Sunday, November 29, 2009

Okay, Maybe I Don't *Totally* Fail At Life - Editied Version

I went.

I saw.

I sneezed.

.
.
.
.
....

Um...apparently all the incense gives me a headache and sneezies.

Other than that, no disasters! :)

Unfortunately, the entire service was in Serbian(?) Slavonic(?) - not English. So I understood *nothing*.

The people were polite, no one stared, that I noticed. I didn't trip any old ladies accidentally, or trip over my own feet and take down an icon or anything.

Communion...I sort of didn't even realized it had happened, because only four people received. This is in retrospect. Now that I think about it, the thing at the very end, where everyone went up and took a piece of bread from a bowl and the priest blessed them (I think, again, not in English) was likely *not* Communion, as I assumed at the time, but just people taking blessed bread and getting a blessing. So...I could have gone up? But I thought it was the actual Communion, so I didn't.

It's a very small church. Very small. It was kind of weird not being crushed into a pew, but nice.

*Because* of the headache, I didn't hang around for the coffee hour. Plus, I don't drink coffee.

So. A success, all in all.

I enjoyed the service, it was very interesting. Just from what I've read and listened to (Ancient Faith Radio, for the win) I had a general idea of what was going on, generally. Still, understanding the language would have helped. :)

Oh, also, the Ukranian Catholic Church is right on the other corner from the Serbian Orthodox Church. *So* glad I got there early, because the church I drove by on Friday was actually the Ukranian church! I got there, and there was a fire truck and ambulance in the parking lot, and I circled, and realized that the church didn't quite look right, and then I saw the right church across the street!

Hah!

Edited to include stuff I left out earlier: I really left a lot out. Like, I thought it was neat that the church was set up with half chairs, half empty space. So the people who wanted to, and could, stand through the whole service had space. And those of us who wanted to be able to sit could do so out of their way. And how, even though it wound up being an hour and a half long, with most of it standing, you don't really realize it. How nice it was that no one was talking under/over the priest or the choir. No musical instruments! The whole service was chanted! The priest had a lovely, strong voice which was pleasant to listen to, even not knowing what was being said. Everyone was dressed nicely! Most of the men were wearing suits! Not a single tank top or pair of blue jeans! No flip flops either! 99% of the women wore skirts, and the ones who didn't were wearing nice slacks. The two women who received Communion covered their hair!

17 comments:

  1. Yay! I am so happy to hear you went! The bread-only at the end was blessed bread which you can take next time. :-) [Eat it carefully to keep all the crumbs.] Communion is with a spoon and chalice.

    You might want to take an allergy tab before going next time. Sometimes the priests like to mix up which types of incense they use. Or not. Just be on the safe side.

    Next step might be to email the priest to see if he has a "cheat sheet" or "little black book" of the Divine liturgy you can use to follow along. And introduce yourself. Coffee hour is not necessarily only coffee so stick around next time if you are up to it. :D

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  2. There are a lot of russian orthodox in my neighborhood. I've been thinking about going to a service just to check it out.

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  3. incense makes my asthma go haywire LOL. I hope it didnt bother you too much.

    Im glad you enjoyed your experience.

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  4. I'm glad you went! What an interesting experience. Too bad it wasn't in a language that you can understand... It wouldn't be easy to be part of this Church for sure when you can't understand the sermon...
    A lot of Muslims do it though. They normally have the sermon in Arabic at my local mosque. For me, to pray in congregation is enough of a reason to want to attend Friday prayer so it can be the same for you in this church maybe.

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  5. Comments about older posts of yours:

    Love the snoods!!! But how do you keep them from shooting off of your head? I have to wear a high ponytail and then jab a hijab pin through the snood and the base of the ponytail in order to keep mine on my head.

    About the failing at life: perhaps because you're right in the middle of searching for your spiritual home... and you feel adrift at sea somewhat? These kinds of things can make a person feel insecure and edgy and not happy. I hope you find your church soon!!

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  6. There was a Ukranian Catholic church in the town I lived in back home before getting married but I was TOO SHY to go inside. **Sigh** If only I had been then what I am now ~ I would have marched in and loved it!

