Weekly
Services are held on Sunday at 9:30am, followed by Coffee Hour in
Parish House across the street. Sunday School in Parish House for
Pre-K through Grade 6. Nursery services available in the Parish
House during services.
Worship is the heart of the life of the
church. One of the Biblical metaphors for the church is the ‘Bride of
Christ’ and each worship service is like the anniversary celebration.
Through worship on Sundays and other special occasions, we remember the
resurrection of Christ, we hear God’s word through the Scriptures and
the preaching of the Word, we pray together as a church family, we sing
together and connect with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.
When
God saved the Children of Israel from servitude in Egypt, they were not
ferried across the Red Sea one by one. God parted the waters and walked
them through together, as one people. When we worship together we
remember that we are not alone, but we walk through the troubled waters
of this world together in the presence of Christ.
Worship also
grounds us in reality. We are more than flesh and bone. We are also
spirit, and have our final destiny in Heaven with God. Worship is one
of the ways we recognize who we really are and where we are really
going.
And as we go through our days, working, raising our
families, supporting worthy causes, praying, and living our lives for
God individually, we still need that periodic common gathering to speak
with one voice in praise and thanksgiving. We need to come into the
presence of God as a church family. It is one of the reasons God
commands us to remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy.
Communion
Sunday is the day we share in the Wedding Celebration of Christ and his
Bride (the Church) in Heaven through the sharing of the bread and cup
here on Earth. Other Sundays are the days we come to be transformed by
the Word together, as the family of God.
One of our Deacons says
that, “What unites us [in worship] is stronger than what divides us [in
the world].” In the humble act of worshiping God, we gain strength to
face the world.
Sunday worship is at 9:30 AM in the meetinghouse.
Following
our Sunday worship services is the Fellowship Hour, hosted by a
different board or committee each week, with coffee and refreshments.
Come and share this time after the worship service as we gather in
fellowship as a church family.
We have special holiday worship services at different times of the year including:
The
Ash Wednesday Service is a service of repentance and spiritual
preparation for Lent. It is held at 7:30 PM on Ash Wednesday. Check the
calendar for the exact time this year.
On Palm Sunday the children of our Sunday School parade through the church with Palms to celebrate Christ as the King.
The
Maundy Thursday Service (Holy Thursday) is a beautiful time of
traditional worship telling through Scripture readings and hymns the
story of the night before Good Friday as we celebrate the Lord’s Last
Supper and a Service of Tenebrae. In a darkened church, candles are
extinguished one by one as each event in Jesus life that night are
remembered, until one single candle remains lit as we exit the church
in silence. A moving service, not to be missed!
The Seven Last
Words on Good Friday Service is an ecumenical service at noon on Good
Friday led by the clergy of Marshfield who deliver brief messages on
each of the seven last words (or sentences) Jesus spoke from the cross,
interspersed with prayer and hymns.
The Easter Sunrise Service
is led at the beach in Green Harbor by our Middle and Senior High Youth
Groups. All are welcome to share in this inspirational service. Songs
and prayers are offered as the sun rises over the ocean, reminding us
of Jesus’ rising from the dead to give us eternal life. Because Easter
falls on a different day each year, the time of sunrise changes, so
please check our calendar for the exact time each year.
Easter Sunday worship is at 9:30 on Easter Sunday morning. Christ is risen!
The Mother’s Day Service is led by our Junior High students in honor of our mothers.
Sunday
School Sunday is usually in June, and is the day we celebrate and
recognize our Sunday School students and teachers. Jesus said, “Suffer
little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is
the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:16)
On Father’s Day, youth of the church participate to honor our fathers.
There is Worship Under The Tent in July on the Sunday of the weekend of our Annual Fair on the Green.
The
Thanksgiving Service is held the evening before Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is the original Congregational holiday, and springs from
the heritage of our church, since we are the second church to issue
forth from the original church at Plymouth, with people who came over
on the Mayflower founding our church.
During each Sunday of Advent we light the candles of the Advent Wreath as we prepare for the coming of Jesus on Christmas Day.
The
Hour of Peace, an informal service of music, prayer, and readings both
from Scripture and from other sources, usually held about a week before
Christmas on a Saturday evening. Check the calendar for the exact time
this year.
The Christmas Eve Family Service is held for families
with small children, typically after supper and before bedtime. Check
the calendar for the exact time this year.
The Christmas Eve Midnight Service is held at 11 PM to Midnight on Christmas Eve by our High School age youth.
Prayer
is the center of a Christian’s life with God. It is a form of
communication which is not meant to bend God to our will, but rather,
to bend ourselves to God’s will. In prayer, we can talk to God and be
assured that God always hears and answers.
Our church has a
prayer chain for immediate prayer needs and conducts a special prayer
service once a month. Prayer requests may be submitted to the church
office for inclusion in our weekly bulletin and Sunday’s pastoral
prayer. If you have a concern weighing on your heart that you would
like to pray about, please call our church office to speak and pray
with our Pastor, one of our Deacons, or have your concern lifted up by
our prayer chain.
