SPECIAL SERVICES
Advent and Christmas
On the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, we prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ birth through scripture, song, prayer, and worship. Each Sunday, church members lead us in the lighting of the Advent wreath.
On Christmas Eve, we have two beautiful services; 5PM Family Candlelight Service and 9PM Candlelight Communion Service of Lessons and Carols.
Lent and Easter
Lent is a season of penitence, reflection, and preparation and incorporates the six Sundays leading up to Holy Week, including Palm Sunday.
On Maundy Thursday, we remember Jesus’ last night as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper and the Service of Shadows in the sanctuary. Following the service, we are invited to take turns in a continuous prayer vigil through the night.
On Good Friday, we join in a Cross Walk, sponsored by the Pottstown Ministerium, that begins “on the green” between Zion’s UCC and Emmanuel Lutheran Churches on Hanover Street. We walk with other Christians to remember Jesus’ walk to the cross and to pray for our neighbors and the “welfare of the city.”.
Easter Sunday Services
On Easter morning, we join with all of creation in singing “Alleluia” as we celebrate Christ’s rising from the grave.
Services for Wholeness
Two evenings in the year, usually in Advent and Lent, we gather in the sanctuary for a service of worship to pray for healing in our world, our community, our relationships and in our mind, body and spirit.
Weddings
FPC is glad to share with two people in the joy of their covenant with God and one another in marriage. Because we are a community of faith and we want to support couples in their marriage, the pastors ordinarily officiate at weddings for members where there will be an ongoing relationship with the couple.
The first step for any couple is to set up an appointment with a pastor.
Funerals
In the face of death, we affirm with tears and joy the good news of the gospel and the hope of the resurrection. We do not grieve in isolation, but are sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit and the community of faith. The pastors are ready to meet with families to plan services that are not generic but personal, and give simple and dignified witness to our resurrection hope and to our gratitude for the life of the loved one.
The church has a Peace Garden where ashes are buried. The names of those interred appear on a plaque on the wall adjoining the Peace Garden. Church members and their immediate families who are interested in the Peace Garden can pick up an application from the church office.
