Contemplative Worship Sunday Mornings
8:45 a.m. in the Chapel

Chapelwood offers a Contemplative Worship experience at 8:45 a.m. in the Chapel. Each service is unique. The services offer extended times of stillness, Scripture readings, music, prayer, meditation, and Holy Communion.

When you arrive to the Chapel, pick up a printed worship guide that will have scripture, prayers, readings, and song lyrics. Also available is the worship supplement which lists up-coming offerings such as classes, retreats, and community gatherings. In addition, the worship supplement has a poem or passage related to the theme in worship, which allows you to continue reflecting on God's invitation for the coming week.

Worship is quiet and reflective in nature. In keeping with the custom of the United Methodist Church, Communion is an "open table" and we welcome everyone to participate who desires to gather at the Table of Christ and receive the elements of bread and juice.

After the service, greeting and conversation move to the foyer just outside the Chapel so that people may continue to linger and pray at the altar or in their pew. At least one person on the worship team will be available after the service for those who desire prayer for healing or intercession.

More about Contemplative Prayer from ...

Through days of exhausting schedules, multiple responsibilities, and critical decisions many persons are looking for a place of quiet rest, a setting for worship that will refill and revitalize. Sometimes we find such buoyancy in praise or in the preached Word of God. We also may find such spiritual refreshment in worship which is still, reflective, and meditative.

Contemplative Worship is a setting in which we quiet ourselves in order to open our souls to the ministry of God within. It is one way to hear the voice of God with our hearts. Contemplative Worship waits for God in the silence. Contemplative Worship is an opportunity to be quiet and still in the midst of busyness, finding our spiritual center. Contemplative Worship practices us in the rhythm of Jesus, a rhythm of moving into prayer and communion with God before going out to engage the world in meaningful ministry.

Contemplative Worship does not imply that a person must be proficient in a certain skill or discipline to participate. It simply implies a desire to seek God and to be open to however God might choose to move within our lives. Historically, contemplation has implied two things: fire and love. Contemplative Worship kindles the inner fire of the Spirit of God. Further, Contemplative Worship grows us in love and devotion for God. The aim is an intimacy of relationship which comes from falling deeply in love with One who loves us and gives himself for us.