What to Expect at MLCC!
How should I dress?
MLCC isn't the beach nor is it the National Prayer Breakfast. Those are basic guidelines. Swimsuits aren’t appropriate and formal attire is not expected. On any given Sunday it would be normal to see someone in shorts and flip-flops (in the summer), or jeans, and you might catch a glimpse of someone wearing a tie. We want you, and those around you, to be comfortable with your clothing choices.
What will happen when I get there?
Welcome
Someone will greet you at the door to welcome you. They will offer you a flyer that tells you something about the upcoming events at MLCC and a welcome packet that gives an overview of who we are if you are a first time guest. They will also explain how our children’s ministry and nursery works if those ministries would be helpful to you. You are welcome at MLCC to keep your children with you throughout the service if you choose to do so.
The Service
The order of our service can change around at times, but normally we’ll open up with a song, welcome and scripture reading, and then a couple more songs. At this point we invite children age 3 through 5th grade to participate in the children’s worship if they would like. If so, they will leave to join their respective age groups. We value family being together in worship so we like to keep the children with us for part of the time, but we also want to give them the opportunity to learn together in an age specific environment.
After the children go to Children’s Worship we move in our service to The Lord’s Supper (Communion, Eucharist). We participate in the Lord’s Supper each week as the central part of our worship service because the Cross of Christ is central in our faith. You are welcome to participate with us or not in the Lord’s Supper (You can read a description of the Lord’s Supper in the “What we Believe” section of our website).
There will be a short announcement time highlighting a few key upcoming events and then someone will spend 30-40 minutes exploring a text of scripture or faith topic with us.
We end our service with offering. It is not our expectation, nor our intention, for those who are guests with us to put money in the offering bag as it comes by. If you would like to, and choose to do so, you are welcome, but you will not be pressured on this topic.
The Music
At MLCC we have a heart to do music well, though you will not find it to be a professional or performance oriented show. We appreciate and sing music that is contemporary and we also appreciate and sing the ancient, or traditional, hymns of the church. Sometimes we give the older songs a newer feel, and sometimes we sing them just like they were written. If you listen to Christian radio then you will hear and be invited to sing familiar songs.
The typical worship band that you will see on a Sunday morning will be comprised of a leader, a couple acoustic guitars, bass, drums, piano, a couple vocalists, and percussion when our percussionist is available.
After the Service
We will complete our service with a benediction and then you are free to collect your children (if you have them) and join us for coffee, cookies, and conversation in the foyer. If you want to bolt… no one will chase you… probably.
Hope to see you at MLCC soon!
