The Services

ON SUNDAY MORNING: The congregation of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church worships each Sunday morning at 8:00 and 10:15. The services are identical and guests are welcome. At 9:00 the congregation hosts a Sunday School (during the school year) and a Bible Study. Guests are welcome.

HOLY COMMUNION: Holy Communion is served on the first and the third Sundays of each month (and at other times) for the Confirmed Members of the congregation. Guests from other LCMS congregations may commune also. (LCMS Guests: Please speak with the Pastor or an Elder before the service.) Those who are present but not attending Communion are welcome to sing and pray during this time.

SPECIAL WEDNESDAY EVENINGS: During Advent and Lent, the congregation meets for evening worship at 7:00. The service lasts about a half an hour. Snacks are often served afterward. In the past, dramas have been used to present the message of the evening. Guests are welcome to attend. 7:00PM

PALM SUNDAY: On Palm Sunday the services include a special dramatic reading of the Passion. The congregation participates in the reading along with special Readers and the Pastor. Guests are welcome. 8:00 and 10:15.

MAUNDY THURSDAY: The congregation celebrates the gift of Holy Communion at a 7:00 service. Communion is served for the Communicant Members of the congregation and members from other LCMS congregations. Guests who are not members of other LCMS congregations are invited to worship with us. During Communion, we encourage our guests to sing with the congregation and pray. To learn how to become a Communicant Member, contact the pastor. 7:00PM

GOOD FRIDAY: The congregation hosts two services on Good Friday. The Noon service is a simply service of pray and singing. It lasts about 20 minutes and is especially for those who can only get away from work, school, or home for a short time. The 7:00 service is the full Tenebrae service. Guests are welcome. Noon and 7:00PM

HOLY SATURDAY: The congregation hosts an evening service at 7:00. The service begins in the dark. The congregation processes into the Sanctuary by candlelight. The darkness lifts and Easter is begun. Guests are welcome. 7:00PM

EASTER: The early Easter service is at 7:00 in the morning. The second service is at 10:15. There is often a breakfast held in between. Guests are welcome. 7:00 and 10:15.

CONFIRMATION: Confirmation of the young people (usually those in the 8th grade) who had completed their study with the Pastor is held on the first Sunday in May, at the 10:15 service. Guests are welcome. 10:15

CHRISTMAS PAGEANT: Held every year at 6:00PM on the first Sunday in December, the Christmas Pageant is a worship service in which the children and the adults of the congregation present the birth of Jesus in a dramatic presentation. Guests are welcome. 6:00PM

CHRISTMAS EVE: The Candlelight service is at 7:00. Guests are welcome.

CHILDREN IN THE WORSHIP SERVICE: Often, guests and prospective church members ask if children are welcome in the worship service. Of course, what they mean is, "My child is young and can sometimes be 'active'. Will this upset anyone in the church?" No. We want children to be in the worship service, learning that it is a place for them to be, getting use to hearing and participating in the worship service as they grow up. We provide a nursery, often staffed, and we put a TV in the Fellowship Hall that broadcasts the service for those parents who need to step out for a moment with a child.

OFFERING: Not an obligation to the congregation, the Offering is an act of worship. Christians understand that everything they have is from God, who also provides them with the resources to support and participate in the work of Christ's Kingdom. Offering envelopes are provided for the members of the congregation for tax deduction reasons.

THE BULLETIN: Our bulletin (service folder) is unique. It is designed to assist the worshippers, especially guests, navigate and participate in the worship service. The amount of non-worship information is kept to a minimum to make it easier to handle and the Bible passages recieve the greatest amount of space.

Contact us if you have any questions about specific services at 319-338-1842 or popcoralville@msn.com.

The Year

THE CHURCH YEAR is divided up into six Seasons. These Seasons are different from the calendar seasons of Winter, Spring Summer, and Fall. Knowing the Church Year Seasons helps worshippers understand the focus, mood, and choices made for the Sunday services.

Briefly:

ADVENT: This is the first Season of the Church Year, consisting of the four Sundays before Christmas. It is a time of preparation and anticipation for the coming of our Savior. It is not a Christmas, or a pre-Christmas, season, but an anticipation of Christ's return to this world. It is a closely related to the season of Lent. The color is often blue or purple, symbolizing Christ's royalty. An Advent Wreath of four candles is often used to mark off the four Sundays of the season. Christians often worship together on Wednesday evenings in Advent. The mood of the season is slightly somber, a respectful state while awaiting the arrival of the King of Kings. The beginning of Advent changes, slightly from year to year, but often corresponds with the beginning of December.

CHRISTMAS: This is the second Season of the Church Year, consisting of Christmas Day, always on December 25, and lasting for one or two Sundays after. Christmas is the shortest Season of the Church Year. Its theme is the importance of God becoming a human being. The mood of the season is joyful. The color is white, for purity. A Christmas tree, with an angel on the top and lights throughout, is a picture of the angels announcing the birth of the Savior in Bethlehem. As a celebration, Christmas is a late arrival to the Church Year. The impression is that Christmas is the most important Season of the Church, but is a distant second or third to Easter.

LENT: Despite its somber mood, the word means "spring". Lent is comprised of the 40 days before Easter, not counting the Sundays. Why? Because Sunday is always a celebration of Easter because it is the day of the week that Jesus arose from the dead. Lent is a time to reflect upon our sin and our need for a Savior. The mood is subdued, like Advent, and is reflected in the choices of music and the themes of the Bible Readings and sermons. The color is purple or blue. Often, certain crosses in a church or covered or removed from the church during Lent, special words like "alleluia", are not used, and Christians meet for worship on Wednesday nights. The timing of Lent is determined by when Easter is celebrated.

Easter: The most important Season of the Church Year. It marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and our hope in our resurrection on the Last Day. Easter is celebrated every Sunday, but once a year, (the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring equinox), the Christians highlight the event. The season of Easter is not one day, but last for several weeks.

Pentecost: This is the sixth and final season of the Church Year. It lasts from Spring and early sumer until the end of November. The color is green, for growth, and its theme focuses on God's gifts to the Church throughout the world and time.