Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100
Statement on Worship
Please see below statement from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) on Worship, which St. Paul’s ascribes to.
Worship - A foundation of faith for everything we do
For Lutherans, worship stands at the center of our life of faith. Through God’s word, water, bread and prayer we are nurtured in faith and sent out into the world.
Connected with and central to everything we do, worship unites us in celebration, engages us in thoughtful dialogue and helps us grow in faith. It grounds us in our Christian and Lutheran roots, while demonstrating practical relevance for today’s world.
While some of the approaches to worship may differ from one ELCA congregation to another, we hold certain things in common. Central to our worship life is the presence of God through word and sacrament. The word proclaimed and the sacraments —both Holy Baptism and Holy Communion — are called the means of grace. We believe that Jesus Christ is present in these means through the power of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we describe worship as a “gathering around the means of grace.”
There is also a basic pattern for worship among Lutherans. We gather. We encounter God’s word. We share a meal at the Lord’s table. And we are sent into the world. But we do not think about worship so much in terms of what we do. Worship is fundamentally about what God is doing and our response to God’s action. Worship is an encounter with God, who saves us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
St. Paul’s Worship Opportunities
St. Paul’s is a strong traditional/liturgical based worship service where music plays a large part each Sunday. We have weekly Sunday morning services that are live streamed with past services available on our YouTube channel. Throughout the year we have additional special services noted below:
- September Rally Day
- Lenten Mid-Week Services.
- Christmas:
- Blue Christmas Service (for those who are grieving) and falls on the longest night of the year, the winter solstice.
- Lessons and Carols
- Christmas Eve Family and Candlelight Services
- Christmas Day Service
- Lenten Mid-Week Services.
Below is a listing of opportunities to participate in our Worship Opportunities.
- Come to Church each Sunday!!!!
- Ushering
- Altar Guild
- Acolytes
- Church Choir
- Church Bell Choir
- Church Deacons
If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please email to “stpaulswilliamsville@gmail.com”.