Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances… 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
We celebrate Holy Communion every Sunday at 10 am. Join us!
Bonhoeffer and spirituals
Every Wednesday in Lent, we gather at 7 pm for a liturgy of Holy Communion. This year, these Wednesday worship services center around the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian, author, and leader in the anti-Nazi Confessing Church. Bonhoeffer loved African-American spirituals as a musical expression of the faith, so these are the hymns we sing in our Wednesday liturgies. We are pleased to welcome Pr. Birgit Solano, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Weehauken, as our celebrant.
Welcome Fr. Peter Hoyer
photo by Amanda Thompson Ragsdale
Pastor Jessica Lambert has begun her maternity leave. From this Sunday throughout Lent until Palm Sunday, March 28, the Rev. Fr. Peter Hoyer, retired (pictured left), will preside and preach at the Sunday liturgies. The Rev. Birgit Solano, pastor of Good Shepherd, Weehauken, will preside at Wednesday Lenten liturgies (7 pm, February 24-March 24). We pray for Pastor Jessica and her family (especially her new daughter) and look forward to welcoming her back on Palm Sunday.
Wednesday Evening Prayer
We worship not only on Sundays at 10 am but also every Wednesday. During Advent, we pray Holden Evening Prayer at 6 pm. Evening Prayer is a contemplative liturgy built around Psalms, Scripture readings, and song. Come experience the grace of God in this peaceful mid-week oasis.
Palm Sunday photos
Worshippers at St. Paul Lutheran Church processed around our Five Corners neighborhood on Palm Sunday, April 5.
Join us in observing the rest of Holy Week and in celebrating Easter!
Worship Services
Sundays, 10 am: Holy Communion
Wednesdays, 7 pm: Evening Prayer, or Holy Communion during Advent (4 weeks before Christmas) and Lent (6 weeks leading up to Easter). There is no Wednesday prayer in August.
Who can attend worship at St. Paul?
We invite you to worship with us whether you are:
- A Lutheran
- A Christian from another church body
- A person of faith of any religion
- Not really much of a believer
At the altar for Holy Communion, we welcome all baptized Christians who believe that Christ is really present in the bread and wine.
Babies and children are especially welcome at St. Paul. Baptized children may receive Holy Communion, regardless of their age. We understand that little ones need to move around and sometimes make noise. When a child really needs a break, there’s a little area in the narthex at the back where parents can take them to find a soft toy and help them calm down.
What is worship like at St. Paul?
At St. Paul Lutheran Church, we worship in the historic liturgical tradition of the church catholic. That’s small-c catholic, meaning “universal”—we worship the way the church has worshipped for a long, long time. Our worship is centered around Word and Sacrament.
Word
We read the Bible because we believe it contains the Word of God. Most of the time we read three Bible lessons and sing a Psalm. We also sing and pray the Bible! Many of our hymns and our prayers come from the Bible. At St. Paul, we love to sing, and our wonderful organ and great acoustics makes singing God’s Word fun and rewarding.
Oh, and there’s a sermon, too! The sermon generally applies the Bible lessons of the day to our daily lives. Martin Luther said that proper preaching includes both Law, which shows us why we need God, and Gospel, which shows us God’s love freely given to fill our need. Sermons are usually 15-20 minutes long.
Sacrament
At the heart of our worship—and of our lives—is Baptism. In Baptism, we die to ourselves and are reborn in Christ. God accepts us as beloved children, even though we’re not worthy of such a great gift. Baptism is about what God does for us and to us and in us, not about what we believe or know or do. So Lutherans baptize infants as well as adults. If you would like to be baptized or have your child baptized, please contact the pastor.
At the heart of every Sunday service, as well as festivals such as Christmas, is Holy Communion. We believe that the bread and wine is “the body of Christ given for you, the blood of Christ shed for you,” as the ministers say to each communicant. We leave the altar fed with God’s great love for us, forgiven our sins, and strengthened for a life of service to others.