What Can I Expect on My First Visit?

Some people wonder what to expect on their first visit. The line on the FAQ page promised you a special parking space, a name tag and a cup of coffee.

We have spaces marked "Visitors" at the front of our parking lot. Our building tour page shows you things in the order a visitor would see them, except for the hawk. The first picture is our church from Kiernan Avenue, the second is one of those visitor's parking spaces.

Please come in the front door, which faces Kiernan Avenue. Our Greeter will make you a name tag and ask you to sign our guest book. (Members wear name tags too, but they are permanent ones.) You can ask to receive our newsletter, if you like. We have some one-sheet flyers about our denomination, our committees and programs.

If you have children, someone will show you our nursery and the room we use for Religious Education classes.

Towards the end of the service we'll invite you to stand and introduce yourself. It is an invitation, not a requirement.

After the end of the service we serve coffee and cookies and talk. Someone will probably ask you where you are from, if you've been here in Stanislaus County long, and what drew you to our congregation. That is our attempt to be friendly, not an inquisition. Someone else may ask you to move before you get trampled, if you stand in front of the coffee pot. That is our attempt at gentle humor. We're not pushy. No one will ask you to join the first time you visit.

We stand for hymns and responsive readings. The minister or service leader will always ask the congregation to stand and to be seated. You don't have to worry about knowing when to stand or sit. We don't genuflect. We don't kneel to pray. You can sit towards the back, watch what other people do, and fit right in.

We usually have 20 - 30 people at our early service and 50 - 80 at our late one. We have 30 - 80 at our single service in the summer. Our service times change with the season:
One service, at 10:00 am, May 30 - September 5, 2010.
Two services, at 9:30 and 11:00 am, starting September 12, 2010.