Worship With Us At SMLC

Learn about our worship style and when we have services.

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About Worship at St. Matthew

At St. Matthew, our worship is more in the traditional style, but we do use various liturgies for the seasons and special celebrations. We follow a liturgical order of worship, punctuated by the seven major seasons of the church year. We follow the revised common lectionary for our scripture readings for worship each week.

The organ is the primary instrument used in worship. And we are blessed to have an organist who can truly play! Music is an important part of our worship each week. We also have at least two or three very talented folks who lend their talents when they are available! We invite YOU to come and lend YOUR talents! (Don’t worry though — some of us aren’t as talented as we think we are!) This can be done in person, or by arrangement, over the net.

Holy Communion is celebrated weekly. All who come forward in faith are welcome to the Lord’s Table. It is at the parents’ discretion as to the age their child receives the meal. We use wafers (occasionally loaves of real bread!) and there is a choice of wine or grape juice in individual cups. We extend a pastoral blessing to those who do not yet receive or prefer to abstain.

As a means of grace (church words for saying that we are eating at the family table, joined to each other as the beloved community in the body of Christ), we believe that we receive Jesus Christ in, with, and under the bread and wine. (They do not become {transubstantiation*} the body and blood in our understanding but are infused with {consubstantiation*} the Holy Spirit, making them something more than just their organic elements.) As this sacrament is received, through faith, Christ joins himself to the Church and forms our congregation to be the body of Christ in our local community and beyond.

In both Catholic and Lutheran understanding of communion, the meal is not just a memorial celebration; we believe the Spirit is acting. We differ in how we understand that action to take place. To wit –

*tran – changed in form; substan – the substance of bread and wine; iation – the action of the Spirit; Catholic

*con – infused with; substan – the substance of bread and wine; iation – the action of the Spirit; Lutheran