Worship Allows Christ to Be the Center of Your Life

Worship is far from simply something to do on a Sunday morning.  Imagine if Christ were to come into your life, shape it and give you hope.  That is what worship is about.  Though God certainly touches you everyday of your life, worship is a special time set aside where Christ is able to touch us through the water and the bread and the wine, and is able to speak us through the scriptures spoken and preached. 

All of us have something that shapes and directs our daily lives.  What if that something could be the one who gave us the gift of life; the one who cares about the poor and the suffering; the one who lifts up the fallen and turns around the sinner?  Join us a 9:30am Sunday mornings and allow Christ to be the center of your life.

What is Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church?

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church is a church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that proclaims that we are saved by God's grace through faith in Christ.  We do nothing to earn God's love.  With that love, we are bold to serve others with a similar sort of unconditional love.

You can find us at:

908 South Main Street, Towanda PA, 18833

Worship Times

Sunday Morning
9:30am Worship with Holy Communion
9:30am Children's Church Starting in Worship

Child's Faith Sundays
9:30am Worship Sunday Morning on Selected Sundays

Wednesdays in Advent
7:00pm Worship
Watch for Soup Suppers Starting at 6pm

Christmas Eve
8:00pm Candlelight Worship

Ash Wednesday and Wednesdays in Lent
7:00pm Worship
Watch for Soup Suppers Starting at 6pm

Holy Week
7:30pm Maundy Thursday
7:30pm Good Friday

Easter Sunday Morning
6:00am Easter Vigil/Easter Sunrise
9:30am Easter Sunday Worship

Expect a Liturgical Service

Our services are liturgical in nature, meaning we follow an order of worship that tries to proclaim the good news of Jesus' entire life each and every Sunday morning.  From bath, to teachings, to meal and resurrection, to the sending, we receive the fullness of Christ's life and love whenever we worship.

Music style will vary, from classic organ driven hymns to modern guitar driven messages.  Music is used well to tell the good news of Jesus that day, and send you out into the world to serve the Lord.

Nightly Family Worship With Small Children

by Pastor Jira Albers

Worship is a natural expression of our love for God. One place that worship fits naturally is in the home. If you are like most people, however, you may be hesitant to start such a family ritual.

Thankfully, one family has overcome the hesitancy. By inviting other people to participate in their family worship, many of their friends and family have discovered that family worship is a wonderful time of bonding and fun.

Before the nightly worship began, the couple explained that they had always wanted to include God in their family life. Talking about God in the home was not something that they experienced while growing up. They did not want their children to grow up with the same experience.

The following worship pattern is what they started as soon as their first child was born.

Nightly family worship was held in the living room after the children had gotten ready for bed. It began with a Bible story from an age-appropriate Bible, one with colorful pictures and easy-to-understand language. (As the children grow older, the type of Bible will change.)

One of the children was asked to choose the Bible story to be read for the night. As the family read the story together, the children naturally asked questions about the story. These questions led to great faith discussions.

Following the Bible reading, it was time for singing. The songs were familiar children’s church songs; however, the family made it a time for bonding by adding action and bouncing (lots of bouncing!). The songs usually fell apart with laughter, and that was the point. Numerous times the kids climbed up on the lip of the fireplace (as if it were a stage) and taught the family a new song that they had leaned in Sunday school. (It is true that children can teach the faith to adults.)

The evening always ended with this prayer: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, guide me safely through the night, and wake me with the morning light. God bless Mom and Dad and Tim and Chris and Mark (the three children) and Grandma Paula and Aunt Kim and Kiki (the family dog) and...” The children were allowed to include additional people in their nightly prayers. After finishing the prayer with the Lord’s Prayer, the children were ready for their goodnight kisses.

The children weren’t always happy about having the worship time, but worship was done anyway. “God deserves to be worshiped whether or not we feel like it,” the children were told. Besides, what is a ritual if it does not happen consistently?

Hopefully this family's example is helpful to other young families. And for older adults, please do not forget to invite and teach these things to younger parents. Remember, the faith is “caught” more than it is “taught.” This family understood that well. They allowed others to catch their faith by inviting them to be a part of their nightly family worship.

FAITH5™

from Faith Inkubators

As children grow a little older and are able to talk about their days, this worship ritual from Faith Inkubators is a powerful way to worship at the end of the day in the home.  The faith practice is called the FAITH5, or Faith Acts In The Home.

The FAITH 5 connects church to home, faith to life, and parents to kids in a powerful way. The five steps of the FAITH5 are:

Step One: Share highs and lows. Name something good and bad you experienced today. Can't think of a personal one? Check out the headlines from the news and teach empathy and compassion for the broader world.

Step Two: Read a verse from your Bible. (Allow the children to select a bible story from an age appropriate bible, or simply use the bible texts from the previous Sunday's worship service).

Step Three: Talk about how the verse relates to highs and lows. Unpack the verse a bit. What does it mean in your own words? How might it relate to where you are today in your highs and lows?

Step Four: Pray for one another's highs and lows, for your family, and for the world. Simply talk to God, thank Jesus for the good, and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance in specific problems.

Step Five: Bless one another. Trace the sign of the cross on one another's forehead or palm as a reminder that you belong to God and to one another.