What to Expect at Port Perry United Church
Worship time: 9:50 a.m.
Port Perry United Church is a friendly and faith-filled place!
When you arrive, there is lots of parking around the church. Some people park behind the old town hall off of Simcoe Street. Others park on Queen or Mary Streets. The large Queen Street doors and the side Simcoe Street doors are open on a Sunday morning. When you enter the Queen Street doors, greeters will welcome you at the door, wishing you a good morning, and offering you a warm smile and a handshake. You can choose to sit on the main floor of the worship space (sanctuary) or to sit in the balcony. At the entrance to the sanctuary, you will be greeted by an usher who will provide you with an order of service (bulletin) that highlights the main happenings of the worship service as well as other programs taking place throughout the month. (Our church is busy seven days a week!) You are welcome to sit wherever you like in the sanctuary; don’t worry, there are no reserved pews! If you choose to sit in the balcony, you will find an order of service on the table as you enter. Before the service begins, our organist and choir director Joan Bretney will play some reflective pieces on either the organ or the piano. A few minutes before 9:50 a.m. the choir enters the choir loft. Our ministers Elaine and Don then enter and begin the service with announcements.
For the next hour or so the service unfolds, with a time especially for the children, called conversation time. After this time, the children leave the sanctuary, with their leaders. Sunday school programs are provided for children and youth. Elaine and Don alternate going down with the teens each week and helping to facilitate their class. You can meet your children following the service in the Sunday school rooms.
After the children leave the sanctuary, scripture is read, the choir offers selections of music, and Elaine or Don shares a reflection on where our lives and God’s call to us intersect (a sermon!) Later in the service collection plates are passed around and members contribute financially to the life and work of the church in the community. Some of the offering goes to pay the everyday operating expenses of Port Perry United Church, some goes to our building fund, some goes to support mission projects across Canada and around the world, and some goes to support our own church’s local outreach initiatives. Feel free to give whatever you can to support the church’s mission. No one will be looking over your shoulder to see what you put on the plate!
After the service, the ministers usually greet people on their way out of the worship space. The minister who preached the sermon usually stands at the Simcoe Street exit and then heads out to lead worship for the 11:30 a.m. service at Prince Albert United Church. The other minister will greet you at the main doors and then will proceed down to the fellowship time in the auditorium for more visiting. Coffee, tea, and cookies are provided in the auditorium for those able to stay. You would be most welcome to join us!
We look forward to seeing you this Sunday at 9:50 a.m., and to exploring together the stirrings of the Spirit in our midst.
When you arrive, there is lots of parking around the church. Some people park behind the old town hall off of Simcoe Street. Others park on Queen or Mary Streets. The large Queen Street doors and the side Simcoe Street doors are open on a Sunday morning. When you enter the Queen Street doors, greeters will welcome you at the door, wishing you a good morning, and offering you a warm smile and a handshake. You can choose to sit on the main floor of the worship space (sanctuary) or to sit in the balcony. At the entrance to the sanctuary, you will be greeted by an usher who will provide you with an order of service (bulletin) that highlights the main happenings of the worship service as well as other programs taking place throughout the month. (Our church is busy seven days a week!) You are welcome to sit wherever you like in the sanctuary; don’t worry, there are no reserved pews! If you choose to sit in the balcony, you will find an order of service on the table as you enter. Before the service begins, our organist and choir director Joan Bretney will play some reflective pieces on either the organ or the piano. A few minutes before 9:50 a.m. the choir enters the choir loft. Our ministers Elaine and Don then enter and begin the service with announcements.
For the next hour or so the service unfolds, with a time especially for the children, called conversation time. After this time, the children leave the sanctuary, with their leaders. Sunday school programs are provided for children and youth. Elaine and Don alternate going down with the teens each week and helping to facilitate their class. You can meet your children following the service in the Sunday school rooms.
After the children leave the sanctuary, scripture is read, the choir offers selections of music, and Elaine or Don shares a reflection on where our lives and God’s call to us intersect (a sermon!) Later in the service collection plates are passed around and members contribute financially to the life and work of the church in the community. Some of the offering goes to pay the everyday operating expenses of Port Perry United Church, some goes to our building fund, some goes to support mission projects across Canada and around the world, and some goes to support our own church’s local outreach initiatives. Feel free to give whatever you can to support the church’s mission. No one will be looking over your shoulder to see what you put on the plate!
After the service, the ministers usually greet people on their way out of the worship space. The minister who preached the sermon usually stands at the Simcoe Street exit and then heads out to lead worship for the 11:30 a.m. service at Prince Albert United Church. The other minister will greet you at the main doors and then will proceed down to the fellowship time in the auditorium for more visiting. Coffee, tea, and cookies are provided in the auditorium for those able to stay. You would be most welcome to join us!
We look forward to seeing you this Sunday at 9:50 a.m., and to exploring together the stirrings of the Spirit in our midst.
