Worship at Arcola Church
Worship is the expression of gratitude to God for all God has given us. Worship at Arcola Church is a time to praise the Triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
During the school year, we hold two worship services every Sunday at 9am and 10:30am (Sunday school available during both services). During the summer, we hold one worship service every Sunday at 10am. Our worship services are best described as ‘blended,’ with hymns from the United Methodist Hymnal, The Faith We Sing as well as other sources. Sermons typically follow a theme or certain book of the Bible, and are recorded and can be downloaded. These sermons inspire us to improve our community by continually improving ourselves.
Baptisms are a celebration of God’s covenant with us in Jesus Christ and our grateful response. As United Methodists, we begin our understanding of God in prevenient grace, or grace that comes to us before we are aware of it. As such, we practice infant baptism as a testament to God beginning the relationship with us even as we are vulnerable. We baptize by sprinkling or pouring water or by full immersion, at the request of the one being baptized. Because baptism is a covenant into which the church enters as well as the family, we strongly encourage baptisms to be part of the regular worship service. All baptisms are led by Pastor Chris Riedel who will gladly discuss celebrating this Sacrament.
Communion, the Lord’s Supper, and the Eucharist are common names for the other sacrament in the United Methodist Church. We understand communion as a means of grace, where we are reminded of God’s forgiveness for us through Jesus Christ. During the school year, we celebrate communion at every 9am service, and on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the 10:30am service. Because it is a grace and the Lord’s Table—the One who knows no strangers—all are welcome at the Table.
We look forward to seeing you this Sunday.