8:00 am, Holy Eucharist, Rite I

10:30 am, Holy Eucharist, Rite II

Summer Schedule

8:00 am, Holy Eucharist, Rite I

10:00 am, Holy Eucharist, Rite II

Adult and children's choirs provide musical leadership for the 10:30 a.m. service. Children ages 3-6  begin worship with their families in church, and may leave at the sequence hymn for Children's Liturgy in the Chapel. They return at the peace. Parents whose children are in the nursery for the early part of the service often leave after at the peace and bring their children into church for the Great Thanksgiving.  Children are always welcome in church for the entire service.

Weekdays

Holy Eucharist is celebrated in the chapel on Wednesdays at 12:00 noon.

There are special services on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday.

Adults sometimes wonder why we bring small children into the church. Having them there is rather like having them eat at the supper table even though their manners are not elegant. They wiggle, poke and swing their legs simply because they are children; they also sing, pray and give with us. We do not want our children to be disruptive or hamper the church's worship; but on the other hand, we must remember that baptized children are members of the Body of Christ--the Church--and children should be among the worshipping people. They must participate in their own way, for they cannot participate as adults. They are growing in understanding and learning to take their place in the church family. Human beings, both large and small, attain meaning only after they have experiences to interpret.

We as adults can accept and perhaps even value the children's restlessness during worship, but they are learning:

• that it is important to come to this place on Sunday;
• that the sights, sounds and feelings of the church are good, though they aren't always understandable;
• that something is expected of them in this place; and
• that they respond with song and prayer and offering.

St. John's Parish Choir, led by Peggy Haas Howell and composed of men and women, rehearses on Thursday evenings at 7:30pm as well as on Sunday mornings at 9:30am. We sing a wide variety of interesting and challenging music, from Medieval chant to Renaissance polyphony to Shaker pieces to African-American Spirituals to music by many contemporary composers. We also sing for special events: This year we will had a Celtic Eucharist at 5:30 p.m. on All Saints Day, November 1, led by harp, flute, and the Parish choir.  In December, St. John's was part of the magical concert, "A Feast for Christmas" (December 19 at 7:30 p.m. and December 20 at 2:00 p.m.) at the Academy of Fine Arts. (See "St. John's Concerts")  On April 25, St. John's will collaborate with Chorale (the Randolph College Concert Choir), the Chancel Choir of Court Street United Methodist Church, the Lynchburg Symphony, and professional soloists under the direction of Randall Speer to present the Mozart Requiem. If you like to sing, and are interested in the Parish Choir, please call Peggy Howell at 528-1138 ext. 20 or email peggy@stjohnslynchburg.org. We are always on the lookout for new singers!

Our choirs for young people are part of the Royal School of Church Music program. Children begin by participating in a Training Choir, where they learn to sing as well as to develop skills necessary to participate in worship services. The Training Choir is open to children who are at least in second grade. It meets from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday afternoons. When they are ready, usually at some point in February, children become full members of the St Nicolas Boys' Choir or St. Cecelia Girls' Choir and receive an RSCM medal.

The St. Nicolas Boys' Choir meets from 4:15 - 5:15 p.m. on Wednesdays. Boys with unchanged voices continue working on musical and vocal skills, and learn simple two-part singing.  They usually sing twice a month with the St. Cecilia and Training Choirs.

The St. Cecilia Girls' Choir is a group of elementary through high school girls who sing interesting and challenging two or three part music.  They sing two or three times a month in church with the St. Nicolas and Training Choirs, or with a few women from the Parish Choir.  All of St. John's choirs occasionally sing together. They rehearse on Wednesday afternoons from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.

To enroll your child in any of our children's and youth choirs or to find out more information about our choirs, call Peggy Howell at 528-1138 ext. 20 or email her at peggy@stjohnslynchburg.org.