Worship

Greetings!

As the familiar rhythms of fall start to {hopefully} settle in, this feels like a good time to share some updates from me and the Worship Committee. We have some new opportunities coming this semester to grow together in worship.

One of our hopes this year is to have more instrumentalists join us in worship. With the blessing of our new piano and some recent sound upgrades (thank you, Bear Klenda!), we now have even more flexibility to add instruments. If you’ve ever thought about offering your musical gifts in worship, this is a wonderful time to step in. Please email me if you are interested.

You’ll also notice a few ways we’re enriching our congregational singing. From time to time, we will sing together during communion—not only the short refrains of our liturgy, but hymns or choruses as we come forward to receive the elements. We also plan to include sung benedictions on occasion, sending us out into the world with a song. And whenever we introduce a new hymn or song, we’ll share it in the weekly email ahead of Sunday so you can listen and learn before we sing it together.

Beyond music, we’re also leaning more deeply into the liturgical seasons of the church year. During seasons like Advent, Lent, and Easter, you’ll encounter prayers and elements that highlight the themes of those seasons. Also, we are creating some additional wall hangings and visual elements in the sanctuary for these seasons and for Sundays when we celebrate the sacrament of baptism.

Finally, we’ll be expanding our communion liturgy songs. In addition to the refrains we already know and love, we’ll begin rotating in one other setting of the Sanctus (“Holy, Holy, Holy”) and the Mystery of Faith (“Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again”).

Thank you for singing, praying, and fully participating each week. It is a joy to worship alongside you and I’m excited to experience these additional elements together.

Grace and peace,

Hannah Bradford

Director of Worship and Arts

hannah@fpcsiloam.com