Zion Lutheran Church Switches up Sundays

A local Lutheran church is shaking up its services starting next month in hopes of boosting attendance and meeting the needs of modern-day, multi-generational families.

in will be presenting a new weekend worship and education schedule starting Sept. 15 and 16. The effort coincides with National Back to Church Sunday, which seeks to reach out to neighbors and encourage them to rediscover church, according to its website. The national initiative includes a variety of denominations with the common goal of urging members, and non-members to recommit to worship, Zion Pastor Dave Peters said.

The movement comes at a good time, as Zion's congregational numbers have dipped a bit over the past few years. Peters said the drop hasn't been significant, but enough to make him realize a new twist may encourage people to come back to church.

"With Bears kick-off, weekends away, school ramping up, all these kinds of things … we thought, 'Let's recast what we do on Sundays, in particular,'" said Peters, who has been at Zion for nearly three years.

The congregation's traditional pattern included three worships on a Sunday morning and one on Saturday evening, Peters said. The drawback was that it separated the church's members a bit and the quick service turnarounds on Sundays gave families little time to interact.

A Saturday service will continue to be offered this fall. It will begin at 5 p.m. and will include a "musical setting with the format of the Holden Evening Prayer," Peters said. But Sundays will be quite different.

A festive, upbeat family service will begin each week at 9 a.m. The service—designed with children in mind—will feature Eucharist first and liturgy second, which is not typical of most Lutheran churches.

Sunday school and worship will be offered simultaneously—service will begin with the family together, but teachers and students will be dismissed halfway through for a lesson as parents listen to a sermon.

"School lessons will coincide with what's going on in the worship space," Peters said. "The time frame was created with those in mind who have to run off to soccer, head to the lake, the type of thing."

Parents will likely have to wait about 15 minutes after the service for their children to finish Sunday school, at which time they can grab coffee and mingle with other members.

A later, 10:30 a.m. Sunday service will feature a blend of traditional tunes and liturgies with more contemporary music, Peters said.

He hopes the schedule will cater to the congregation's families. The church's overall membership has "stayed on a healthy plateau," Peters aid, but he has "no doubt noticed a diminishment in the kind of week-to-week coming together for liturgical worships."

The total congregation membership is around 1,250, he said, but weekend worship numbers vary widely. In the summer, they ranges from about 270 people to around 350. Peters hopes to see one-third of the congregation present on Sundays.

"My desire is to always be at that 400 mark," he said. "But this is not about the numbers, really. It's about the energy and power that comes from that type of simultaneous unity in a worship space."

Learn more about Zion Lutheran Church by visiting its website or calling 708-532-1600.

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