Frequently Asked Questions about Sunday Services and Congregational Life
What happens at a regular Sunday worship service?
On Sunday mornings from 10:00 to 11:20, we gather for worship services and for children and youth religious education and faith development classes.
When you arrive, you will be welcomed by our volunteer greeters. You can fill out a visitor information card and elect to receive our newsletter. We wear nametags to make it easier for us to remember each other’s names, and you will be given one too.
Our services usually include readings, music, singing, time for people to share their joys and concerns with the congregation, and a sermon or talk. Sunday morning services follow a variety of formats and diverse theologies.
Afterwards, most people stay for “Coffee Hour” which consists of sharing coffee, tea, light snacks, and conversation.
What do children do at Sunday services?
Everyone attends the first part (typically 20 minutes) of each service together. Children participate in a song or two, lighting of candles for joys and concerns. There is a Time for All Ages with a story or activity. The children then leave with their teachers for religious education or childcare held downstairs.
If my child doesn’t separate well, can she or he stay with me in the service?
Yes. Children are a welcome annd important part of our congregational life. We have an adjoining “wiggle room” where the service can be heard. There is a diaper changing area, comfortable seating, and toys in the wiggle room.
What should we wear?
Wear what is comfortable for you.
Are you genuinely welcoming to all people?
We are a “welcoming congregation”–a home of free faith and religious diversity. We are a certifed LGBTQ Welcoming Congregation and an Immigrant Welcoming & Supporting Congregation. We celebrate the spectrum of human differences and see them as a source of enrichment in our lives. While “saying so doesn’t necessarily make it so,” an important reason we come together is to remind ourselves of what we value. And because we value diversity, we include the voices of all people–in our readings and music, our religious education classes, and our leadership.
Do you have services all year?
Yes. We meet year-round for Sunday services at 10 a.m.