I’m New
What can I expect?
You might have seen on our website that we are “missional, multi-ethnic and monastic.”
Because we are missional, a church for the world, many of us are new to church…so if you aren’t sure what to do, you can relax. Chances are pretty good that the person next to you doesn’t either.
We are multi-ethnic. When you come into a worship service at St. Jude’s, two-thirds of the people will probably not look like you. Generally that makes people a bit uncomfortable. Since God loves everyone, we believe that the day is long past that Sunday should be the last segregated day in America. So your first impression will probably be “I don’t think I fit here.” Don’t worry! We were all uncomfortable once too. We joke that at St. Jude’s we are learning to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Finally, we are monastic. Although we generally have a Protestant understanding of theology, we follow the pattern of worship celebrated by the earliest Christians. Our Sunday service is probably a bit different from other churches you have been to. When people ask us “what kind of a church” we are, we joke that we are “black-catholi-gelical.” (You can probably tell from all the jokes that, although we are very serious about God, we don’t take ourselves too seriously.)
Our music is usually a blend of contemporary Christian, gospel, ancient hymns and hip-hop. We read from the Bible, someone preaches on the reading and then we respond to God with prayers, greating, the offering of our lives and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, which is called “the Eucharist”- an ancient Greek word for “Thanksgiving.” Anyone who is a baptized Christian is welcomed to partake with us!
How do I know what to do?
Some people will raise their hands. Some will cross themselves. Some will kneel. Some will bow. Some won’t do any of those things. You are free to worship your way. Those who have come before us have a saying, “All may, none must, some should.” Be free. No one is looking…except to welcome you!
Why do you all do that stuff?
You may have noticed that we live in a world of consumers. We have consumed so much for so long that we know longer know what we need, only what we want…and, over the long haul, we think that catering to our preferences does not satisfy the longing of the human soul both upward to God and outward toward true community. The ancient liturgy focuses our hearts upward, on God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Sunday liturgy and daily prayer and Scripture reading are about surrendering our lives to the Father and allowing the Holy Spirit to remake our desires and transform us into the image of his Son, Jesus Christ.