There are many ways to participate at LCOS, including music, worship planning, fellowship events, children’s activities, and more. Get in touch with the church office and we can put you in contact with a ministry leader.
Worship & Music Ministries
Worship & Music Team
This team works with the pastor and music director in the planning, supervision, and support of the congregation’s worship. They plan for each liturgical season, helping envision our worship services and practices during Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, among other seasons and holidays.
Altar Guild
This team helps prepare our sanctuary for worship each week. They set up and clean up our supplies for Holy Communion, as well as arrange the paraments (colored cloths on the altar and pulpit) and banners for each season.
Worship Stewards
Serving as a worship steward on Sunday mornings is a great way to enhance your worship experience and feel the power of the Holy Spirit within you. Worship stewards are vital to the flow of our worship and are not difficult to learn. Positions include: ushers, greeters, communion assistants, assisting ministers, acolytes, and crucifers (cross bearers). Children and youth are especially invited to serve in our acolyte and crucifer positions.
Voice Choir
Open to all adults and youth of any age who love to sing, the choir at LCOS performs during the Sunday worship two or three times per month. The choir sings a variety of songs from traditional hymns to African American spirituals and global music in foreign languages. The choir also participates in our large Christmas and Easter celebrations. Soloists, ensembles, and smaller groups also contribute to our worship services, especially in the summer. Choir meets on Wednesday nights 7:00–8:30 p.m.
Bell Choir
Open to adults and youth of any age and musical ability, the bell choir plays English handbells and offers a musical arrangement one Sunday a month during worship. Members do not need to be able to read music, and each person plays only two to three bells at a time. The Bell Choir practices on Tuesday evenings 7:15–8:30 p.m.
The Ensemble & Instrumentalists
This small group offers more modern-influenced music and vocal arrangements in worship. Most of these singers learn by ear and add their own harmonies. The Ensemble practices before choir at 6:30 p.m. on some Wednesdays.
If you play an instrument, there are many ways you can share your gifts with the congregation. We welcome anyone who would like to play a solo or would like to help provide additional accompaniment for our hymns or other music.
Children
Our young worshipers receive musical instruction during Sunday School. They may learn how to sing a song, accompany the choir, ring hand chimes, or have fun drumming along with percussion instruments.
Discipleship Ministries
Outreach
This team provides the congregation with ways to live the ELCA slogan: “God’s work. Our hands.” This is accomplished through various community projects such as participation in local food banks, serving food to the homeless community of Richmond, and making donations to needy families during Christmas and Thanksgiving. They also give monetary support to Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Alliance for Social Ministry (CCHASM), which provides various services to those in need in the local area.
For more information about the organizations we support, click here.
Fellowship
Our members value a close atmosphere of caring at LCOS, and the Fellowship Team plans and carries out events throughout the year in order to foster that caring atmosphere while strengthening the bonds of fellowship within the congregation. They have hosted events like Oktoberfest, Fabulous Fifties Night, Ladies Brunch & Ornament Exchange, as well as trips to local Richmond sites.
Evangelism
If the pastor is the “shepherd” of LCOS, then the Evangelism Team can be thought of as the “sheepdogs” of our flock. The Evangelism Team helps the pastor keep members in the flock by encouraging them to become engaged in the ministries of our church. This team assists in greeting new members, visiting shut-ins, and contacting current members. They help assess people’s spiritual needs and gifts, and suggest options available at LCOS that can meet those spiritual needs.
Stewardship
This team encourages members to support the ministries of the congregation, the Virginia Synod, and the churchwide ELCA with their monetary donations. This team also gathers information regarding the God-given talents we have been blessed with, and calls us to use these talents in service, as thanks to our God. Click here to fill out our Time & Talent Form.
Children, Youth, & Young Family Ministries
Family Faith & Fellowship
Our reimagining of Sunday School, begun during the pandemic, is for all families with children, from preschool through elementary aged. We gather twice a month after worship, usually on the 1st and 3rd Sundays, during the school year.
