ATTENDING CCA
SUNDAY
9:30 AM Communion | 11:00 AM Worship & Teaching
SERVICE TIMES
SUNDAY
9:30 AM - Communion service (1 hour)
11:00 AM - Worship & Teaching service (1 hour), includes Sunday School
ONLINE OPTIONS
🔹 Our Communion service at 9:30 am is offered via Zoom (a video conferencing platform). To connect to the communion service via zoom, please visit www.zoom.us and join a meeting. Meeting ID & password are available by request, please contact the church office during business hours (Tues-Fri 9 am to 2 pm).
🔹 Our Worship & Teaching service at 11:00 AM is offered live to watch online via our FaceBook page. Please consider joining us at this time if you are unable to attend in person.
WORSHIP & TEACHING SERVICE and COMMUNION SERVICE
What are they? What can I expect? What do I do?
WORSHIP & TEACHING SERVICE (WTS)
Our worship & teaching service includes a blend of traditional and contemporary music, prayer and biblical teaching.
Our teaching either addresses relevant topics from a biblical perspective or works through a book of the Bible. You can engage with this teaching through regular attendance or by listening to the talks online. We love it when people want to go deeper and ask questions about the sermons. If that’s you, contact one of our pastors Andreas Tabert or Jason Lechelt at the church office.
COMMUNION SERVICE
At CCA we value the Lord’s Supper ~ also referred to as Communion and the Breaking of Bread ~ and celebrate it each Sunday. Along with baptism, we see it as an ordinance or command given by our Lord to his followers (Matthew 26:26-28).
But we don’t celebrate the Lord’s Supper just because Jesus commanded it. We do it because it connects us to our heavenly Father in a special way. It’s a way of communing with him together, celebrating his goodness and expressing our adoration.
Our roots in the Brethren Movement have given us the legacy of a one hour open-style meeting where the Holy Spirit can lead us to worship in beautiful ways. A few things are needed to make the most of this service.
PREPARATION
The first is preparation, both spiritual and practical.
Spiritual
Worship is much richer when you prepare for it. Ideally, the Communion Service is simply an overflow from our devotional life throughout the week. Coming to the service with a poem, song, answer to prayer, meditation, etc. (whether shared audibly or offered in silence) is appropriate and biblical (I Corinthians 14:26).
Preparation also includes the self-examination called for in I Corinthians 11:28. According to this verse, I should ask myself: “Is there unconfessed sin in my life? Are there people in the room with whom I have unresolved conflict?” At CCA, we expect each participant to examine him or herself before partaking of the bread and the cup.
Practical
Those who go to bed earlier Saturday night will be able to give their best time to their best friend. The Old Testament Sabbath is an instructive pattern. It ran from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday. What might change if we began our day of worship the night before? Also, what would be different if we arrived at the meeting a few minutes early, rather than so breathless from hurrying that we lose the first fifteen minutes calming down?
PARTICIPATION
Something else that’s needed to make the most of this service is participation.
An Open Table
Membership at CCA is not a criteria for participation. Anyone who is joined to Jesus Christ and seeks to follow him is welcome. We simply ask that you examine yourself first.
Children may participate at the discretion of their parents. Some parents want their children to wait until they have been baptized, which is a legitimate benchmark, one used early in church history.
Audible Participation
Each communion service is opened with a short focusing thought given by someone selected by the elders. After that person sits down, the floor is open for anyone to read a Scripture, share a thought, say a prayer or request a song to be sung. Often the opening thought becomes the theme of the meeting. No one is bound to follow it, however, since the real theme is Jesus himself: “Do this in remembrance of me.” (I Corinthians 11:25)
Although Brethren Assemblies differ on this next point, here at CCA we believe that women can pray, read scripture, and share testimonies at this meeting if they wear a head covering (I Corinthians 11:5).
Some Specific Guidelines
If you share a thought, keep it under 5 minutes. Two or three minutes are best. This allows wider participation.
Remember to talk to God, as well as about Him. Heartfelt prayers lead people right into the presence of God.
Strike a balance between what Jesus means biblically and what He does for you personally. Experience is fresh but should bring attention to the Lord, not self. Comments that are purely biblical can seem cold and academic.
Realize that the Lord’s Supper will always focus on his death at some point, but there is a wider focus on the words: “Remember me.” Ignoring details of the crucifixion would be wrong. Focusing on them too much would be morbid. This meeting is a celebration, not a funeral.
Occasionally, at the end of a meeting, someone may encourage us to live holy lives, love our brothers and sisters, or to share the Gospel with others. This is appropriate after we focus on Jesus. The Communion Service is not a place to preach at people, or to open a “can of theological worms.” It is also not a place to correct others. If clarification/correction is needed, it should be done by an elder, usually after the meeting is over.
Please speak up so all can hear! If you announce a song, repeat the title and number twice. If you tend to be soft spoken, try to sit or step to a central location and face the largest portion of the congregation. If you are hard of hearing, please sit towards the center and front of the sanctuary. Finally, please follow the courtesy of reserving the back rows for parents with small children.
Be sensitive to ‘the time.’ As a rule, we should begin passing the bread and cup no later than 10:30 AM. People will be much less focused (especially if they teach Sunday School or serve on a worship team) if you push the meeting overtime.
These guidelines are meant to enhance, not restrict. The Communion services can, and should be, a highlight of our week.