Sunday Worship

Our Sunday worship is our attempt to make the worship of God the joyful center of our lives. We meet Sunday morning at 11 AM in the Murchison Chapel of First United Methodist Church, Austin, on Lavaca between 12th and 13th streets. Murchison chapel is the smaller building next to the large sanctuary with all the columns. On Sundays we are able to park free in the parking garage across the street from the church. There are also plenty of weekend-free spots on the road nearby. There is a Capital Metro stop on the same block as the church.

What to Expect in Sunday Worship!

If you’ve never worshipped with us before, here’s what to expect! When you come inside Murchison chapel, there will be someone to say hello and meet you and help you sign in. There is free coffee and doughnuts sitting out and—on especially lucky days—orange juice. Inside the chapel feel free to sit anywhere. There is a play mat to the left with toys for the young or the young at heart!

Our worship begins with a greeting and announcements, which help us all keep on the same page. Then one of our pastors prays an opening prayer. After this comes the passing of the peace, when we take about 5 minutes and greet others. If you’re new, you can expect to be warmly greeted by a number of people. One of our focuses in Selah is Christian community, really getting to know each other in order to support each other as friends and disciples. Passing the peace is a big deal to us, as are our Home Fellowship groups during the week.

After passing the peace, our worship team leads us in several praise songs. We hope you feel free to express worship to God in a way that is authentic for you, be it sitting contemplatively, singing along, or even dancing. During the second song, an offering is taken up. As a first-time visitor, please do not feel an obligation to contribute—your presence with us is gift enough!

Following the praise time there is Scripture reading, and then preaching from one of our pastors or members. We are blessed to have a number of people among us with the gift of preaching, and we feel privileged to be challenged by their gift. Sermons are one of God’s tools to help us grow as disciples of Jesus, and have a passionate love for God and neighbor. Knowing this, we take joy in preaching even as we are challenged to grow and be transformed by the gospel of God’s love.

Our worship culminates in celebrating the sacrament of Holy Communion, just like, on the night on which he was betrayed, Jesus shared bread and wine with his disciples, instructing them that this meal was his body and blood. Anyone who desires to receive God’s grace is welcome to come forward. As you come forward to receive communion, you will have the opportunity to share prayer requests with those serving you. The communion servers are on hand to pray with you before serving you. God often works powerfully through this time of praying and sharing communion.

As communion is going on, we sing songs. Following communion, one of the pastors speaks a blessing to us. We sing one final song and then often do a bit of standing around and talking. On the second Sunday of the month, lots of us go somewhere and have lunch after worship (we call this “Selah Lunch”).

If you’re planning on coming and have questions, feel free to call Pastor Clifton at the church Monday-Thursday. 512-478-5684.