JOIN US

Join us for worship each Sunday at 10 a.m. in the Sanctuary or via zoom worship (use link on homepage)

What to Expect at Worship

WELCOME

When you enter you will be welcomed by the pastor or assisting minister and will be handed a bulletin that contains all of the prayers, readings, and music for the service. It is intentionally larger print for those with special needs. Occasionally, the congregation will worship outdoors in the Ficus Grove behind the church.

RESTROOMS AND WATER

There are restrooms and water available for everyone at any time. Intentionally, no collection plates are passed at Trinity, but you are encouraged and welcomed to give at our Offering Box or online.

DRESS

Congregation members dress in all kinds of ways: shorts, t-shirt, golf shirts, blazers, sundresses, pants, suit and tie, sandals, flip flops, dress shoes or sneakers. In short, feel free to dress up or down as much as you’d like and you’ll be welcomed just the same.

MAKEUP OF COMMUNITY

Trinity has many people who are lifelong Lutheran Christians, Roman Catholics, Methodists, Evangelicals, and other faith traditions. We have agnostic and atheist and questioning people among us. We are Rocket Scientists, Arts Educators, Homemakers, Consultants, Engineers, Teachers, Lawyers, Clergy, Nannies, Domestic Workers, Educators, “Industry” workers, doctors, nurses, airline attendants and pilots, inventors, musicians and folks from just about every walk of life. We are gay, straight, families with children, families without children, singles, asexual, trans, and non-binary We are old, young, and in-between, boomers, silent generation, Gen-X, Millennials and Zoomers. Some attend weekly, some monthly, some just at Christmas, some just once or twice a year. We are Latino, Black, White, Mixed Race, Japanese, German, Finnish, Danish, Mid-Westerners, East Coasters, California born, and from all around the world.

THE SERVICE

When you enter, some quietly greet others, some listen to the musical prelude, and some pray silently.

The Service (also known as Eucharist, the Divine Service, Mass, Holy Communion or Worship) generally follows the structure of the mass, meaning that there are 4 “acts” or movements in the unified worship. 1)Gathering 2) Word 3.) Meal 4.) Sending. Each of these sections is part of the pattern of Christian worship since the earliest days.

The service will flow with hymns, songs, choir anthems and other musical offerings to highlight and give depth of experience to the worship. A special time for children and young people offers a chance for them to feel a part of the community and share something special to them. Children are always fully welcome in worship but parents and guardians are free to stay, walk around, go to the couch room, or just stay for part of worship. You are welcome to participate as you’d like: sing, pray, stand, sit, respond and feel free to be as much a part or as little a part of worship as you’d like. The organ and piano generally support the congregation’s singing and the choir, when in session, helps to support the congregation’s song as well as to offer appropriate anthems and other musical compositions that relate to the readings and the season of the church year.

A sermon, usually given by the pastor, is meant to both ground the worship in the scriptures (both old and new testaments) and to make connections to our contemporary realities. The ancient texts take on new flesh and blood as they are proclaimed in the here and now.

Following a time of prayers for the whole world and the many needs among us, the priestly people turn to the altar table “the meal” to be welcomed by the one who invites, “Take and Eat; Take and Drink” At Trinity, all are welcome at the table of Christ to receive the true presence of the risen Christ, the true Body and Blood, fully present in the bread and wine and grape juice. Children are always welcome to receive Holy Communion at their parent’s discretion.

After all have been fed, closing prayers and songs prepare us to be “sent” into the world equipped again with God’s Word and Holy Meal to give generously to those in need, to share the love of God, and to serve our neighbors with a hearty and joyful spirit.

COFFEE HOUR AND EDUCATION HOUR

Before leaving, there is always fair-trade coffee, locally made donuts (LA is Donut Heaven), other treats, as well as a time to greet and build the community through fellowship and sharing. Often there is a deepening time with educational opportunities and other special presentations to help deepen our understandings.

SAMPLE BULLETINS

Generally Hymnody is taken from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, All Creation Sings, or Lutheran Book of Worship, although other settings and hymns from other traditions and settings are frequently used.

To get a sense of what our worship is like, please take a look at some sample
bulletins from prior worship services to get a sense of the style and content.

Christmas Eve Worship
Easter Sunday Worship
Reformation Sunday Worship
All Saints Sunday Worship
Ash Wednesday Worship
Epiphany Lessons and Carols
Epiphany Season Worship
Lenten Season Worship
Good Friday Worship
Easter Season Worship
Season after Pentecost Worship