Worship

 

8:30 Traditional Worship - Knox Chapel

9:15 Cafe Praise Contemporary Worship - Youth House

(on Main Street across Tom Watson Way)

11:15 Traditional Worship - Santuary

 

10:15 Sunday School

 

On this page are many links to other pages and sites that will give you more information on worship in the United Methodist tradition, and about how we do worship here at TFUMC. As you read on our home page, we have traditional worship as well as a more casual, contemporary service called Cafe Praise.

 

Regardless of where it is held or in what style, worship is our offering to God.

 

For United Methodists, worship is formally described as having a basic pattern:  gathering, proclaiming, responding, and being sent forth.  Worship on Sunday is formally called "A Service of Word and Table,"  although many churches only have the table part (communion) on first Sundays. 

 

Worship involves many things:

the reading of scripture

announcements

music and singing by the congregation, choirs, soloists and accompanied by organ, piano, guitar, percussion, orchestras, ...

preaching

greetings

the sacraments of baptism and communion

testamonies

fellowship

offering our gifts to God

 

All of these elements can occur in worship, but none of them is what worship is.  The late Robert Webber wrote extensively on worship, and his perspective is helpful for us in understanding what we do ... and more importantly, why we do it.  He said that "worship is about God's story," and that it "is not done to us or for us, but by us."  We are not the audience for the fine music, the eloquent words, or the beautiful flowers.  We are the ones offering all these things ... and more ... to an audience of one:  God.

 

It takes a team to make worship happen every Sunday, on holidays throughout the Christian Year, secular holidays, and other important times in the life of the church.