Your First Visit
If you are planning to visit us for the first time, welcome. We're glad you're coming. This page is meant to answer a few of the practical questions that keep people from walking through the door, and to help you feel a little less lost once you do.
Come as you are. There is no dress code. Most of us wear what you'd wear to a family dinner with people you respect — nothing formal, nothing showy, just thoughtful and modest. If you want to wear your Sunday best, wonderful; if you're coming off the ranch or out of the truck, also wonderful. You will see some people wearing headscarves during the service — this is a traditional Orthodox practice, but not expected of anyone, and visitors are welcome to cover or not, as they prefer.
The Divine Liturgy runs about two hours. Orthodox worship is different from what you may be used to. It is sung rather than spoken, it engages all the senses — incense, chant, icons, candlelight — and much of it happens without announcement. You do not need to know what is going on to participate. Simply being present, attentive, and open is enough.
We stand for much of the service, though benches are available along the walls for anyone who needs them. No one will notice or mind if you sit.
You are not expected to cross yourself, bow, or venerate icons. These are things Orthodox Christians do as natural expressions of our faith; visitors are welcome to join in or simply observe. Nothing is required.
Children are welcome — including restless, whispering, wandering children. A child's presence in the church is a gift, not a disturbance. Please do not feel you need to remove a fussy child on our account.
About communion. The Eucharist in the Orthodox Church is reserved for Orthodox Christians who have prepared through prayer, fasting, and recent confession. This is not a judgment on anyone; it reflects a particular understanding of what communion is and what it means. After communion, however, a table of antidoron — blessed bread — is offered to everyone. Please do take a piece. It is a sign of fellowship, and it is genuinely for you.
Stay for the meal. We share a trapeza — a simple fellowship meal — in the hall after Liturgy. This is where most of the real conversation happens, and it's the best way to meet the community. You are our guest; please don't feel obliged to bring anything.
Questions before you come? You can reach Priest John by phone, text, or the contact form, and he is glad to talk with anyone — about logistics, about the faith, or about nothing in particular.
Further reading
For a longer, more vivid introduction to what a first visit feels like, we warmly recommend Frederica Mathewes-Green's classic essay First Visit to an Orthodox Church: Twelve Things I Wish I'd Known. It is honest, funny, and still the best thing written on the subject.