About Sunday Worship

Frequently Asked Questions

New to Us?

Perhaps you live in the central Aroostook region and are considering gathering with us in person. Perhaps you live at a distance and are discerning if our online church community feels right for you. Either way, we are delighted to welcome you to our website, and hope we can make that next step to come closer a little easier!

If you are considering a visit, and wonder what to expect on a Sunday morning, you can go to our Facebook page and experience the live-streamed worship service on Sunday mornings at 10:00 am, or view a recorded worship service anytime. The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below may also answer some of your questions about our worship. Click on down arrow icon (v) to reveal response.

— FAQs —

  • From September through June, our worship service begins at 10:00 am, both in person and streaming on Facebook Live. Our church building is at 27 Church Street in Presque Isle. You may park on Church Street, or in our lot behind the church. There are three entrances: a front door to the sanctuary with stairs, and ground level doors on the driveway side and the rear of the building.

  • Our church embraces a different pace for worship in July and August. We’ve planned several different kinds of worship experiences (and different times) this summer (2023), including online options available to you wherever you are. Join us in person, and/or engage our online offerings posted on our Facebook page.

    Print the full summer worship schedule, or visit our Events page or our Facebook page to stay informed about our summer worship opportunities.

  • Handicap accessible parking spaces are adjacent to the rear entrance. Inside the driveway side door, there is an elevator to both the lower and sanctuary levels. Guests with mobility concerns can be dropped off there. It’s closer than the rear entrance. Pews are cushioned. Assistive listening devices are available in the sanctuary. Bathrooms are wheelchair accessible. There are wheelchair spaces among the pews, and not just in the rear of the sanctuary.

  • Please dress comfortably. Skirt or slacks. Jeans or suit and tie. You’ll be welcome whatever you wear.

  • Our worship service is composed of mostly traditional elements, with some modern touches in the music, projected images and videos. The language of our liturgy, the sermons, and prayers reflects a progressive theology. Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month, distributed to the congregation in the pews. All are welcome at the communion table. The service usually lasts about an hour.

    To get the best sense of our worship, watch a recording of a recent service on our Facebook page, or if you are online, join our Facebook Live stream Sunday mornings at 10:00 am (September - June). Sermon (only) recordings are also available. Find a link to sermons on the Home and Worship pages of our website.

  • (September - June) Our children and young people begin in worship with their families, then gather with their age group after the kid-based "2 Minute Message.” Each week PreK-Grade 2 young learners are experiencing stories from the Bible, simple craft projects, games, and free play. There is also a Middle School class at this time. A nursery will be staffed each week starting at 9:45 am. Families are always welcome to keep their children with them in worship.

    In July and August, our worship gathering is moved to Sunday evening, and created to welcome and engage all ages!

  • Yes! We call it Coffee Hour! For those physically present, we encourage you come downstairs and join us in Fellowship Hall for coffee or tea, and sometimes a special treat, all provided by the Welcome and Care Ministry. This is a warm and informal way to meet others, who are glad you are there!

  • Every Sunday worship service (September - June) is live streamed, and saved in its entirety, so you can watch it anytime on our Facebook page. You may also find a link to sermon recordings on our Resources page. (Link to the sermon archive below)

  • Open and Affirming in simple terms means now matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome in our church, in worship, and in all ways! Here’s how our Welcoming Statement expresses it: “The Presque Isle Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, is an Open and Affirming congregation that embraces Jesus’ teaching about God’s love for every person. We, therefore, welcome persons of any age, race, culture, nationality, and religious background; all sexual orientations and gender identities; persons of any marital, educational, or financial status; regardless of physical and mental health or ability. All are invited into full participation in the life of our faith community. We accept with gratitude the beautiful diversity of God’s creation as we share God’s love in our community and beyond.”

  • (from our by-laws) “This Church acknowledges Jesus Christ as its head. Our polity shall be congregational; i.e., our government shall be vested in our members, which means our congregation makes its own decisions regarding its leadership, finances, and direction. Our members are literally owners of our assets: spiritual and material. As stake holders, we ask all our members to take seriously the work we share in carrying out our mission, and caring for each other.“

    Our church welcomes into membership any baptized Christian upon confession or reaffirmation of faith, or, who presents a letter of transfer from another Christian church.

Please note: Some of these questions are also answered on other pages, but repeated here for your convenience. We do encourage your deeper exploration of our website, that you may have more insight into questions of who we are, what we believe, and what we do. Our About page will certainly help to address those questions, including what “God is Still Speaking” (and the comma) means, and more about our Open and Affirming status.