At St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, we commit ourselves to “liturgical, Christ-centered worship”.

What you will experience

The worship services at St. Peter’s are inspirational, traditional, and seek to proclaim Jesus in every part.  The focus of our worship is Jesus Christ, not ourselves.  Although worship and music are indeed emotional experiences, emotions are secondary always to proclamation of God’s Word.  The time-honored forms and rhythms of Christian worship are emphasized at St. Peter’s.

The proclamation of God’s Word is always central to our worship.  Every Sunday we will hear a selection of one of the four Gospels.  These will be supported by portions of the Psalms, the Old Testament, and one of the letters of the apostles.  The preaching will explain the appointed Scripture and apply it to the daily life of faith.

The reciprocal, back-and-forth cadence of worship will quickly show itself to be one of God speaking through His Word and our faithful response to His Word.  This is the fabric of the life of faith – God speaks, we listen; God works, we respond.

Worship at St. Peter’s is confessional.  We regularly speak honestly about our own sinfulness and difficulties.  We admit that we cannot solve our problems or accomplish what God wants in our own strength.  We eagerly hear the pastor speak the very words of God when he announces that ‘our sins are forgiven’.  We respond by confessing our Christian faith in the ancient words of one of the three Ecumenical Creeds.

When the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion are celebrated, this faith-driven response to God’s initial action sets the focus.

A Seasonal rhythm to our worship

Like much of the historic Christian Church, we organize our worship according to the seasons of the church year.  Although this ebb and flow of themes has a long, rich history in the church over centuries, we find it always new and refreshing for our lives of faith.

During the ‘half of the Lord’ (December – May) we focus upon the major events in Jesus’ life and ministry.  We gather for the season of Advent, a time of anticipation before Christmas.  We celebrate the coming of Jesus into human flesh during the season of Christmas.  We rejoice that He has come to bring salvation and life to all nations during the season of Epiphany.  We gather for special services during the somber season of Lent in anticipation of Holy Week and Easter – when we commemorate Jesus’ suffering and death and triumphant resurrection from the dead.  During the season of Easter, we rejoice to affirm that “Christ is risen!  Alleluia!”.  Just as He is risen and living, so also will all who love and trust in Him.

During the ‘half of the church’ (June – November) we focus upon the teachings of Jesus that speak to the life and work of His Church.  It is during this time when we hear many of the teachings of Jesus and see His many miracles in which He brought His rule into humanity, and into our very lives today.

Rotation of liturgies

We use a weekly rotation of services on Sunday mornings.  Holy Communion is celebrated on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays of the month.

·         1st Sunday – The Lutheran Hymnal page 15

·         2nd Sunday – The Lutheran Hymnal page 5

·         3rd Sunday – Lutheran Service Book setting one / setting four

·         4th Sunday – The Order of Matins

·         5th Sunday – The Lutheran Hymnal page 15