Community Worship Services

An opportunity for the whole community to come together once a month to worship the Lord.

This Sunday, March 23, at 10:00 am at the Bryn Athyn Cathedral

"Maintenance" with Rev. Malcolm Smith

Things seem to fall apart and get broken rather easily—from our aging bodies, to the buildings we live in, to the equipment we rely on each day, to our lives in general and the world at large. Just think of your current to-do list of things you need to fix, replace, clean, or sort out. What are we meant to do in the midst of this reality? Give up on fixing anything? The Lord tells us to lay up treasures in heaven, because treasures on earth are susceptible to moth, rust, and thieves (Matthew 6:19, 20), but a big part of trying to serve heavenly goals is at least attempting to do useful things for other people in this natural world, even though things fall apart. Let’s talk on Sunday about how the Lord maintains us and how we can be part of maintaining what is good with the Lord’s help.

NOTE: There will be no Informal, Young Children's, Family, or Adult Service on this date.

Music

It's unusual to have a stonemason who also plays classical guitar - two art forms that wouldn't typically be paired.  Complementing the organ's sustained tones, Grayson Zuber will provide special music on the plucked strings of his guitar.  The choristers and adult choir join together to sing the final prelude: a charming setting of Psalm 55:6-7 "O for the wings of a dove".  The hymns will be 902 "Triumphant Zion, Lift Thy Head", 1039 "Seek Ye First", 891 "Lord, Look Down" and 1065 "Dona Nobis Pacem".  If you want to learn a harmony part, learning tracks are available for 891:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNb-JU0QiHGYK2yrLAhoxSkczDV7GxEcS

Note

No Informal, Young Children's, Family, or Adult Service will be on this date. Refreshments will be served following the service. Children's activities will take place during the adult portion of the service. Children 5 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Zoom Discussion

Please join us on Zoom for an online small-group discussion of this Sunday’s Community Worship Service. This discussion is hosted by the team that regularly meets on Sundays to discuss the Informal Family Service. Feel free to join this meeting at any time between 11:30 and 12:30 on Sunday. All are welcome.
Join the meeting or use meeting ID: 88119217055.

About Community Worship Services

  • There's just one service.
  • The service starts at 10:00 am. You might want to come a bit earlier to find parking and a seat.
  • After the opening part of the service the children will be invited to come and sit in the front for a children's talk.
  • After that the children will go to the south end of the building to choose from a variety of supervised children's activities including listening to a story, doing crafts, playing with toys, playing with balls outside, or going on a scavenger hunt (more details below).
  • If your child is 5 or older, you can leave them in the Council Chamber and rejoin the service for the adult portion. You can drop them off or they can go on their own but please ask your children to wait for you to collect them at the end of the service.
  • If your child is younger than 5, they can participate in the activities if you (or another responsible family member) stay with them.
  • After the service, please collect your children from the Council Chamber and join us for refreshments in the Social Hall, outside the cloister, or by the porte cochère. The refreshments are great at Community Worship Services.

Upcoming Community Worship Service Dates

    View Calendar

Check out the Community Calendar for more on upcoming services and events.

How to Get Involved

This service will have many opportunities to get involved in helping to make it a rich community worship experience. Here are some of the areas we will need help with:

  • Greeters – helping people find what they are looking for
  • Refreshment contributions, set-up and clean-up
  • Supervisors and assistants for children’s’ activity “stations” – mixed ages
  • Art/craft projects leadership, set-up and clean-up
  • Discussion leaders
  • Families to help with chancel set-up, ushering, etc.

Please contact Nina at nina.dewees@brynathynchurch.org or 215-947-6225 ext.206 to learn more and describe where you would most like to volunteer.

We look forward to how this new church service will blossom into worship that will serve many people together.

Help us make this service happen