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How to read the Bible
The Bible is a mixture of stories, histories, legends, parables, poetry and politics. The early stories were orally transmitted by and for a stone-age population with a primitive religious background. Even many of the later stories were told by people who could neither read nor count.  Consider that the youngest stories in the Bible are about two thousand years old and have been translated many times.  By realizing that it is even often difficult to translate the English language from Shakespeare’s time into understandable modern English it is to be expected that translation errors have occurred and still occur in such a complicated book as the Bible. Yet we see all these writings as inspired by God and we believe they have been passed down to us as a learning tool.  The task then is to study the stories and put them in perspective to find truth and meaning for life in the 21^st century. That is not as difficult as it appears.  Bible stories are human stories, and humanity does not change. Joy and suffering, hope and despair – God is with us always.

Sunday Worship Service
The First Church in Albany conducts a conservative style service with a contemporary message. A bulletin is given with the entire service listed. A star next to an item means that we stand up. Just look around you and stand and sit as the regulars do. 
A typical service starts with announcements. After that we are silent for about a minute to quiet down our hearts. This is followed by a simple hymn.
Then we confess our sins together (from the bulletin) and hear that we are forgiven. Usually another hymn and after that we greet each other, getting out of the pews.
We sing another hymn before the two readings from the Bible, a hymn by the choir and often a short children’s sermon. Often the kids leave for their own service after the congregation blesses them.  The sermon is followed by a hymn, a collection while the choir sings, then prayers and another hymn.  All the singing is accompanied by organ music. (Mary Bon is a great organist.)
Most worship services last between an hour and an hour and 20 minutes.

Holy Communion is served on the first Sunday of the month.  Everyone who believes in God is invited to join.

Inquirers Class:
At least once a year First Church conducts a series of approximately 6 informal lunch meetings for people seeking full membership at The First Church in Albany. Background information is given and questions can be asked about both protestant religion in general and First Church in particular.  These sessions are also open to established church members and to seekers not yet ready to commit to membership.

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Translating Church Lingo
The Christian Church is a 2000 year old institution. A lot of the words used today are so old fashioned that visitors have a hard time understanding what is meant. If there are words missing on this list, let us know so that they can be added; we aim to please!

Sanctuary: holy place, the large assembly hall for worshipping God.

Narthex: entrance hall leading into the Sanctuary.

Chancel: the area above the steps, in front of the church, where the pulpit and lectern are.

Pulpit: stand used by the minister for preaching.

Lectern:  stand for readings and announcements other then the sermon.

Chapel:  Small sanctuary. At First Church we have James Chapel (named after a previous pastor), often used for smaller weddings and funerals.

Fellowship hall:  All purpose room, for meetings, coffee hour, class room etc. The fellowship hall at First Church is called Zimmerman Hall. It is located downstairs.

Pastor: A Christian minister in charge of a congregation.

Congregation: All the members of a particular church.

Elders: Elected members of the church who support the pastor and church members in spiritual matters.

Deacons: Elected members of the congregation, who are in charge of helping people in need (not only church members)

Consistory: Board of senior pastor, elders and deacons.

Trustees: FCA is rather unique (though not alone)  in church structure that is has a special group of members elected to take care of financial matters as it pertains to church administration and building upkeep.

Joint board:  Consistory and trustees together.

Congregational Meeting: a business meeting open to all church members. It meets at least twice a year to approve new policy and the budget and to elect new elders, deacons and trustees.

Denomination: A religious grouping within a faith that has its own system of organization. First Church belongs to the Reformed Church in America (RCA). This means that we worship according to standards set by the RCA.

Others examples of denominations are: Presbyterian Church, United Church of Christ, Baptist Church, Assemblies of God, etc.  

Classis: A group of local churches of the same denomination working together and holding each other accountable.

Synod (Regional): a group of local classis working together.

Synod (National): all the regional synods working together. Meets once a year and sets the denominational standards.

Sexton:  Church custodian.

Sacraments: Protestant churches have two sacraments: Baptism and Communion.

Baptism: A sacrament where an infant or adult is sprinkled with water, symbolizing purification of the person and acceptance into the Christian faith.

Communion:  A sacrament that reminds us of the last meal that Jesus had with his disciples before his crucifixion. The bread that we eat and the wine (grape juice) that we drink are the symbols of Jesus life that He offered for us.

Creed (Apostles’, Nicene, Athanasian): Formal summaries of the principles of the Christian faith.

Credo: A personal statement of principles or beliefs, especially one that is professed formally.

Confession: (Heidelberg, Belhar,) similar to a creed but more specific to particular denominations.

Doxology: Song of Praise to God. 

Epiphany:  1. The appearance or manifestation of God.  
                  2. A moment of sudden intuitive  understanding.

Saints: all church members, even though we also realize that we are all sinners!