Why, When & How We Worship
We are moved to do God's work because we have caught the Spirit—and it has caught us!
We catch the spirit of God in the joy of worship, in loving others, in doing God's work in the church, in prayer, in music.
The Holy Spirit that moves among us is God's most intimate, powerful, and mysterious presence with and in us. This experience of God leads us to faith, a relationship in which God takes the initiative to make it possible and each of us accepts and responds with the heart. The Holy Spirit is the life of Christ in us.
Please come join us and see how you can Catch the Spirit! For information on membership, call 201-652-1966.
Summer Adult Class
Join us each Sunday this summer from 9 to 9:45 a.m. in the West Side Room to learn about and discuss the Scriptures to be used in the 10 a.m. service that follows. No knowledge of the Bible is necessary; just bring a faithful heart and a questioning mind. Led by Jane and John Kerr.
Schedule of Services
Services at West Side are held at 8:45 and 11:15 a.m. on Sunday mornings (one service at 10 a.m. in summer). Those are the times when the congregation gathers together to hear the word of God, confess our sins, praise God, and sing hymns as a communal body.
There is also a half-hour Taizé worship service during the school year at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings in our Chapel.
Visitors are always welcome at any West Side service or event.
What's Presbyterian Worship Like?
The order of Sunday worship service in a Presbyterian church is determined by the pastor and the Session, the church's governing body. It generally includes prayer, music, Bible reading, and a sermon based upon Scripture. The Sacraments, a time of personal response/offering, and a sharing of community concerns are also parts of worship.
The constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) suggests that worship be ordered in terms of five major actions centered in the word of God: gathering around the Word, proclaiming the Word, responding to the Word, and bearing and following the Word into the world.
Sunday Mornings
Each Sunday at 8:45 and 11:15 a.m. (10 a.m. during the summer), the West Side community gathers to praise, pray, hear God's Word, and be empowered to go forth and serve. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper (communion) is celebrated the first Sunday of each month, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. Communion is also celebrated each Wednesday at 7 p.m. during a half-hour service of prayer and song in the Taizé tradition (Taizé only takes place during the program year.)
Sunday morning worship at West Side begins with an "invitation"--we are invited into the congregational group to hear the word of God. We start by praising God in word and song, then by confessing our sins to him. We hear a scripture reading, usually one from the Old Testament and one from the New, then a sermon based on those readings. Afterwards we make an offering based on our acceptance of that message and pray and sing our thanks to God. Then we are "sent out" into the world to live what we have just learned and practiced.