What are services like?
When you arrive…
We’ll be there to greet you. As you approach the Sanctuary, an usher will offer you the morning’s bulletin with the order of our service, and will assist you in finding a seat. There is no reserved seating, so try sitting in different spots each time you attend for a different worship experience.
In the narthex, the Sanctuary’s lobby area, there are large print copies of the hymns for those who would like them. We have headsets for hearing-impaired; an usher will provide you with one if you need one.
Each Sunday, we announce upcoming news important to our church family before the Call to Worship, wherein we prepare our hearts for worship. Other elements of the service include the Passing of the Peace, a time where we are reminded of the grace and peace given to us by God by saying, “The peace of Christ be with you,” and responding with “and also with you.”, and the Prayers of the People, when worshipers share joys and concerns, observing personal and world needs.
Music for Sunday mornings may include songs from the Presbyterian Hymnal, choral music, Southern spirituals, and original compositions. At St. John’s, we believe many forms of music enhance our worship time. Congregational music is accompanied by piano, the Brombaugh pipe organ, the St. John’s Chancel Choir, the Bell Choir, a chamber ensemble, a dixieland band or guest musicians.
Communion is observed on the first Sunday of each month and all invited to participate.
Each Sunday, the “Simple Gospel” sermon gives our children a special time of their own within the service. If you have children, they are invited to come forward to participate. Following the Simple Gospel, the children and youth attend classes to learn more about God, how to be leaders in the faith and what it means to be a Christian in today’s changing world. Nursery Care, for infants and toddlers, is available in the Ark Room during worship.
Following worship is our Coffee Fellowship, a wonderful time to get hydrated, nourished and to share our lives with one another. The Sunday Forum, St. John’s Adult Education Forum, begins at 11:40 a.m. in the Fireside Room. The Forum addresses local, national and international issues that affect our community.
Issues of the Sermons are available on the brochure stand, located in the Narthex, just outside the Sanctuary and on our website, Sermons. Every Sunday, we also collect nonperishable food for the homeless to stock our food closet. Please see an usher, pastor or church member if you have food to donate.
What is the community like?
St. John’s addresses local, national, and international concerns.
Through God’s guidance, the prompting of the Holy Spirit and the example of Jesus Christ, we at St. John’s feel called to serve God locally, nationally and internationally. We are also a church that takes positions of leadership in issues relating to peace and justice issues, the More Light movement for gay and lesbian Christians, and programs for the homeless.
St. John’s is a true presence in Berkeley, socially, educationally, artistically, and spiritually committed to our community. More than three dozen community groups use our facilities, in addition to regular church activities, virtually making St. John’s an all day, everyday operation.
What if I'm not a Christian?
12 “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” 13 “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” – 1 Corinthians 12:12
Come as you are. You are welcome.
