We are two congregations of the La Crosse Area Synod of the ELCA.
We do one worship service each Sunday morning at 9:30am, alternating church locations. Check out our church calendar or join our email list to keep up with our worship schedule. Most Sundays include fellowship time after worship.
We provide everyone with a bulletin to guide them through the flow of worship. Our worship uses the liturgy and hymns of our denominational hymnal Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW in our bulletin). At Utica we have a second hymnal we sometimes use, The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration (HYMNAL in our bulletin). Music is typically led by organ/piano, but we occasionally have other special musicians leading us. Liturgical worship can feel formal or strange, especially when you are new to it, but it follows ancient worship patterns and encourages participation by the whole congregation. We worship God in unity.
Most Sundays typically include 4 readings from the Bible: The First Reading (Old Testament or Acts), a Psalm, Second Reading (New Testament), and a reading from one of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John). These readings are usually assigned by the Revised Common Lectionary.
We celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion every week. Gluten Free wafers and non-alcoholic grape juice are available to those who need them. We celebrate open communion, meaning we welcome to the table all baptized believers to join us in this fellowship. Children who have never received communion before may receive at the discretion of their parents or simply come and receive a blessing. To learn more about Holy Communion and the other means of grace in the ELCA, check out The Use of the Means of Grace.