Our "Typical" Sunday Morning Schedule
8:45am Choir rehearsal
9:00am Nursery Opens
9:15am Sunday School classes meet
10:30am Worship Service
(Children's church pre-K thru 5th grade)
11:30am Karen Language Worship (Library)
11:30am Coffee Fellowship
11:40am 2nd Sunday Choir rehearsal
We worship on Sunday mornings at 10:30am. Parking spaces for people with physical disabilities are reserved on the north side of the building (Clayton Road side) in the upper parking lot. For those parking in the lower lots, there is a set of stairs as you enter the building.
As you enter the Narthex (entry hall) you will see a Welcome Center and someone to greet you and answer any questions you might have.
Church School
Our Sunday classes begin at 9:15am and conclude by 10:20am. The Educational Wing of the building contains all of our educational classrooms and our nursery. We have two classes for adults, a class for youth, and classes for younger children. Classes are always lively, engaging, and thought-provoking. There are no rote answers at Second Baptist Church!
Nursery, Children's Classes, Children's Church
The nursery is open for infants and toddlers from 9:00am through the conclusion of the worship hour.
Older children will go with you into the sanctuary. Usually, we have a children’s conversation in the worship service where the children go to the front of the church. Then, elementary-aged children are lead out for Children’s Church. We have an able team of gifted volunteer educators who serve the needs of our children. We care very much for their safety and security and for their spiritual well-being.
Sanctuary of the Beatitudes
Our worship service occurs in an inspired place, the Sanctuary of the Beatitudes - adorned with windows depicting the message of the Beatitudes created by the renowned St. Louis artist, Siegfried Reinhardt and produced by Emil Frei. There is a description of each of the windows in the sanctuary. You will likely be drawn into their dramatic and expressive rendering of the life of Jesus and his core, revolutionary teachings.
Designed by the famous contemporary architect Frederick Dunn, the two-story ceiling of the Sanctuary has remarkable, near-perfect acoustics. The inside walls feature Dunn's trademark “Chicago common brick” that gives the sanctuary its earth-tone warmth.
Within the sanctuary and its simple, mid-century contemporary lines, you will note the role of music in our services. Listening to our choir and others share their love in music is a highlight. We have two new Yamaha grand pianos, one in the rear choir loft and one in the chancel. The historic Gale-Blewett Memorial Organ is one of the extraordinary organs in St. Louis and has followed our congregation in three buildings since it was built for us by the highly regarded Odell Organ Company in 1879 and rebuilt by the Moeller company in 1941.
If you'd like to tour our facility, ask the host at the Welcome Center in the narthex to arrange.
Our Worship Service
The worship hour is a combination of relaxed and formal elements. You will experience a time of personal greeting, the role that children and youth often play, and the time of sharing of concerns and celebrations by individuals in the congregation during the season of prayer. Members of our congregation give leadership as they participate in our worship service every Sunday morning.
We strive for a high level of excellence in our worship services, from the preaching, to the music, to the design of the worship service. Each of our worship services is carefully crafted to create the desired worship experience.
We serve the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion on the first Sunday of every month. Everyone is welcome to receive it; our church has practiced open communion for over a century and a half.
At the close of our worship in the Narthex, you will be invited to enjoy coffee fellowship with us. You will meet a number of our people and find that engaging with them is natural and easy.
We do not know if we are the church that will fit your specific needs, but we are a community of faith that finds hope in Jesus and joy in each other. Feel free to join us any Sunday morning. You can see the upcoming sermon topic and worship theme by going to the current newsletter on this website.
Welcome to Second Baptist Church of St. Louis!