 Worship - what to expect ...
Visiting
for the first time?
Everyone is welcome to attend and experience our worship
service. It doesn't matter if you have no religion, are of another religion, or
if you've simply never been to church before. You will be greeted warmly,
treated with dignity, and your privacy will be respected. No one will try to
"convert you" to Christianity or to our particular form of it.
Why worship?
Worship is the central ministry of the church, the time when
we all gather together to give praise to God, as well as be equipped and sent
forth into the world as followers of Jesus who care for the earth and its
peoples. Our usual worship service lasts between 1 and 1½ hours long.
When you arrive
When you arrive in the building you will be greeted by someone
with a white lapel tag on that says “Welcome”. (That’s the idea, anyway…
sometimes they’re busy with a lot of visitors and you may slip by them.) They
will hand you a printed booklet that contains the order of service for the day
plus announcements of life of our church community.
Children
We are delighted to welcome your children into our worship
experience.
Infants and children under 3 may be cared for in the nursery
either by our qualified and screened nursery personnel, or by yourself (you can
hear the church service from there). The nursery is found through the door on
the left side at the front of the church.
Children older than 3 begin in worship with adults, then go to
the front for the lighting of our peace candle (if desired), and finally go
across the lane to the lower floor of the Centre for Peace with leaders for
Children's Church. You may accompany your child if
you wish, and stay for all or part of the program.
Entering the sanctuary
You may sit anywhere you wish. If someone comes and tells you
to move because “you’re in their pew”, this person is in violation of our core
value of hospitality – but nobody’s perfect and people can be ignorant of our
values, let alone common sense hospitality.
When you enter the sanctuary, there is often music playing. If
you’re early enough, you may even catch the choir still rehearsing. You may sit
in silence in your seat, or chat quietly with a friend.
You can leave at any time during a service, but quietly please
if we are in the middle of something.
 Top
Accessibility
We have a level access door to the Church on the west side
(opposite side from Burrard street) You can get there from the lane or
up the sidewalk from 15th Avenue. Handicapped parking spots are posted in
the lot next to the Centre for Peace, and the Centre for Peace is fully
accessible with an elevator and wheelchair friendly washrooms on each floor.
Visually impaired
If your visual impairment means you can read a large text document, please speak to an usher or greeter. We
have the worship bulletin printed out in large print each week for this purpose.
Welcome and announcements
The Minister will begin the service by welcoming visitors. You
will not be singled out, nor asked to stand up.
Top
Where stuff is and what it's called
Christians have a sort of unique language with many vocabulary
words you won’t be familiar with. For starters, we have special names for rooms,
hallways and so forth. There is no test - lots of folks use the common names and
not the church lingo. Here’s a little primer:
|
What is commonly called |
What we call it |
|
Entrance lobby, inside the front doors |
Narthex |
| Room
where worship is held: the one with all the pews |
Sanctuary |
| The
"stage" area in the sanctuary |
Chancel |
The two open areas on either side of the pews
(if you imagine the church in the shape of a cross, these are the arms) |
Transepts |
|
Courtyard and garden with cemetery for ashes |
Memorial Garden |
| The
hall, or big meeting room, coffee time place |
Great Hall, Centre for Peace |
|
Altar (a term for it used by some churches) |
Communion Table |
|
Sunday school (traditional term for Sunday morning children's programs) |
Children's Church |
| Washrooms |
We call them washrooms too,
which are located through the door at the front left of the church |
Communion
We usually celebrate the sacrament of holy
communion one Sunday each month. Everyone is welcome to participate in this sacrament, however if you
are not a Christian or you really don't feel like you understand it enough to do
so, you are perfectly welcome to stay in your seat. Instructions as to how to go
up to communion, what to do with the bread and wine and what to say, will be
explained at the time. Generally when you receive the piece of bread/cup, an
appropriate reply is "amen". We use a pasteurized grape juice instead of wine.
We generally serve communion in STATIONS - we will form 2 or 3 stations, where you will be invited to come forward
and receive your bread, then dip it in the cup, then eat it and return to your seat.
Sometimes we serve SEATED - servers will bring the bread and cup to you in your
seat (you are free to consume it as you receive it).
Top
Music and singing
Christians love to sing! (Well, most of them. Some just like
to listen.) We are blessed at Canadian Memorial with a fantastic music ministry
including a chancel choir, instrumentalists, and Peace-in-the-City Band. Music in
the service is a blend of traditional Christian hymns and more modern
worship songs. Feel free to join in or just listen. There are hymn books in the pews (the
red “Voices
United” and the spiral bound "More Voices") for those of you who like to read the music.
Visit our
Music page for information about our various music ministries.
Bible readings and sermon
There will be 1 or 2 readings from the Bible each Sunday.
These readings are chosen by the Christian church as a whole, and rotate on a
3-year cycle known as
“the
lectionary”.
There are several translations of the Bible into English from
its original Hebrew and Greek. We find a scholarly and inclusive version
to be the New
Revised Standard Version (“NRSV”). Most just listen rather than read along, however you
may borrow a Bible from the pews if you’d like to read the
text.
The sermon is an oral presentation by the Minister on the
bible texts and relates to how we understand their meaning in our lives today.
This usually lasts about 15 minutes. Our sermons
page gives you the written version of sermons preached.
Top
Passing the Peace
At one point in the service members of the congregation are
invited to "pass the Peace" (or "Peace of God" or "Peace of Christ"). This
is based on an ancient teaching to make peace with your neighbour before making
your offering to God. You are invited to stand up and greet those around
you, and then sit down when you feel done. Often people will say to you
"Peace be with you" and a common response is "and also with you." It is OK
to say nothing, or something like "good morning". This is a time to extend
peace, but not for general conversation. This part of the service may seem
a bit chaotic to the casual observer, but is well loved by regular attendees.
The offering
The offering is an act of worship for Christians. It is
symbolic of the fact that we believe everything we have comes from the blessings
of God. It is also an act of generosity. Offerings support the ministry programs
at our own church (including salaries) and various programs across Canada and
throughout the world to help others. It is perfectly acceptable to let the
offering plate pass you by. If you put your gift in one of the small envelopes
found in the pews, fill out the info, we will make sure to send you a tax
receipt.
If you decide to make Canadian Memorial your home congregation, there are
several ways to participate in the offering. See our
Stewardship page for more information.
Top
Coffee time
Following the service, we gather in the Great Hall for
coffee, tea, juice and a social time. If you’re a newcomer, you are most
welcome. Another way to get to know us is to pick up a newcomer's brochure
(a greeter should be able to help you find one), or join us at our monthly
newcomers lunch.
Next steps ...
You are most welcome to visit as often as you wish. If
you have specific questions, our contact page has
ways to reach us. And if you feel this is the community for you, then our
membership page will explain about formally
joining. Thanks for taking the time to read our website.
Top
|
