Worship with Us
Sunday Services
Sunday Services: 8:00 am & 10:15 am & 6:00 pm
September 17, 2023 – June 30, 2024
Our 8:00 a.m. worship is a spoken service with Holy Communion and our 10:15 a.m. worship is traditional with Holy Communion. Special themes services are at 6:00 p.m. beginning on September 17 through June 30, 2024 with the following rotation: Evensong on the first Sunday of each month; Contemporary Worship on the second Sunday; Taize on the third Sunday; and Healing on the fourth.
The Word Proclaimed & Shared
All are welcome. We invite you to participate in our services in-person or live-streamed on our Facebook page. Additionally, you may also view sermons on our YouTube channel.
Lutheran worship invites active, full, conscious participation. You are a worshiper, not a spectator. Please accept our invitation to listen to God’s word and receive Holy Communion. You will have the opportunity to confess your faith, praise God, pray, and share the peace of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
What is Liturgy?
The pattern for Lutheran worship as a congregation is called the liturgy. Liturgy means the “work of the people.” Liturgy is working with words and actions to honor God. As the Word of God is proclaimed and the sacraments are enacted among us, the Spirit touches our lives. Be open to the Holy Spirit who will draw you into a congregation at worship as an active participant. Then liturgy will not be in a book or bulletin, but also in you. In the worship event you can encounter God and God’s people as you listen, pray, praise, sing and share in the sacraments. We place our “Amen” over all that the liturgy celebrates.
Two Principal Parts of the Liturgy:
- Proclamation of the Word, as through the sacraments, God gives faith, forgiveness of sins, and new life. The public reading of the Holy Scriptures is an indispensable part of worship, constituting the basis for the public proclamation of the Gospel. The preaching of the Gospel of the crucified and risen Christ is rooted in the readings of the Scriptures in the assemblies for worship.
- Celebration of the Eucharist (Communion) We affirm the Real Presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper and invite all baptized believers in Christ, as Lord and Savior, to receive this sacrament with us.
“Let the little children come to me….” – Matthew 19:14
Children at Worship
Just as we teach our children how to talk or eat with the family, we also need to help them learn how to worship. The primary way we do this is by taking our children to church and worshiping with them to learn by example. It is easier to understand that prayer is essential when children see parents and others praying. They learn that worship praises God through song, prayer, and offerings.
Children in the 2nd grade and above are encouraged to sit with parents; child care is provided at the main Sunday morning service at 10:15 for younger children. Parents who wish to keep their children can pick up age-appropriate activity bags in the narthex (lobby) before entering. In either case, all children are invited to come to the front of the church for a “Children’s Moment” with the pastor.
What is Taize Worship?
Yes, it is a type of worship, but its name comes from a village in eastern France. Since 1940 Taize has been the home of an ecumenical community of brothers whose prayer three times a day forms the center of their lives. Today Taize is a place where visitors of all ages and backgrounds come on pilgrimages and participate in prayer and reflection. Their unique style of music and worship bridges denominational and cultural barriers.
Initially, the community was made of brothers from various Protestant denominations, but it includes many Catholics today. Today there are 100 brothers of Taize representing every denomination and race, and culture. The brothers live on every continent and among the poor and downtrodden. Since the fall of communism, thousands of young people have come to Taize from Eastern Europe. The community holds a Pilgrimage of Trust between Christmas and New Year in a European capital. In a recent meeting, 100,000 young people were in attendance.
People enter a darkened church, lit only by candles during a Taize service. The icons and candlelight create a welcoming and contemplative atmosphere. Quiet singing short songs repeated, again and again, promotes meditation. Bible readings are offered by readers seated among the congregation. And there are silences, some short, some long, time to meditate, time to hear God speak to you in the quiet of your heart. There is time to sit and be, reflect on a particular Bible reading that touches our heart, and time to meditate on it. It is a time to hear God speak and let one’s burdens down in the quiet of His Presence.
Icons also contribute to the beauty of worship as symbols of the Incarnation giving the eyes a spiritual message as the Word is a message to our ears. Icons take us back to a time when the Bible was not in the hands of the people, and most were illiterate, yet the visual images were powerful conduits of the gospel of Jesus the Christ, and they remain so today.
Good Shepherd celebrates a Taize worship service on the third Sunday of the month at 6:00 pm. Please come and join us.
Contemporary & Jazz Services
The Contemporary Worship services feature songs of Christian pop and rock artists, led by our own praise band, including guitar, drums, and modern vocals.
Jazz Vespers is a unique service in which all musical offerings are within the jazz genre. Under the direction of Sean Fitzpatrick, professional jazz musicians of the New York City area are invited to guest appear monthly and share their talents with us for these original services. Musical offerings include everything from jazz standards to original compositions by our very own musicians.