Special services
Special worship services are conducted throughout the year during holy seasons in the Christian calendar such as Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week and Easter. We also celebrate special services throughout the year such as Children’s Sabbath, Confirmation, Youth Sunday, Baccalaureate (Graduation) Sunday, Pentecost, All Saints, and Reign of Christ.
baptisms
Holy Baptism is a process by which we are incorporated into the Church, which is the body of Christ, and made one in Christ. Because baptism initiates us into Christ’s whole Church and not only into a denomination, Methodists recognize all Christian baptisms and look upon baptism as something that should unite, rather than divide Christians.
To schedule a baptism, contact us.
Weddings
A marriage is a contract between two people. By choosing to hold the ceremony in a public building and inviting guests you are recognizing both that your new life affects the lives of many other people and that you will need their support if you are to sustain your life together. Everything about the ceremony testifies to the significance of the choice you are making and the roles that God, family, friends and one another will play in supporting your marriage.
A wedding ceremony in the Methodist Church is a service of worship. It is conducted in a manner that is in keeping with the dignity and reverence of a ceremony that is ordained by God and blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ. Although each wedding is an individual expression of love and commitment between two people, it is also an expression of corporate worship. Your ceremony should, therefore, be planned where traditions, symbols, and rituals of the church to enhance the corporate nature of the worship.
Because of the nature of the service, the participation of other worshippers in the congregation is of vital importance. Philadelphia Methodist Church facilities are available primarily to members of the local church. A member is defined as bride, groom, parent or grandparent of the bride or groom who is a member of FMC.
For more information about scheduling a wedding, contact us.
Funerals & memorial services
The Liturgy for the celebration of a life is an Easter liturgy. It finds its meaning in the Resurrection. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we, too, shall be raised.
The liturgy, therefore, is characterized by joy, in the certainty that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor power, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
This joy, however, does not make human grief unchristian. The very love we have for each other in Christ brings deep sorrow when we are parted by death. Jesus himself wept at the grave of his friend, Lazarus. So, while we rejoice that the one we love has entered into the nearer presence of our Lord, we sorrow in sympathy with those who mourn.
If you have any questions or needs pertaining to this ministry, contact us.
