Let the Children Come

Gloria Dei loves to have families with little ones in worship! It is in worship we learn that we are all part of the family of faith and we learn how to participate in worship.

There are colorful cards in the Sanctuary pews that give suggestions for families with and without children. Worship bags for little hands are found at each entrance to the Sanctuary. Ask an usher for the children’s bulletin, an activity page for either readers or non-readers. Young children can even request a cup of animal crackers from an usher (with parents’ approval).

All children are invited to come forward during the Time for Children and also for Communion, so even the youngest receive a blessing. And when children need to move around or become too vocal, the Nursery offers a place for more activity.

As children grow, they develop skills that enable them to more fully participate in worship. Parents can encourage participation by helping children follow along in the program, by helping them find hymns and follow the text, by encouraging them to learn and recite the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostle’s Creed with the rest of the congregation. Talk with your child about Holy Communion and when interest and questions about receiving Communion arise, consider registering your child in Communion Instruction Class.

Encourage children to draw during worship, since children can easily listen and be active at the same time. You might be surprised by how much your child has absorbed, even while seemingly being completely involved in this activity! Ask your child to draw what she/he sees around her in worship. You can discuss later what all the symbols in the Sanctuary mean. But for now, the children can become fully aware of beautiful windows, symbols, and colors. Perhaps the child will notice new banners and new colors. Help your child understand the significance of changes in our worship space. And if you aren’t sure yourself, you can learn together! All first graders and their parents are invited to participate in a Worship class, which introduces a child to the richness of Gloria Dei’s Sanctuary.

Car time is precious time! While you drive home on Sundays, talk about what you experienced in worship. Perhaps music was touching, a message was inspirational, a baptized child was adorable, the children’s message was poignant, or Communion touched your spirit. Talk with your child about these things; what matters to you will also matter to your child! Remember that faith is “caught more than taught!”

All of Us Together

Everyone is invited to participate in worship. There are opportunities for all ages to share their time and talent.

ADULTS
For more information, please call the office at 651-699-1378.

Altar Service: Prepares the chancel for communion and cleans up after worship.

Assisting Minister: Leads the prayers of intercession and serves at the table with the presiding minister.

Audio Team: Runs the sound board during services and concerts.

Communion Assistant: Assists with the distribution of bread and wine.

Greeter: Welcomes people at the doors of the church and at the coffee hour.

Gift Presenter: Brings up the bread and wine during the offertory procession. (May be as individuals or families.)

Lector: Proclaims the Word by reading lessons.

Sacristan: Provides logistical support for the liturgy and assists acolytes in their service.

Sponsor Altar Flowers: Remember a loved one or an important date, providing beauty for the chancel. $55 per week.

Usher: Greets people as they come to worship, passes out bulletins, collects the offering.

Worship Committee: Meets on the third Thursday every other month at 6:00 p.m.

Write Prayers: Write the prayers of intercession for Sunday morning that the assisting minister will lead.

Visual Design Team: Plans, creates, and installs visual design for the sanctuary.

YOUTH
For more information, please contact Director of Youth and Family Faith Formation Katie LeClair at 651-699-1378 x3008.

Acolytes: Gloria Dei’s youth, in grades 7-12, are active leaders in worship through our acolyte ministry. They light candles, lead processions and assist with communion. After they receive training during confirmation, they are scheduled to help at services throughout the year. A link to the schedule appears on this page.

CHILDREN
For more information, please contact Children’s Ministry Director Kyrstin Schwartz at 651-699-1378 ext. 3021.

Communion Assistant: Preteens in fifth grade who would like to participate in Children’s Christmas Worship by serving Communion, receive a special training from one of our pastors. This happens in GAPP class, during Christmas preparations. When 5th graders have been trained, they may continue to serve Communion at other opportunities.

Gift Presenter: Either with their families or on their own, children can carry forward Communion bread and wine after the Offering is taken.

