sanctuary from the back during this first hymn (except during summer months).

Prayer of Confession - We are reminded of our need for forgiveness and the congregation prays this prayer in unison from the bulletin, which is followed by a moment of silence for personal confession.

Assurance of Pardon reminding us of God's steadfast love and forgiveness is given by the pastor or worship leader.

Response - We rise to sing the "Gloria Patri,"  a short hymn of praise, or another appropriate musical response.

Passing of the Peace - We take a moment to share the peace that God has given us with our fellow worshippers. We stand and greet. hug, or shake hands with those sitting close to us. 

The second portion of the service is the time in which we PROCLAIM GOD'S WORD through music, readings from the Bible, and God's word through the sermon.

The Prayer for Illumination asks that God's Holy Spirit help us hear and understand God's Word that will be read and proclaimed.

Anthem/Special Music - Our choir shares their musical ministry with us from fall through late spring. During the summer and at other occasional services we have guest musicians or special musical offerings by members.

Children's Sermon - Children of all ages are invited to come to the front of the sanctuary for this sermon. Following this brief time, the children may attend children's church in the "Kerygma Room" on the second floor. The person leading children's church each Sunday escorts the children from the sanctuary.

Scripture Readings - The Word of God is central to worship in the Presbyterian/Reformed tradition. You may follow along in the pew Bible as the Word  is read, if you choose.

The Sermon - The sermon is the proclamation or expositiom of the Word of God that has been read.

The Affirmation of Faith - The congregation declares its faith by reciting or reading one of the various creeds or declarations of the Church. These are generally in our hymnal or are printed in the bulletin.

Hymn - This hymn generally follows the theme of the sermon. We follow the same guidelines as with the first hymn.

The next section of our worship is the time in worship to GIVE THANKS TO GOD and includes moments to offer concerns and joys of the congregation, mention of persons on our prayer list, our offerings of tithes and gifts, and prayers of thanks and dedication.

Prayers of the Faithful - This prayer is given from the pulpit and concludes with the Lord's Prayer. As noted in the bulletin our denomination uses "debts/debtors" instead of "trespasses."

The Offering of Tithes and Gifts is our opportunity to share our monetary gifts to help provide for the work of God's church. As a visitor your main job during this part of the service is signing the fellowship register and passing the offering plate. We invite all worshipers to participate in making an offering.

The Offertory is a musical selection that is presented as the offering is received and is listed in the bulletin.

Doxology - We rise to sing this short song of praise and remain standing through to the remainder of the service.

Prayer of Dedication is normally started by the worship leader and the congregation joins in by reading the part in bold type.

We prepare to GO IN GOD'S NAME into the world during the concluding moments of the worship service .

Hymn - The concluding hymn, again, is generally selected to fit the theme of the day's worship.  The same guidelines apply as before.

Dismissal and Blessing - A formal dismissal, also referred to as the "Benediction," concludes the service and calls us to service in the world or includes words of blessing.

Postlude - The organist plays a selection to formally conclude the service. Worshipers are invited to be seated until the end of the Postlude; some may prefer to leave the sanctuary quietly.

SPECIAL NOTE:
Following our services, we have a brief gathering, known as "Sip N Chat," in our Fellowship Hall (lower level) for worshipers to mingle and greet each other. Light refreshments are offered during this time.

We also have a Nursery available for your use during the service. We have one paid nursery worker and two volunteer parents working in the nursery each Sunday. Please feel free to leave your small child in the nursery.