What To Expect

When you first come to Covenant, you will be met by one of our members at the door, passing out bulletins and making you feel welcome. Come on in the front door and turn left and you will find yourself in the sanctuary. 

Find a comfortable seat (they're all the same, so just pick one). We do project the words to the songs we will sing, but if you want a hymnal, they're available by the double doors you passed through to enter the sanctuary. Feel free to mingle if you'd like but if not, that's fine with us too. Someone or someones will likely come over to say hi and introduce themselves. In that bulletin you received at the front door, you'll find a visitor's information card that includes on the flip side, a place you can write any prayer requests you might have. Put that card in the collection plate as it comes around later in the service.

Our worship service will begin with about five minutes of music to signal everyone to find a seat. At the top of the hour, our worship leader will begin the service with a welcome, a prayer, and our first reading. Then, it's into the singing! Most of our songs will be traditional hymns and songs from a few years ago, and the words as we said earlier will be projected. If you read music and want to follow along in a hymnal, grab one of those off that table and sing with gusto!

The service will progress through songs, a couple more readings, a prayer or two, and finally, we will come to communion. If you are a disciple of Jesus, you are welcome to share in communion with us. We use those little plastic cups and you should just keep yours until eventually, the communion servers will come around again to collect them. 

After communion, we will take up the collection. As you're a visitor, don't feel compelled or expected to put any money in the tray. Running this place isn't your task; it's ours. Whether you put any money in the plate or not (we aren't going to actually prevent you from doing so), please put that visitor's information card in the plate.

Following the collection, the pastor will do his best - relying on the Spirit - to give us a glimpse of the meaning of God's word. The preaching version of the Bible is the English Standard Version and the passages will be projected as well. The sermon will have a lot of reading in it and along the way some tidbits about what all that might mean in your life as a disciple of Jesus.

After the sermon, the congregation will stand and sing another song and then we will read and pray for the prayers, including yours, that were put in the collection plate. Part of our prayer and praise time at the end of service is a bidding prayer time. What that means is that after we read the prayer cards, we will ask if there are any other requests and the congregation - and you - are invited to just state your prayer concerns out loud. After we have read the cards and accepted the voiced prayer requests, we will pray for each of them in turn. 

One more song and you're almost done.

After that last song, the pastor will offer a benediction as the ending to the service. After that last amen, you are welcome to mingle and talk with folks - if you want, and we hope you do. 

So that's a wrap! Pretty standard really and you are welcome to participate with as much gusto as you'd like. If you have any questions about what you saw or heard, please drop us a note, ask the pastor, or call the church later in the week.

Oh, the bathrooms are located behind the wall that faces you as you come in the front door - men's on the left and women's on the right.