What should I expect during my visit to  the Struthers United Methodist Church? 

We are a God centered and Bible directed church, with a desire to be an inclusive and caring community of people oriented followers of Jesus Christ. As such, we welcome all who have a desire to worship God and follow Jesus Christ, and those who are just curious about the message of God. While we cannot condone actions that the Bible tells us are sinful, we welcome all who enter our doors with open hearts and open minds, so they can find salvation and the love of God. We all combat sin of various types in our lives, and the whole purpose of the church is for all to find forgiveness of our sins, and eternal life in Jesus Christ. We will always welcome a person with such a desire.

There are many reasons why someone may look for a new church. Perhaps you have recently moved into the area, and attending services at your former church is no longer practical. It could be that you have felt the calling of the Holy Spirit to find ways to strengthen your faith journey, and are looking for a faith community that fits you. Perhaps life has thrown you curve balls, and you are looking for ways to fill a spiritual need. Maybe you have "something"; a need that you simply cannot explain. Possibly you have young children, and wish to see them learn about God in a caring environment. It may be that you just feel that you need answers, and have not been able to find them anywhere else. We all have our own stories, and reasons why we came to the Struthers United Methodist Church. We hope that you will find your "church home" with us. You will find our mission statement, and who we are, what we believe, and how we extend the love of God into the community on the various pages on our website. We extend a warm welcome to you and your family!  Won't you join us this Sunday?
                           

"Welcome!"

We welcome all of God's children who love the Lord, and all of God's children who want to learn more about the love of God, to our church. We are all sinners, and are all in need of God's forgiveness. God did not put us here to judge others, but rather He has commissioned us to spread His Holy Word, and the love of Jesus Christ to everyone. We know that entering a church you are not familiar with can be a nerve wracking experience, especially if you do not know anyone there. Let me be the first to extend a hearty "Welcome!" to you. This will not be the last time you hear this on your visit to our church. We are a largely traditional church with a few modern touches mixed in, and we are always looking for ways to extend the ministry of the church to reach more of God's children. While we all have traditions and ideas that we feel most comfortable with, we hope that you will find our services interesting and fruitful. If you have any questions about our church that you cannot find answers to here, please feel free to contact the church either by calling us at (330)-755-0179, or by emailing us at this link.  We have visitor cards available in the back of the church, along with prayer request cards. If you have a situation that you would like to discuss with our pastor, perhaps something you just don't feel you can speak about with anyone you know, please just fill out the card and drop it in the plate when the offering is collected. Our pastor will give you a call to offer whatever help he, and our church, can provide. Do not feel that you have to give a monetary offering if you do not feel you should. Consider yourself our guest. We are pleased to have you with us.

"Passing The Peace"

Our church has a tradition of "passing the peace" in the middle of our worship service. During this time, we welcome one another, and extend the peace of God to one another. This is also a time where we can introduce ourselves to visitors, and they can introduce themselves in turn. Ephesians 4:3 (NIV) tells us to "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Worship in a new church can sometimes feel a bit lonely, especially when you don't know many (or any) people in the new church. We hope that this practice will help you get to know us, and will allow us to get to know you as well. We can guarantee that you will know at least a few more people after visiting our church. The traditional exchange would be; "May the peace of God be upon you", and the response "And with you", however others will just offer a hearty "Good morning", or "Hi, how are you."  Please do whatever feels comfortable for you.

                           

The Apostle's Creed

At each worship, we avow our beliefs by reciting the Apostle's Creed. You may want to join with us, or you may not initially feel comfortable doing so. This is the Apostle's Creed:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

*signifies the church universal, not the Roman Catholic church in particular

Gloria Patri

We sing "Gloria Patri" at each service.This is also known as "Glory to the Father".

Glory be to the Father
and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost,
as it was in the beginning
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Doxology

At each service, following the offering, we sing a verse of the "Doxology":

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts
Praise Father, Son and Ho- ly Ghost

Music

During a typical Sunday service, we will sing 2 traditional hymms and 1 modern worship song.

What Should I wear?

Please dress appropriately, but comfortably. Most of us do not wear suits or even ties. We wear more business appropriate clothing, and even jeans are perfectly fine. Obviously we ask that people be  "covered", (i.e. no mini skirts or short shorts, etc)  and that clothing has no inappropriate language or images on it.

Parking and Entrances

We have a bit of an unusual parking situation. On Sundays, parking is allowed on Sexton Street, where marked. We have a small parking lot (marked with a United Methodist sign) beside the parsonage. (the house right next to the church on Sexton Street)  This lot is unpaved. You can also use the back parking lot for the Library, which is on Stewart Street. There is a handicapped accessible ramp on the  Sexton Street side of the building.

We Hope To See You Soon!

Comments And Suggestions?

If you have attended one of our services, and have a suggestion, comment, or idea, we would love to hear from you! We are always looking for ways to improve our worship services, and to make them more inclusive for more people. If you have a suggestion or idea, please leave us a message here.