We worship because we need to receive, because we need to give, because we need to be strengthened, because we need to discover what we really need, and because to be human is to give praise to the Creator.
Sunday Worship
Chapel Service: 8:30am
Main Service: 10:00am
Holy Communion
Holy Communion is administered on the First Sunday of each month.
Special Services
Special Services of Worship are celebrated on Christmas Eve, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals
Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals are celebrated by special arrangement only. Please contact the Church Office to make arrangements.
Communion Bread
If anyone feels excluded or threatened by gluten or wheat in the bread used for Communion, please let Linda know ahead of time so that we can accommodate that need.
Baron
Worship at First Presbyterian Church of Monroe
Worship is at the heart of who we are as Christians. And at the center of worship is God's Word. Our Book of Order states, Where that word is read and proclaimed, Jesus Christ is present by the inward witness of the Holy Spirit. And in worship, the Church is transformed and renewed, equipped and sent to serve God's reign in the world.
We see the Church as a circle of persons holding hands ... and supporting each other, accepting each other, loving each other. Each person in this circle is also ... reaching into God's world, listening for the whimpering, watching for the hurting, willing to offer a cup of cold water in his name.
Sometimes they need the water;
sometimes you need the water;
sometimes I need the water.
Being a part of the Church means knowing
that the cup is always filled in His Name. (Ann Weems)
We worship because we need to receive, because we need to give, because we need to be strengthened, because we need to discover what we really need, and because to be human is to give praise to the Creator. Let's make worship a high priority in our lives. Then we can be more effective instruments to serve God in the Church and in the world.
Why Children in Worship?
Tell me, I'll forget.
Show me, I may remember.
Involve me and I'll understand.
- Ancient Chinese Proverb
Jesus and the children. In all three Synoptic Gospels we have an account of the disciples arguing among themselves about who was the greatest. In response, Jesus brings a child into their midst, not as the one to receive instruction from Jesus or the disciples, but as the one whose presence was to be the clue in answering the disciples' probing question. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the one who sent me (Mk 9:37).
Not long after this, as Jesus was deep in conversation with the religious leaders and his disciples, some children were brought to Jesus so he could touch them and bless them. The disciples, possibly concerned about Jesus' tiredness and fearing that the children's presence might interfere with the seriousness of the discussion that was taking place, turned the children away.
When Jesus noticed this he was angry, and said to the disciples, Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the Kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them (Mk 10:14-16).
Why children in worship? According to John Westerhoff, a leading Christian educator, children's presence in worship is not only important, but is necessary if we are to become the whole people of God. Westerhoff's premise is that faith is "caught" not "taught," and what better way for children to know what faith is all about than to be a part of a community that laughs together, cries together, struggles together, and worships together-a community that lives and shares its faith with all its members.
When a child is baptized in our midst and made a member of the church of Christ, the adults of the congregation promise to be active in nurturing that child's faith. We need to work together to do just that-to nurture our children in their faith, and to be nurtured by them in return. Children give us the gift of trust and a fresh point of view; adults can share the gift of acceptance, experience, and the wisdom of the church through the ages.
Worshiping together. If we believe that faith is "caught" not "taught," and if Sunday morning is the time that is important to us as a worshiping community, then adults and children need to be together at this time. Worship is one of the basic ways people learn what it means to be Christian. Children learn worship by worshiping with the congregation. They learn they belong to Christ and are welcome in his church. They participate in the drama of baptism and communion as signs of God's kindness and favor, of God's love and forgiveness. Children need to take part in worship regularly, and from time to time to take leadership roles. We all learn best by doing, and understand more clearly that which is concrete rather than abstract.
Worship that includes both adults and children might be a little different from what we are normally accustomed to. We will be looking at a service planned to meet a wide range of experience and ability. We will probably see more movement, hear more music and experience more drama. Periods of silence may not be quite as silent, prayers may be shorter, and sermons may contain more stories and illustrations. We will probably see more variety in our worship in order to stimulate thought and discussion and to reinforce learnings.
The ministry of children. D. C. Bensen, in the foreword to Children as Partners in the Church by Dennis Bensen and Phyllis Heusser, tells of a Sunday worship service in which a special ministry took place. While his parents listened to the sermon, a young boy busily colored a picture of Jesus and wrote in crooked letters across the page "Jesus loves you." Despite his mother's embarrassment, the boy insisted on giving the picture to a man sitting farther along the pew.
A few weeks later, the man stopped the boy's mother and remarked that he was so thankful for the young boy's gift of the picture. He shared that he had been struggling with his wife's death and that when he received the boy's picture, he felt God come into his heart. Through that simple act, God had used a child's innocence and directness to help comfort a grieving and lonely person. The youngest among us are capable of being partners in the total ministry of the Church, and need to be valued as such.
Children are not the church of the future. They are the church of the present. Children can know and experience God and have faith to share. We need to know that all of us are on the faith journey together and that God is active in all our lives. Worship can be the place and the activity where we seek God's will and presence for our lives together in community.
Adapted from brochure prepared by The B.C. Conference Ministry with Children Working Unit
©1997, United Church of Canada.
Used with permission.
