Come Worship With Us

Anyone is welcome to attend any and all services. It is highly recommended to attend Vespers as an introduction to the Orthodox Church. Vespers are normally held on Wednesdays and Saturdays weekly.

Vespers. Vespers is an evening service which begins the new day (the new day begins liturgically at sundown). The service integrates psalms, prayers, occasional Old Testament readings, and hymnology related to the particular day in worship to God.

Orthros. Orthros is a morning service before the Divine Liturgy. Like Vespers, it integrates psalms, prayers, a Gospel reading, and hymnology related to the particular day in worship to God. The ending of the Orthros service flows into the beginning of the Divine Liturgy.

The Divine Liturgy. The Divine Liturgy is the focal point of the week for Orthodox. On Sundays, the Liturgy has the Resurrection as its theme. It contains prayers, hymnology, Epistle and Gospel readings, and a homily. In the Divine Liturgy, heaven and earth come together. The purpose of the Divine Liturgy is for the faithful to ascend to God and for the God to descend to us in the gifts of bread and wine that are offered to become the Body and Blood of the Lord. The height of the Divine Liturgy is the communion in the reception of the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of the Lord.

On first attending an Orthodox service, don't be afraid to make a "mistake" or to not know what to do. Offering yourself to God in His Church is enough. You are not obligated to do what you are not comfortable doing! If you wish, a person may participate in what the Orthodox Christians in the parish are doing except for receiving Holy Communion. Communion is restricted to Orthodox Christians who have prepared themselves properly through prayer and fasting.

The normal position for worship in the Orthodox Church is standing. If you are unable to stand the whole time, that is fine. You are asked to stand at the following times during the Divine Liturgy: For the Gospel reading; During the Anaphora; and during Communion.

Orthodox Christians offer honor and love to God for His actions and His Saints represented in icons by blessing themselves with the sign of the cross and kissing them. If you are uncomfortable with this, you do not have to do this.

Do your best! We are not hear to judge you based on what you wear! If you would be so kind, dress as respectfully as you can. Below is what is expected of Orthodox Christians in dressing for Church:

Proper Orthodox dress is modest and respectful of our brothers and sisters in Christ and in reverence for encountering the Holy God in His Holy place. While God is everywhere and loves us in our sinful condition, when we come to Church, we are to pay special attention to what we have come to Church to participate in and of our presence before Him. Therefore, we should take care to not be too casual in our dress. As an analogy, we may dress a certain way when we are at home with family. However, if we have a special family occasion such as a wedding, we dress according to the event to honor what is being celebrated.

Childcare in the Orthodox church is bringing one's children to the services and teaching them how to worship God. A certain amount of child noises is expected from time to time throughout the services. For loud outbursts, in consideration of others, for good order, and for their own sake, children sometimes need to take a break during services and go out of the Church for a brief time as they are learning to pray, sing, and worship God while controlling their impulses (in many ways, no different than adults!). Often, parents will have to go in and out of the services while training their little ones. In addition, at St. Andrew's there is a balcony area that serves as a "cry room" if needed.

Since Orthodox Christians fast from food and drink after midnight to receive Communion, a Coffee Hour follows after the Divine Liturgy. In addition, this follows a custom in the early Church of sharing an Agape ("love") meal with one another. During the school year, there is also Sunday School during this time for PreK through High School. If you come to Liturgy, please join us!