Each session begins with a small snack, followed by a large group opening worship time with songs and celebration where the day’s lesson will be introduced. After the whole group opening, we break off into smaller groups where families are involved in activities that apply to that day’s lesson.
Check our calendar for upcoming dates. We can’t wait to see you!
Vacation Bible School
VBS is hosted every summer for children age 3 through 5th grade. Come for evenings of Bible stories, songs, and crafts that play around a Biblical character or theme.
VBS 2023: Monday evenings in July and August. Register here.
LCOS Young Families
This group consists of parents of small children, typically babies through elementary school. The families gather a few times a year for potlucks, paint nights, game nights, moms’ events—even breadmaking!—all while childcare is provided. The fellowship provides parents with the opportunity to know each other and strengthen relationships among this growing community.
S.O.F.T. (Sharing Our Faith Together)
An intergenerational class for middle schoolers through adults. Through hands-on activities and conversation, everyone is sure to grow in faith! This class generally meets on the first Sunday of each month during the school year.
Men's & Women's Ministries
KB Men's Group
This group normally meets on the third Saturday of each month for breakfast at a pre-disclosed local restaurant for fellowship. Open to all LCOS men, both new and longtime members, who are looking to connect with the church and build friendships with each other.
Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (WELCA)
WELCA is an organization that welcomes all women of the church. During the year, they work on completing projects to help provide for those in need. They are active participants in the Richmond Conference, Virginia Synodical Women’s Organization (VSWO), and Women of the ELCA. As a community of women created in the image of God, called to discipleship in Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, they commit themselves to grow in faith, affirm their gifts, support on another in their calls, engage in ministry and action, and promote healing and wholeness in the church, the society, and the world.
Esther Circle
This group normally meets on the third Saturday of each month for breakfast and fellowship. Topics derived from the VSWO and WELCA publications, as well as topics concerning women and current events, are studied and discussed. This group also coordinates projects within and outside of the congregation, such as making Christmas ornaments for children and organizing a dessert buffet at a local elementary school for Teacher Appreciation Week.
Other Ministries
Church Council
The Congregational (“Church”) Council oversees the life and activities of this congregation, in particular ensuring that its worship life is done in accordance with the Word of God and the faith and practice of the ELCA. The Council is responsible for the financial and property matters of this congregation. Serving on Council is usually for a three-year term. Click here for current members and meeting summaries.
Property
This team arranges for the proper maintenance, renovation, and replacement of all physical congregational property. They also organize work days throughout the year (members of all ages are encouraged to participate!) and work with Council to plan for major property improvements.
Ties that Bind
LCOS members of all ages come together to make quilts for those in need, cutting, sewing, stuffing, and tying quilts throughout the year. Members are encouraged to invite guests to join in. All finished quilts are donated to Lutheran World Relief or local charities in the Richmond area.
Prayer Shawls
LCOS members faithfully knit and/or crochet prayer shawls throughout the year. These shawls are blessed during worship 2-3 times a year, and are then available to give to someone in need of a little extra love, peace of mind, and comfort.
Annual Craft Fair
Held on a Saturday in late October-early November, handiwork, artwork, and baked goods made by LCOS members are sold to the local community. With the generous support of our community, we have raised over $86,000 since 1999! These proceeds have been distributed to many organizations in Chesterfield, Virginia and around the world, including Lutheran Disaster Response, ELCA World Hunger, Heifer International, Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Alliance for Social Ministry (CCHASM), and Richmond Friends of the Homeless.
Memorials
This team works with memorial gifts, or donations made in memory of a member who has died. They write thank-you notes to donors and decide on the distribution of the monetary gifts. They are also responsible for approving all special memorial gifts that are non-monetary in nature.
Mutual Ministry
This team is a conferring and consulting team whose primary function is to aid the pastor in effective congregational ministry. They provide spiritual support to the pastor, offering creative suggestions and helpful assessment to make sure our congregation stays healthy and thriving.
The Giving Tree Preschool
The Giving Tree Preschool is a Christian, half-day school and a ministry of Lutheran Church of Our Saviour that has been educating children since 1992.
For information regarding the preschool program, click here.