Welcome!
It's our desire that you encounter God’s love while worshiping with us whether you are actively looking for a place to belong, or you’re just visiting. We acknowledge that can be hard in an unfamiliar setting with distractions or when you don’t know what’s coming next, so to alleviate some of that, here is some info about our services.
Time/Location
First Baptist Church Building
56 Center St. Bangor, ME
Every Sunday | 9:00 am – 10:30 am
Parking
Most of us park in the larger lot behind the church at the intersection of Spring & Newton Streets and enter through the side door on the left-hand side of the church. For those with mobility issues, we encourage you to park in the small lot to the left of the church.
CHILDREN'S WOrship
Families will then go upstairs to the sanctuary together for opening worship. Our team of leaders will escort children ages 3-9 from the sanctuary to the downstairs Atrium classroom and then back to you before Communion.
Email us ahead of time if you have any questions!
Children’s Safety
We have procedures in place to make Sunday morning a safe experience for everyone, but we ask that parents accompany their children at all times when they aren’t in the care of our catechists, especially when outside the church building.
About the Liturgy
As a church that worships in the Anglican way, we have a pattern we follow each week for our worship called a liturgy that grounds us in Scripture and formative habits of worship. The word liturgy comes from Greek and was used to describe the ministrations of royal courtiers to the king or queen. This is a fitting image as we, adopted members of God’s royal household, are invited to gather together and minister to the heart of God before His Heavenly throne. The elements of our service are universal across ancient Christian traditions and can be found in documents as early as the second century.
While the liturgy we use comes to us from the wisdom of centuries of spirit-led Christians who have gone before us, it may be unfamiliar to you, so it’s our hope that you find it accessible and easy to follow along and participate!
On Sunday mornings, there are really two “movements” to our 90-minute worship celebration: the Ministry of the Word and the Ministry of the Table.
Serving as a prelude to the ministry of the Word, we begin with a Procession and Opening Worship. As we gather, Christ honors His promise that where two or three are gathered in His name, He will come among them. Engaging our whole bodies in worship, we stand in reverence as the Cross and Gospel book are processed in, reminding us of Christ’s actual presence among us. It is appropriate (though never mandatory) to bow as the processional cross - the instrument of our redemption - passes by.
The Ministry of the Word
The priest begins the Liturgy of the Word by praying the Collect of the Day. The Collects are succinct, general prayers found in the Book of Common Prayer. Lessons are read from the Old or New Testament, Psalms, and the Gospel. Before and after the Gospel reading, we sing the Gradual Hymn. We reverently stand, facing the cross as it moves into the midst of the people while the Deacon, as Christ’s representative, reads the words of Christ as recorded in the Gospels. At the Gospel reading, some choose to make a small cross with their thumb over their forehead, lips, and heart, praying for God to be in our minds, on our lips, and in our hearts.
The Liturgy of the Word continues with the Sermon. We listen expectantly, meditating on the Word read and preached. We are expectant because Christ, the Living Word, still gives life to His Words, and when the Scriptures are rightly preached, God’s voice is truly heard. After the sermon, we stand and reaffirm our faith using the words of The Nicene Creed. Formulated as a summary of the true Christian faith, this ancient creed gives us a spiritual outlook on what is true for all people, everywhere, throughout all time; for this is the ‘catholic’ (universal) faith.
We join in the Prayers of the People, agreeing with the prayer leader as they lead us in prayers for the church and the world, and then silently or aloud we lift up our prayers for those things that pertain to our lives corporately and individually. In preparation for Communion, we confess our sins. The Confession is an opportunity to let go of our sins before we approach the altar for Communion. The Absolution is the pronouncement and assurance of God’s forgiveness and cleansing to all who truly repent. This portion of the service concludes with the Passing of the Peace. This is a time of brief greeting; traditionally The Peace is also the time for any within the gathering who have unreconciled differences with each other to literally make peace before coming to the altar to unite with Christ and each other in Communion.
The Ministry of the Table
The Liturgy of the Table begins with the Offertory. We sing praise to God as we bring before him the bread and wine to be consecrated as well as our tithes and offerings. We recognize that it is He who provides for us, standing and singing the words of the Doxology written in 1674 by Thomas Ken.
The service continues with the Eucharist. The word ‘Eucharist’ comes from the Greek and literally means ‘thanksgiving’. The priest leads the Eucharistic Prayer, recounting God’s actions in the creation and redemption of the world through Jesus Christ. The priest then invokes the Holy Spirit to come and set the bread and wine apart that they might become spiritual food in a Holy Mystery; Christ’s Body and Blood that nourishes our souls as we are brought into spiritual Communion with the Living God. We partake of Communion and linger in worship, continuing to give thanks.
Regardless of your church background, all who are baptized and desire to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord are welcome to receive Communion with us. Additionally, we invite those who would like to receive prayer, for any reason, to come to the back of the sanctuary and a team of prayer ministers will pray with you there.
The service concludes with the post-communion prayer, blessing, the procession into the world and dismissal. Altogether, this closing rite reminds us that the very life of Christ flows through our veins as we enter the world with his blessing and in service to Him. We are sent out in strength and power to serve the world around us.
After Sunday…
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