Lectors: As children get older and learn to read, they are invited to lead worship by reading Scripture. Every second Sunday of the month, child lectors read Scripture in worship – a different reader at each worship time. Children receive the texts in order to practice at home. Parents are requested to help their children understand the text, pronounce difficult words, and practice reading slowly and loudly. Children arrive 15 minutes early to worship in order to adjust the microphone and test reading from the pulpit. Child lectors are very much appreciated by the congregation, since hearing the text from a child makes a difference for everyone!

Share with One Another

The second Sunday of each month we pass a second offering basket. All collections from this offering are donated to one of our Outreach ministries chosen each year by our Outreach Committee. For 2021, they are:

January
Supports our three global mission partnerships: El Divino Salvador del Mundo congregation and Colegio Luterano Agustino de Guatemala, Guatemala City, and the Kilengapasi Parish, Iringa Diocese, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania.

February
Loaves and Fishes
Gloria Dei’s Loaves and Fishes team provides a meal one Wednesday every other month at the Saint Paul Opportunity Center in downtown Saint Paul, each time serving about 250 people struggling with hunger and homelessness. The Second Offering subsidizes the cost of food.

March
Francis Basket
The only food shelf in Highland Park, Francis Basket serves more than 1,000 people each year, operated by Neighborhood House.

April
Lutheran Social Services Metro Homeless Youth Programs
Offers a continuum of holistic services to runaway, homeless, and street-dependent youth in the Twin Cities Metro Area. These services are committed to helping youth build on assets and strengths, and connecting them with caring, supportive adults.

May
Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative
A network of congregations, including Gloria Dei, which develops supportive affordable housing and advances equitable housing.

June
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries
Supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender clergy and those preparing for ordination in the Lutheran church, and it works with congregations to create more opportunities for LGBT pastors.

Reconciling Works:Lutherans for Full Participation
Advocate for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the life of Lutheran churches in the United States and Canada.

July
ISAIAH
A community organizing group that works with people of faith across Minnesota to advocate for racial and economic justice.

August
ELCA World Hunger Appeal
Working through Lutheran churches around the world, congregations in the United States and other partners, ELCA World Hunger partners with local communities to break the cycle of hunger and poverty.

September
Highland Park Elementary Weekend Backpack Program
We partner with Highland Park Elementary School, where 60% of children are eligible for free or reduced lunch, to provide nutritious food for children so they get enough to eat on weekends.

October
Interfaith Action – Department for Indian Work
The department’s programs are designed to serve the needs of the American Indian community in a way that respects their cultural and spiritual diversity. Along with a food shelf, Interfaith Action is active in diabetes education, clothing assistance, youth health and wellness, and youth programs.

November
Keystone Food Shelf
The Keystone Basic Needs Program helps feed the hungry and assists people in crisis in a large service area in Ramsey County — from downtown St. Paul to Roseville, from Little Canada to the Midway and the North End neighborhoods of St. Paul.

December
Project Home
Working with dozens of area faith communities, including Gloria Dei during the month of December, Project Home provides 40 beds of emergency shelter for children and their parents in Ramsey County each night. Project Home is a program of Interfaith Action of Greater St. Paul.

Worship Times Change with the Seasons

Regular Schedule
Worship services at 8:15, 9:30 and 10:45 a.m., with online live broadcast of 10:45 a.m. on YouTube.
Education Hour for all ages at 9:30 a.m.

Summer Schedule
Typically, from the start of Memorial Day weekend through the end of Labor Day weekend, in-person worship on Sunday mornings at 8:15 a.m. and 10 a.m., with online live broadcast on YouTube of the 10 a.m. service (resumes June 5). Education Hour resumes in the fall.

Advent
Typically includes a mid-week service.

Christmas
Typically includes mid-week worship and services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Lent
Typically includes a mid-week service.

Maundy Thursday, Typically noon and 7 p.m., Children’s Worship, 5 p.m.

Good Friday, Typically noon and 7 p.m., Children’s Worship, 5 p.m.
Typically at noon on Good Friday we gather at places that represent the world’s suffering to join together in prayer.

Easter Vigil, Typically 7 p.m.,
Children’s Worship, 5 p.m.

Easter Sunday, Typically
8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.

The 9:30 a.m. service is also online.