Spiritual Formation
We believe that Christian life is a joyful, communal experience, with continued growth leading to continued flourishing for us and the world around us.
As a church, we value community & spiritual formation and are committed to establishing practices that help us grow together into a flourishing life in Christ. As such, a variety of spiritual formation practices shape our life together.
Worshipping together on Sundays is the crux of our life together. Each week, we gather to sing, pray, hear the Word, and share in communion. This prepares us to go out into the world to love and serve the Lord in the week to come.
Common Worship
Porch Groups are the primary way to be involved at St. John’s outside of Sunday worship. Throughout the week, groups gather across the Delaware Valley to study the Bible, pray, and, often, share a meal or dessert.
Porch Groups
We do offer Christian Education to our Adults on every Sunday. All classes start at 9:15am, before the Worship Service.
Sunday Adult Christian Education
An eloquent summary of our approach to spiritual formation:
“To be human is to be animated and oriented by some vision of the good life, some picture of what we think counts as ‘flourishing’. And we want that. We crave it. We desire it. This is why our most fundamental mode of orientation to the world is love… Now why is all of this important for our project of sketching an alternative model of the human person? Because if you are what you love and if love is a virtue, then love is a habit. This means that our most fundamental orientation to the world - the longings and desires that orient us toward some version of the good life - is shaped and configured by imitation and practice. This has important implications for how we approach Christian formation and discipleship… In short, if you are what you love, and love is a habit, then discipleship is a re-habituation of your loves.” ~ James K.A. Smith, You Are What You Love
Foundations / Discipleship
The main way God speaks to us is through his Word, so we study it together. As a church, we are committed to prayerfully and regularly reading the Bible with one another. If you would like to follow the readings of the church calendar, please find the daily office here. Each semester we have new bible studies covering specific books of the bible as well
Reading the Bible Together
Foundations
(This will be offered at a later date.)
Leaders: GLC Pastors & Teachers
When: TBD
Where: GLC Chapel
Foundations explores three crucial questions for every Christian: What do we believe? How do we pray? How do we live? It draws on the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments to guide us and ground our faith. Foundations is open to anyone desiring to grow in their faith, even if they do not necessarily intend to become members of GLC. It is, however, a prerequisite for membership, as well as baptism, parents of infants being baptized, marriage, confirmation, reaffirmation of one’s Christian faith, and certain leadership positions at GLC. Adults only. Contact our pastor for more information or if you desire to take Foundations.
Each day is a new opportunity to present our cares before God and to hear from Him. We encourage everyone to find ways to incorporate prayer into their daily lives. If you would find a liturgy helpful in guiding your prayers, we recommend using the Book of Common Prayer, or this short liturgy that we use in our Community Groups (LINK).
Morning & Evening Prayer
Throughout Scripture, it is clear that the world flourishes most when the Gospel is faithfully lived out. At GLC, we believe that one of the most critical ways the Gospel can be lived out is through serving the world. This happens on Sundays, in our services, serving one another through various ministries. This happens in our Community Groups, as groups unite around different visions to serve their neighborhoods. And this happens intentionally in our missional approach to a lived out faith: serving through the local 3 C’s ministry, Easterseals, NALC disaster relief, our annual mission trip, and other seasonal donation drives or service projects as they come.
Serving Others
Each week, we pause to rest from our work and to remember that we are creatures in need of rest. We rest together in worship of our creator and savior, and go out to sabbath in what way feels most restful to us all, uniquely.
Sabbath
Each Sunday we offer either a meal or vittles and beverage following our worship service. This is a wonderful time of fellowship, and it’s a great way to meet and mingle especially if you are new to our Church. Everyone is welcome! Upcoming meals include:
Dec 2024 - Eastern Europe: Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Estonia
Jan 2025 - Quiches & Other Egg Extravaganzas
Feb 2025 - Souper Sunday
Mar 2025 - Chili Cook Off
Apr 2025 - Pacific Rim: Philippines/Thailand/Japan
May 2025 - South American Specialties
Jun 2025 - Parish Picnic
Potluck Meals
We gather together once a year as a whole church to set aside time away from the bustle of life and to seek the Lord's presence in community. We rest together, learn together, and worship together. Additionally, different ministries (men's and women's ministry, Community Groups, etc.) will gather together to do the same throughout the year.
Retreat
Contact Us
We want to hear from you.
Church Mailing Address: P.O. Box 104, Greenford Ohio 44422
Church Physical Location: 7450 West South Range Road, Salem, Ohio 44460
Church Phone: (330) 533-5324
Church Office Email: greenford.lutheranchurch@gmail.com