“Come let us sing for joy to the Lord; … Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods… Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.” (excerpts from Psalm 95: 1-7, NIV)

For me, these verses help sum up what public Christian worship is all about. It is a time for us (the words “let us” are repeated several times) to come together as “the people of his pasture, the flock under his care” to sing, praise, pray, extol, and worship “the great God, the great King above all gods”. It’s a time for us to be in the presence of our God, and with his people, “to bow down in worship”, “to sing for joy”, and “extol him”. We praise Him and give thanksgiving to “the Lord our Maker” for his everlasting love, and for the free gift of eternal life by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

In our church services, we need to be mindful that we are in the presence of our awesome and holy God. We are there, first and foremost, to worship him. We are aware that our Lord deserves our proper respect, praise, and thanksgiving. One of the ways we joyfully respond is by showing our reverence to the Lord during worship. We need to also show respect for his people, with whom we are worshiping. Inappropriate disruptions in our services can diminish the proper reverential atmosphere of our worship experience, and often distract others who are worshiping with us. Worship is a time for us to “kneel before the Lord”, “extol him”, “give thanks to him, and praise his name”. There are some guidelines on entering and leaving the sanctuary during the worship service we should try to follow, to the extent possible, to enhance our time of worship and the worship experience of others who have joined us in praising the great God of our salvation.

The following information provides useful guidelines on when it is appropriate, and when it is not appropriate, for us to enter or leave the church sanctuary during worship services. Ushers will be asked to help us in adhering to these guidelines at certain times during our worship services. At those times when it is inappropriate for us enter the sanctuary and sit down in a pew, the ushers will remind us to wait until there is an appropriate time to be seated.

Before and after the worship service, the double doors to the sanctuary will be open. People are free to enter and leave at any time. When the doors are close, this is a signal that our worship service is in progress. If you want to enter when the doors are closed, please be mindful of what is happening at that point in the service, and follow the advice of the ushers if you are asked to wait. If you are unsure of what to do, please ask an usher.

You may enter or leave during the following times in our worship service:

Prelude
Welcome and Announcements
Interlude for Preparation
Invocation and Opening Versicles
After the Processional reaches the Chancel
Kyrie and Hymn of Praise
Between the Collect, and the Reading of the First Lesson
Between the Reading of the Second Lesson and Musical Offerings or Alleluia Verse
Childrens’ Sermon
The Sermon
Offering and the Offertory Canticle
Communion: Sanctus, Agnus Dei, Reception of the Sacrament, and Distribution Hymns

During the following times of our worship service it is inappropriate either to enter (Ushers will remind worshippers to wait) or to leave your seat:

Confession and Absolution
During the Processional down the middle aisle
Prayers: The Collect, Prayers of the Church, Lords Prayer, Offertory Prayer,
Prayer of Thanksgiving, Post-Communion Prayer, and any other special prayers
Readings of Scripture: Lessons, Psalm, Gospel, and other special readings,
e.g. responsive readings
Alleluia Verse
Musical Offerings by the Choir, Soloists, or others
The Creeds (Apostle, Nicene, and Athenasian Creeds)
Communion: Preface, Words of Institution, Dismissal
Benediction
Recessional
Commissioning

These are guidelines only; not absolute rules that have to be followed. There are understandable exceptions why someone might need to leave anytime during the service. Examples are health reasons, an emergency trip to the restroom, misbehavior of children, etc. However, we would sincerely appreciate your cooperation whenever possible in implementing these guidelines. Also, if you have children, youth, or teens in your family, please discuss these guidelines with them also. Elimination of unneeded trips to the restrooms by these family members will help significantly. If you have any questions, please talk with me, Pastor Finck, Don Smith (Director of Worship), or Rick Baker (Head Usher).

Together we can make our worship services a time of great joy and celebration, with proper respect towards our Lord and our fellow worshippers. What a joy and blessing it is to gather together and join in the public worship of our great creator God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All praise, honor, glory, and thanks be to Him forever; for he is our God and his love endures forever. He alone is our salvation through the sacrificial death and resurrection of his only Son, Jesus Christ. Alleluia!

Russell Zimmerman, Head Deacon