FAQs | Frequently Asked Questions

We have one service every Sunday beginning at 9 AM.

If you've never been to a Lutheran service, we want to welcome you to Zion's! At Zion, we follow the Lutheran liturgy from our hymnal—The Lutheran Service Book (LSB). A liturgical service is what many call a "traditional" service. It's a service that is structured, ordered, formal, and respectful. In the service, you'll notice a lot of interaction between the pastor and the congregation. The congregation has a lot of participation in the service. There are times when the congregation speaks together, sings together, stands, sits, and even kneels together! We know it is easy for first-time visitors to get lost in the service. If that's the case, don't worry! All of us at the church had to learn it once, too! But after a few Sundays, you will get so used to the liturgy that you won't even need to use a hymnal! Many of our church members have the service memorized and have learned it by heart. If you visit, one of the congregation members will be happy to help you follow along in the service! We know the liturgy is challenging, but it's also worth learning! The liturgy is a beautiful and timeless gift! If you have questions about the service, the liturgy, or anything else in the church, don't hesitate to get in touch with our pastor!

We know contemporary and modern church services are prevalent in our society. Still, at Zion, we've chosen to follow the church service from our Lutheran hymnal: The Lutheran Service Book (LSB). Our Lutheran church has published a hymnal, and as members of the Lutheran Church, and for the sake of unity in our congregations, we have all agreed to use the same hymnal because we genuinely value and treasure the gift of the liturgy in our church as well.

A typical Sunday church service lasts anywhere between 60 and 90 minutes. Several factors can affect the length of the service: the season of the church year, the amount of members in the service, the length of the hymns and the sermon, baptisms, confirmations, and so on.

While we certainly want everyone to wear their "Sunday best," and while it's something we certainly strive for, we do understand that various circumstances (work, vacation, etc.) affect what you can wear on any given Sunday. If that's the case, don't let this keep you from attending church or visiting! That you're in church is more important than what you wear in it!

We know screens have become an integral part of modern society and that many churches have used them in the sanctuary. However, at Zion, we've chosen not to use screens in the sanctuary for a few reasons: 1) We believe it's good for everyone to get a break from watching a screen for an hour. 2) We believe that screens can be very distracting. Screens call attention to themselves, and it's tough to focus on anything else in the sanctuary while a screen is present (this is especially difficult for children). 3) We believe it's good for the pastor, congregation, and members to see one another face-to-face throughout the service. 4) We also believe that we don't really need screens in the sanctuary. Since we follow the liturgy, the service stays the same weekly, with only a slight variations if any.

First, it's great that you want to dedicate your child to God! We thank God for giving you that desire! At Zion, we believe that Baptism is for all people, regardless of nationality, sex, or age (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:39). So, while we don't perform any "child dedication ceremonies," we believe in Holy Baptism, especially for infants. We take Jesus' words to heart: "Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:14). If you want your child baptized, don't hesitate to contact our pastor!

While we don't offer "children's church" during the service, we do offer Sunday school for all ages after the service, which you are welcome to join! At Zion, we've chosen to keep all children and parents in the service together, and we really do welcome children in church. We believe the best place for children is in church with their own parents. With that being said, we also know it takes children a while to adjust to the service. And we know that children can be noisy at times. Don't let this keep you from coming to church or bringing them with you! Our pastor won't be angry with you or ask you to take your children out. If you need some privacy, we a church nursery for parents with small children and nursing infants.

While we certainly want everyone to commune at Zion, we want everyone to commune worthily. So, for that reason, we practice Closed Communion, which means that our pastor only gives communion to those who have publicly professed the same faith that we believe, teach, and confess. We realize that this may sound strange and come across as unwelcoming to people. But we're not doing this out of anger or spite. Instead, we do this out of great love and care for you and faithfulness to God's Word in 1 Corinthians 11:27–31. If you genuinely want to become a church member and receive communion, we invite you to talk with our pastor and learn more about the Lord's Supper and church fellowship.

We are what many would call a "conservative" congregation because we hold "traditional" values. These values aren't based on our political opinions; instead, we draw our values from Holy Scripture. We believe every Word of the Bible to be the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God. And for that reason, we do not follow the ever-changing definitions and teachings of the world around us. We believe that God, the Maker of heaven and earth, determines the truth about male and female, marriage, roles of men and women, children, families, and so on.

We are glad you want to receive communion! We want you to receive it too. We ask that all visitors (even members of other Lutheran churches) to please speak with the pastor. Our pastor has taken a vow before God to commune only those who have publicly professed the same faith that we believe, teach, and confess. If you plan on attending, please contact our pastor during the week before the Sunday service. We realize that this may sound strange and come across as unwelcoming to people. But we're not doing this out of anger or spite. Instead, we do this out of great love and care for you and faithfulness to God's Word in 1 Corinthians 11:27–31. If you genuinely want to become a church member and receive communion, we invite you to talk with our pastor and learn more about the Lord's Supper and church fellowship.

First, we thank God for your upcoming wedding and your desire to be married in the church! Marriage is an excellent gift of God, and we pray that God blesses your life together! Marriage is a very special and sacred gift from God. Since engaged couples ask for Christ's blessing upon their marriage, we consider the wedding a service of the church, reserved for members of the congregation in good standing. If you are not a church member and would like to become one, we invite you to talk to our pastor to find out how to become a member of the Lutheran church.

At Zion, we have a crucifix in the church because we believe that what Jesus did for us on the cross is central to the Christian faith. St. Paul himself writes, "We preach Christ crucified" (1 Corinthians 1:23). While we sing about the cross in our hymns, and hear about the cross in the sermon, we believe the crucifix is a "sermon for our eyes." The crucifix is a powerful symbol and a constant reminder of God's great love for us (John 3:16).

Every year, we have Midweek Advent and Lent services on Wednesdays at 7 PM. We follow the liturgy of Vespers for each service. Also, every Advent and Lent, we follow a new sermon series which is announced a few weeks before each season begins. We would love to have you join us!

The Sunday Bible study begins after the service at 10:45 AM. We meet in the church fellowship hall. You are welcome to have coffee and refreshments after the service. We hope to see you there!

At Zion, we use the Lutheran Service Book (LSB) and follow Divine Service, Setting 3 (p. 184). This is known as the "Common Service," that is, the first common liturgy used among English-speaking Lutherans in the United States (1887). This service is challenging but beautiful. If you have questions about the service or liturgy, please contact our pastor!

At Zion, we use the Historical One-Year Lectionary. We believe that there are a couple of good reasons to use it: 1) The majority of church history has used the Historic One-Year Lectionary. We think that is wonderful because we can refer to and read sermons on the same texts from early church fathers, the reformers, and other theologians. 2) Repetition is the mother of learning. We believe that using the same lessons year after year is a powerful tool to learn the lessons by heart. While the sermon on those readings changes yearly, the lessons remain the same.

Welcome! If you're from another LCMS church and would like to receive communion, please contact our pastor as soon as possible. It's best to contact him during a weekday before the Sunday you plan to attend!

We are glad that you are interested in membership at Zion! If you'd like to transfer your membership to Zion, we ask that you first speak to our pastor. After some conversation, he can guide you on the next steps to take!