How we worship

How we worship

Our longtime Director of Worship and Music, Mary Preus, describes worship at Our Saviour’s as “faithful and fresh.” We extend an expansive and inclusive welcome by God’s grace. We have an accessible and inviting sanctuary, and our worship is a combination of ancient and new as we strive to embrace the gifts and leadership of all ages and abilities in worship. Everyone is welcome to join and fully participate in worship – no exceptions!

How we worship - Our Saviour's Lutheran Church

Expansive and inclusive welcome

  • As our unofficial resident composer Brett Hesla wrote in song: “We are a dazzling bouquet of every kind of flower. Jump in the vase, `cause we’ve got space for more!” We reflect the beauty of God’s created diversity in our varied ages, abilities, skin colors, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, spiritual gifts, and more.

  • Come dressed as casually or as formally as you would like. We welcome you as you are!

Accessible and inviting sanctuary

  • When you enter our sanctuary, you will be greeted by an usher and offered a worship folder. When you walk in, you might notice our baptismal font, our communion table and lectern  in front, our music area to the left, and our adornments to compliment the season, many of which are made by artists in our community.

  • Our space is very accessible. Our sanctuary is wheelchair and walker friendly with good lighting and sound.
  • Please sit wherever you would like, and feel free to move in and out of the sanctuary as you need.

Faithful and fresh, ancient and new

  • Our worship follows the ancient pattern of Christian worship: Gather, Word, Meal, Sending. We are gathered by the Holy Spirit, comforted and challenged by the Word of God, nourished by the living presence of Christ in the meal of Holy Communion, and sent by the Spirit to celebrate, serve and do justice. 
  • Our services usually run just over an hour. You can expect a mix of call and response speaking and singing, readings from Scripture, listening, prayer, and music. Our services happen almost exclusively in English, though in our aim to include a diversity of voices in our service, we sometimes include songs in other languages from the wider global church that we are connected to in Christ. You do not need to have a background in any other language to participate in worship.

  • The primary sound here at Our Saviour’s on a Sunday morning is the voice of the entire assembly raised in song. Our song is a lively mixture of old and new, local and global, printed and sung by ear. We accompany our singing primarily with the Steinway grand piano in the hands of excellent accompanists, any number of instrumentalists, cantors and choir.
  • Everyone is welcome to feast at Christ’s table and receive Holy Communion on Sunday, including children. You will receive instructions during the service on how to participate both in-person and online. For our in-person attendees, we serve both unleavened bread and gluten-free wafers, and both wine and grape juice.

Embracing the gifts and leadership of the whole body of Christ

  • Children are invited to participate fully in worship. We delight in their leadership and engagement. As Jesus said – “the reign of God belongs to such as these!” Near the front is a dedicated “prayground” space designed for little ones to draw, play, and be immersed in worship. We expect that children will behave as children—giggles, wiggles, and all. Kids (and their parents) sometimes need a break and are welcome to go in and out of the sanctuary as needed. For everyone’s safety, we ask that children be attended at all times. During the service, there may be an invitation for children and their adults to gather with the pastor for a children’s sermon, and there may be nursery time offered during the ‘adult’ sermon. 

  • We love our announcements here at Our Saviour’s! During this time towards the end of the service, we share opportunities with one another to be sent to serve and do justice in the community, celebrate milestone moments in each others’ lives, and offer information about important upcoming events.