We know that visiting a church for the first time can be a little daunting, especially if you don't know anyone and you aren't familiar with the customs of the church. Here are the most common concerns:
We are in Arizona! Dressing up in formal attire can be very uncomfortable, especially in the summer. Please, be comfortable. You will see slacks and shorts, skirts and dresses, jeans and t-shirts, and some love to wear their Sunday Best! Jesus wants you here. He doesn't care what you wear.
All children are welcome to attend worship with their parents.
We have a special Sunday School ministry time for younger children that occurs
during the outdoor 9:00 worship service, on the adjoining patio, with all
children masked and socially distanced. Parents are welcome to
accompany their child the first time, but this is not a requirement.
Our worship service is more interactive than that of some other churches, but no one is ever put on the spot. We hear lessons from Scripture, and a message or sermon to help us live as people of faith. We pray together for the world, our common calling to glorify God and serve mercy, peace, and justice. We participate in Holy Communion, offered to all as we celebrate the offering of Jesus of himself to all his followers, his sharing of himself with each of us as living members of his crucified and resurrected body on earth. After several weeks the usual elements of our worship become familiar and helpful to foster an encounter with God, and a life of faith lived out.
As a guest, you may certainly give, but it is not expected. Should you decide to make St. Peter's your home, we all share in the cost of the mission and ministry of our church.
It is the custom in our church that wherever you are on your faith journey, you are welcome to receive communion. It does not matter how old or young you are, what church you come from, what your denominational status is - if you wish to receive our Lord Jesus Christ, He invites you!
If you wish to participate without receiving communion, you can cross your arms over your chest and a blessing will be offered for you.
In addition to the more usual fortified wine (port) we do also offer as an alternative, grape juice at all services as well as gluten-free host.
Absolutely not. After the service, we invite you to learn more about our congregation, and fill out a contact card, so that we can communicate with you, and we would love to learn what brought you our way!
For our guests and members, we have two separate Assistive Listening Systems installed in the sanctuary.
FM Transmitter/Receiver System - We provide an FM receiver with earphone. If you have your own 72 MHz receiver, our technician can help with setting it up to our system.
Inductive Loop System (Hearing Loop) - Make use of this system if you have a hearing aid with a t-coil. Ask your audiologist for instructions on activating the t-coil on your device.