945 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20001 | 202-628-4317
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March Gabriel’s Horn| February 21 Weekly Newsletter

Worship Nuts & Bolts

 

Take a breath! Experience God. Discover community.
Circle around a Table. Pursue your questions.
Get fired up to work for God’s justice.

Welcome to worship at First Church,
whoever you are:

if you’ve never been to a church, or you’ve been a regular;
if you have longed for a spiritual community of acceptance;
if you find joy in singing, listening, or moving to music from a variety of traditions;
if you love to hear the echo of a pipe organ and choir ringing in the air around you, or find silence fulfilling;
if you have questions and want to be challenged to grow, or to take it easy in silence;
if you want to explore the Christian faith, but also value other faiths.

If you’ve been hurt or alone and want some healing;

if you are certain of God, of Jesus, or not so certain;
if you appreciate families in many shapes and flavors;
if you seek a Sunday community with children, singles, pairs and elders;
if you want to be with people of different races and orientations;
if you want to be renewed and make a difference in the world;
Oh, and no matter what you wear, this may be the place for you.
 

Every Sunday, we gather in our new sanctuary at 10:30AM.

We encounter God and are renewed in community
so we can live every day – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – with God’s hope and love in the world.

The Spirit is alive in worship.

During the hour we sing and pray.
We engage both the world and the Bible – making connections with our real lives and the real world
Ministers, members, friends, and special guests may lead parts of the Sunday worship.
Sermons challenge our thinking and lead us to reflect.
Worshipers share concerns and celebrations
We are inspired by music that lifts our spirits and draws us closer to God
We use expansive language that welcomes women and men, girls and boys, and celebrates the many images of God.  Children and youth participate in at least part of each service
Worship ends with a blessing to be led together by God to live out a life of faith, of loving and of doing
 

We share Communion and baptize too!

At least once a month, on the first Sunday, we share Communion (what others might call the Lord’s Supper or Eucharist). In the simple gifts of bread and juice shared around a table, we become aware of the presence of God and celebrate our oneness with  those among us and around  the world. We remember when Jesus shared a similar meal. All are invited to share Communion.  Anyone may join in around the table or not. 
We baptize people of all ages following what Jesus did. As water is poured over us, we believe God’s spirit pours over people – and people become part of not only our church, but the world-wide community of Christians, the Body of Christ in the world.
At Christmas and Easter we celebrate the journey and life of Jesus. We imagine ourselves taking the journey with him every year on these special days in worship.
We celebrate weddings of all kinds of couples, straight and LGBT. 
 

Making worship into a welcome, joyful, and powerful place for you!

We pray God is in all our worship. We plan worship the best we can – and still listen and watch for God’s amazing and spontaneous presence. We want to be surprised in worship by God’s Spirit in community. We hope you find a spiritual home among us – a place of acceptance, challenge, and strengthening. Just give it a try. As we say, almost every Sunday, “may God’s peace be yours.”