It was proclaimed by the Prophet Isaiah, “Even
those, I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My
house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be
acceptable on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer
for all the peoples.” (Isaiah 56:7)
The Psalmist reminds us to, “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
And
the Apostle Paul urges us to, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ
Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Prayer to enables us to focus on the will of God and allows the Holy Spirit to move in our hearts.
Sacraments We recognize two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Baptism
In
Baptism we are symbolically buried and raised with Christ. Many
Christians, both ancient and modern, immersed the believer who was
being baptized, so the image of burial and resurrection was more
obvious. Other Christians pour or sprinkle the water, but the meaning
is the same. We sprinkle the water. Through baptism a person becomes a
member of the family of God. We baptize both children and adults. We
baptize children because the early church welcomed entire households
into the fold, and baptized both the children and adults. Christ’s
promise is to the believer and their children. We also baptize adults
who have not been baptized as children. It’s never too late to be
baptized!
We believe that Baptism flows from life within the
church, and typically perform Baptisms during the Sunday worship
service, with the whole congregation present. The Baptism of a child is
often a turning point in the faith of the parents, and we welcome and
encourage those who, through the Baptism of their children, become more
engaged in worship and life in our church. Please contact the Pastor or
the church office at 781-834-7664 to arrange for a Baptism.
The Lord’s Supper
The
Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a sacred meal instituted by Jesus
Christ the night before he died on Good Friday. The bread represents
Christ’s body which was broken for us, and the cup represents his blood
which was poured out for us. Christ becomes present to us in a special
way in the offering of the bread and the cup, which we do in
remembrance of him.
The old words of the invitation to communion
are, “You who do truly and earnestly repent of your sins, and are in
love and charity with your neighbors, and intend to lead a new life,
following the commandments of God and walking in his holy ways, draw
near with faith and take this holy Sacrament to your comfort.” All
Christians are welcome to share communion with us.
We celebrate
The Lord’s Supper on the first Sunday of every month, and on special
occasions. Our Pastor and Deacons also celebrate the Lord’s Supper with
the sick or home bound upon request. Please contact the Pastor or the
church office at 781-834-7664 if you would like a hospital or home
visit.
Special Services The Special Services we offer include Confirmation, Funerals and Memorial Services, and Marriage.
Confirmation Service
Confirmation
is a rite in which we recognize the spiritual maturity of our young
people as they take ownership of their baptisms and publicly declare
that the faith their parents promised on their behalf at Baptism is now
their faith by choice.
Our confirmation program begins in
September, and is led by a dedicated team of adults who guide the
confirmands through a program that challenges their assumptions about
God and religion, and deepens their understanding of their faith.
Lessons, service projects and retreats bring the young people together
and help them focus on their relationship with God through Christ. Deep
questions and frank discussions of how Christian belief applies to
living in our difficult times are conducted in a safe space. The young
people draw closer to God and to each other through this shared
journey. The program culminates in May/June with the Confirmation
Service. This service includes the laying on of hands and the
confirmands being accepted as full members of the church.
Funerals and Memorial Services
The
promise of the cross and resurrection of Christ is the forgiveness of
sins and eternal life with God. When a loved one has passed on to the
next life, it will be a joyous time for that person. For us, left
behind in this life, it can be a time of mixed emotions, knowing on the
one hand that our loved one has gone on to a better place, but also
feeling the loss and grief that accompanies this parting.
A
Funeral or Memorial Service helps us to mark the passing, and put our
grief into the context of natural cycle of life in this world.
Recognition of a death is a healthy part of the grieving process, and
not just for the family, as friends may also have a need to “pay their
respects.”
The services are often a celebration of the life of
the one who has died, and a remembrance of the promises of God, who
will take us into his everlasting arms when we draw our last earthly
breaths.
Some people find comfort in their faith when a loved
one dies, while other people may question their faith. A Christian
funeral or memorial service can help us all to mark the loss of our
loved one in our lives in giving us a time to be together with those
whom we love to remember and celebrate the one we’ve lost. A funeral
can be an important part of healthy grieving whereby we begin the
process of integrating the great change in our lives caused by the
departure of one deeply loved. Our Pastor and our Caring Deacons are
available if you need someone to talk to or pray with in your time of
sorrow.
For Funeral or Memorial Service arrangements, please contact our Pastor or our church office at 781-834-7664.
Marriage
Christian
Marriage is a life commitment in which a man and woman promise before
God, before the community, and before each other, to love, honor and
respect each other as they embark on their journey together through
life, not as separate individuals simply living together with the
“blessing” of the law, but as one flesh, consecrated and joined
together by God’s divine blessing.
Christian Marriage is not
just a ceremony, or a legal status conferred by city hall with the
issue of a marriage license, it is a new life together in Christ, who
strengthens the couple’s bond when they open their hearts to him.
Marriage is part of God’s plan for families.
Jesus blessed
marriage by performing his first miracle at the wedding at Cana, where
he turned water into wine. When he spoke of marriage he spoke of it as
a joining made by God.
We rejoice in those couples who choose to marry within the church and make God part of their marriage.
For information on weddings, please contact the Pastor or the church office at 781-834-7664.