St. John Ely offers three worship opportunities weekly:
Sunday mornings:
8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
(from Labor Day to Memorial Day)
9:00 a.m. Summer Services
(from Memorial Day to Labor Day)
Wednesday evenings:
6:00 p.m.
(Lent & Advent - 7:00 p.m.)
Sunday Worship
Our Sunday services offer a mix of music, readings, prayer, and preaching. With very few exceptions, you can expect each service to contain the following elements:
Gathering:
We gather and share in a prayer of confession. That time of confession is immediately followed by a word of God’s forgiveness. We sing and we pray.
Word:
We hear God’s word spoken from two or three different scriptural texts. A sermon follows these readings… connecting God’s word to everyday life and the world.
Meal:
An offering is collected before the meal, and that offering is used to support the ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, but also the ELCA, and the larger church at work in the world. Following the offering, we share in Holy Communion as one body of Christ. We have an open table at St. John – e.g. all who desire to receive the bread and the wine (or grape juice) are welcomed forward.
Sending:
Nourished with God’s word and holy meal, the assembly is sent on its way to be the church in the world.
Worship on Wednesday
Worship on Wednesdays has its own distinct feel… While this service follows the same rhythm of “Gathering, Word, Meal, and Sending,” our Wednesday night services are more laid back and conversational in style. Wednesday nights are typically unscripted... and in some sense, a little more participatory. Those in attendance share in prayer and a Gospel reading – followed by Holy Communion and a final blessing. This is a shorter service and is usually done within 40 minutes.
Kids in Worship
St. John is a church that’s full of life (and life can get pretty noisy). With that said, bring the kids… they’re an important part of who we are as the body of Christ. All are welcome here, and God has gifted the St. John community with a number of young families. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me,” (Matthew 19:14) and that’s a command we continually live into at St. John.
