Worship, in both its diversity and its unity, is an encounter with the living God through the risen Christ, and guided by the power of the Holy Spirit. When the people of God gather, the Spirit is free to move them in worship and praise in diverse ways, all in accordance with their needs. Each form of worship is a style unto its own and through that diversity we are enabled to feel at home in God. Through worship, we are linked to the universal Church. This pattern goes back to worship as Jesus and his earliest disciples knew it – services in the synagogue and Jewish family worship around the meal table. Today’s services have been rooted in the experience and traditions of Christian congregations for well over two thousand years.
At Shawnee UMC, we have two traditional services and one praise service each Sunday. Additionally, within that context, the Thanksgiving or Communion service, commonly called the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion, is a Christian adaptation of Jewish worship at family meals. Also, our ministers are called to administer the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Communion, to perform the ceremony of marriage and counsel bereaved families and conduct appropriate funeral and memorial services.
We endeavor, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to understand the love of God given in Jesus Christ. We seek to spread that love abroad. As we see more clearly who we have been, as we understand more fully the needs of the world, as we draw more effectively upon our theological heritage, we naturally wish to celebrate the divine gift of love from God in all of our worship forms and services. Hence, we become better equipped to fulfill our calling as the people of God.