What to Expect

If it has been some time since you’ve been in church, it might seem a bit intimidating to walk into a service for the first time.  We hope you will feel right at home with us.  Here is a basic rundown of what you would expect to encounter in our worship service.

Our worship service is a time for the whole “mosaic” community to be together to praise God, pray, listen to the message, and reflect.  It is our hope that the spirit of God would be present to bring a word of hope, encouragement, or challenge to each of us—each of us broken people, looking for encouragement and hope.  We are an informal church, and you may come as you are.  When you enter the front doors someone will be there to greet you and answer your questions.  If you have an infant or children they will tell you about the nursery and the children’s program.  You may keep your children with you in the entire service if you prefer.

You will be given a bulletin that will help you navigate through the service.  It will indicate the hymn and song numbers, Scripture passages, and any prayers and words that will be said together. 

Because we are a wonderful “motley crew”, our musical style is also diverse.  We sing old and new hymns, as well as songs from around the world. There is usually a “Children’s Opportunity” when the children come forward for a message just for them. After this message they are excused to their workshops.  They join us after the service downstairs, where we all have coffee, juice, and goodies.  On the first Sunday of the month we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, or communion.  All those who seek to follow the Lord Jesus are welcome to participate and be nourished for the journey.  Often after the Scripture reading and the sermon we have an opportunity to reflect on the theme of the day.  Sometimes we have the opportunity to respond in discussion, artwork, or song.

SEATTLE EARTH-KEEPERS PRESCHOOL

On December 2, 2019, Rainier Beach Presbyterian Church opened a new dynamic, inclusive, preschool centered on eliciting wonder, delight, and respect for the natural environment using urban farming, outdoor play, and cooking (using food grown on site). Earth and animal biology will be taught with stories, songs, play, and hands-on activities. A sunken boat-turned sandbox, a spring and summer garden, playhouses, tire climbing areas, jumping stumps, and other new playground features have been installed or are in process. A heavy art emphasis will encourage expressions of joy and delight.

When COVID hit, our preschool became an all-outdoor school (except on the rarest, coldest, stormiest occasion when it would be unsafe for us to be outside). We built a large platform deck with two huge tents in which our classroom can stay dry while being fully outside.

Our director, Natasha Pauw, who is a Seattle University graduate, a long-time preschool teacher and Boys and Girls Club Assistant Director, is passionate about the environment, marine biology, and art.

Although Seattle Earthkeepers is owned by the Rainier Beach Presbyterian Church, the preschool is non-religious and will not explicitly teach our faith. We will, however, operate with and honor our Christian values of inclusion, diversity, welcome to all-including LBGTQI and all other types of families, compassion, mercy, empathy, social justice, environmental stewardship, kindness, and the dignity of each person.

 Since our opening in 2019 our school has grown and we now employ three teachers. We have a waitlist, but are always sensitive to knowing when the time to grow again (and add a fourth teacher) comes. This depends on the length of the waitlist and the availability of new teachers.

We look forward to continuing to develop one of the best Preschools in the city, as an outreach and act of love to our Rainier Beach neighborhood. For updates and additional information, as well as hours, philosophy, and rates, visit the Seattle Earthkeepers Preschool website.

Baptism

We baptize believers and their children as a sign and a seal of God’s inclusion into the way of Jesus Christ and his community of followers, the Church.  We believe that God invites and includes us into this community even before we are old enough to know who God is, so we baptize children whose parents are part of the community.  We also baptize adults when they become members of the church, and ask them to commit themselves to the worship and ministry of this church.  Presbyterians usually sprinkle or pour water rather than immerse, but have been known to baptize in lakes or rivers if the whole community is present.

Communion (Lord’s Supper)

Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper on the night before he was arrested and went to his death as a sacrament of remembering and eating together.  When we take the bread and wine (or juice) at communion, we are remembering his broken body and poured out blood.  We know that just as the actual bread and wine nourish our bodies, Christ is nourishing our spirits and building us up in our faith, trust, and hope.  We use two alternating methods of serving communion: Coming forward and intincting (dipping bread into cup), or being served in our pews as the elements are passed in trays.  All who desire to follow Christ and be nourished by him are invited to participate.