At All Saints, worship is considered the highest priority of the church. Here are some unique aspects you’ll discover about our worship. Worship at All Saints is...
 God-CenteredSince the primary purpose of worship is to give glory and honor to God, the most important thing that we could say about our worship is that it is God-centered. What should be front and center in Christian worship is the radiant and glorious character of the Triune God and the greatness of His redemptive work on behalf of sinners. Liturgical Many are unfamiliar with the use of a structured liturgy (order) in worship. The word liturgy simply means “the work of the people.” It points us to worship as an act rather than as an experience. A common mistake is to evaluate worship purely in terms of our subjective impressions and feelings. For many people, worship is good only insofar as it makes them feel good. While not wishing to discount the importance of our subjective response—indeed it is our hope that we will be subjectively engaged in worship—we would suggest that worship is first and foremost an activity, not a feeling. “What are we doing?” is thus a more important question than “How do we feel?” Formal and Reverent The Holy One of Israel, the Sovereign God is majestic and glorious, and we are to rejoice with trembling in His presence. We believe that such a view of God is best encouraged by a service characterized by form, reverence, and solemn joy. While we thus run the risk of not being ‘upbeat’ enough for some people’s tastes, we believe that we are consistently promoting a view of God which is consistent with the magnificence of His character revealed in Scripture. Corporate and Participatory Worship is an activity in which God’s people actively participate together for the glory of God. Some people seem to think that worship is a stage performance with God as the prompter, the minister as the performer, and the congregation as the audience, assembled to give its nods of approval or disapproval. We would suggest the same analogy with a reversal of roles: the minister is the prompter, the members of the congregation are the performers, and God is the audience, present to approve or disapprove. To this end, we are called as co-participants—not spectators—in the “drama” of the worship of God. Historic and Reformed While our ultimate authority in worship is the Word of God, we gladly stand in the tradition of the historic Christian Church and the Protestant Reformation. This link with the past bears witness to our having fellowship with the great multitude of God’s people who have gone before us and enables us to take advantage of the rich history of Christian worship. Our worship service is woven from that tapestry–in liturgy and sacraments; aesthetics and music. At the same time we are not afraid of the present and strive to incorporate some the best of today's contributions in our service. |