Worship at GPMC – Grosse Pointe Memorial Church

Grosse Pointe Memorial Church uses the Reformed principles of worship for organizing its worship life. Basic to these principles is that worship stands at the heart of our communal life and that it is the most important thing we do together as a community of faith.

Atmosphere: Our worship services are family friendly, inter-generational gatherings where we have children’s sermons, worship kits, and children’s bulletins to help our youngest worshipers. Children 2nd grade and younger are invited to a special program entitled “Young Children and Worship” after the children’s sermon. There is no dress code for worship at GPMC; come as you are and know that we give thanks for your presence in worship.

Schedule of Services: From the third Sunday in September until the Sunday before Memorial Day weekend, worship services at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church are usually at 9:00 am and 11:00 am in the morning and at 5:00 pm in the afternoon. Christian Education for all ages is at 10:10. From the Sunday after Memorial Day to the first Sunday in September, our worship schedule switches to an outdoor, lakeside service on Trinity Terrace at 8:30 am, an indoor service at 10:30 am, and then back to Trinity Terrace for 5 pm.

There are exceptions to this schedule. There will be only one service at 10:30am. on May 24, November 29, and December 27, 2020.

Our 5:00 pm services: In recognition that Sunday mornings can be a difficult time for some members and friends to worship, GPMC has a 5:00 p.m. service of worship most Sunday afternoons. These services are 45 minutes long, informal in nature, and include more informal music than in the morning as well as the use of projected images and liturgy. They also include a children’s sermon, free childcare, and the same preaching text and sermon as the morning services.

Sermon & Service Videos

Children’s message at streaming service. 5:00pm worship is in-person at the lakeside. Preregistration is required to attend.

More About Our Worship...

Worship at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church is Christian worship: it is done in the name of the Triune God who created us, redeemed us through Jesus Christ, and who sustains us through the Holy Spirit. We believe this God is attested to by the Bible and revealed in the life of the community of faith, so both Scripture and our members are important elements to worship.

As part of what is called the Reformed family of faith, worship at GPMC is also Reformed worship. In the Reformed tradition, worship is centered around the Word of God revealed in Scripture, proclaimed in song and through the sermon, and enacted in baptism and communion. All else that we do is either in preparation to hear and see the Word of God or as a response to it.

Music, whether sung by the choir or the congregation, is always intended as an offering to God and not as a performance. The choir, using the primary instrument for music – the human voice – is cast in the role of lead singer for the entire congregation. For more information about Presbyterian and Reformed worship, please click Here.

One of the tools that we use to plan worship is a lectionary. A lectionary is a collection of readings from the Bible. For every Sunday of the year, the Revised Common Lectionary provides 4 readings from the Bible to be used in church: one general Old Testament reading, one psalm, one general New Testament reading, and one passage from a gospel.

It is a 3 year cycle. We usually read at least two of these aloud, with one of them serving as the text for the sermon. Grosse Pointe Memorial Church has been using this lectionary for a number of years. For more information about the Revised Common Lectionary, please click Here.

In addition to Sunday services, there are special services on:

Christmas Eve

Ash Wednesday

Maundy Thursday

Good Friday

Easter Sunday