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  7. Yay, you went! Oh, I'm not an incense person at all! I can understand why you are sneezing. LOL at all your strikeouts before you finally settle on "not English." :-) It was great reading about your experience.

    Oh, and it's no wonder I didn't recognize those stairs if they are from Titanic. Never seen that movie. Unbelievable, I know, but I am weird like that.

    Been to Syria, but never watched Titanic. Go figure.

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  8. Anna,

    I'm very happy I went as well.

    Yeah, I figured out the bread thing half way home, sort of a 'duh' moment. Really, what threw me was that so few people received Communion. I know the requirements are different in Orthodoxy, but I'm just so used to the few being the people not receiving, and most people taking Communion.

    The incense also caught me by surprise. It's never bothered me before, but I think I underestimated the difference in volume. They use a lot less incense in Catholic services. Allergy tab for the next time, for sure.

    That's a good suggestion, thanks. But it's going to be a while before I can go again. I'm not even sure when the next 'school break' is.

    :) I know, it was really the headache. Right now the church only has the one building (they're still building their new church) so coffee hour is held in the same building as the services. They were opening the windows, but there was still a lot of incense lingering. And the thing is, I like the smell, it was just too much. :(

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  9. Stacy,

    I'd say go if you get the chance. It's interesting, and very different from anything I'd ever seen before.

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  10. LK,

    Not too bad. Once I got out and into fresh air, it got better. Really it was just the headache.

    My dogs thought I'd been someplace exciting though. :)

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  11. Candice,

    It was very nice. Looking back over the post, I feel like I complained, but really, I enjoyed myself.

    The language...*sigh* I admit it's kind of a problem. I expected, going in, that the prayers would be in the native tongue. I'd garnered that much from my studies. But even the homily was in 'not English'. So I miss whatever lesson is being taught.

    I'm going to keep looking around, and maybe admit that, should I choose to convert, I'm going to have to drive out of town for Sunday service. I think that there's another Orthodox church in the next town north, and I'm pretty sure they're OCA (which to me, means they'll speak English). I don't begrudge people their native tongues (I'm not one of those, 'you're in America, speak English!' people), but the fact is, I don't speak it. It's just farther than I really wanted to drive, but should it come to it, that's probably be the best option.

    *sheesh* Listen to me whine... *shakes head at self* I have options, but they're not 'convenient'. :p

    If I make the decision to become Orthodox, I'll have to make up my mind then.

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  12. Michelle,

    Thanks! Um...the two I just bought just sort of...stay. I don't have to do anything to them. They do migrate a little during the day - they start off covering down to the bottom of my ears, and wind up in the middle, but that's just from the movement of my jaw (I talk a lot). I haven't had any trouble with them sliding back off my head.

    Now, my other snoods, yeah. I have issues with them sliding. Two of them have cords that I use to tie them around my tiny little pony tails (it's easier with longer hair). The others I just wear with my ears out, and use little barrettes to clip them to the hair right above my ears. That works.

    Hmm...you may be right. Or at least that's probably a contributing factor.

    Thank you, I hope I figure it out soon too. The nice thing though, is I know I only have two choices. I've at least moved forward from where I was before. :)

    'There was a Ukranian Catholic church in the town I lived in back home before getting married but I was TOO SHY to go inside. **Sigh** If only I had been then what I am now ~ I would have marched in and loved it!'

    Now there's something I have trouble picturing. You, too shy to do something you want to do. :)

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  13. Susanne,

    Yay! It was a happy thing! I actually went to bed the night before and said, 'right, if You really want me to go, let me know'. And I woke up Sunday morning and I wasn't nervous about it any more. So, I went.

    I actually *like* incense, I used to burn it all the time. (I moved to scented candles because Dad's afraid I'll accidentally burn the house down somehow.) It's was just *more* incense than I'm used to, in a fairly small, closed space. I totally wasn't the only person sneezing. :)

    Heh. I couldn't decide what they were speaking! Just...'not English'. Or German. I could rule out German. :)

    I really left a lot out. Like, I thought it was neat that the church was set up with half chairs, half empty space. So the people who wanted to, and could, stand through the whole service had space. And those of us who wanted to be able to sit could do so out of their way. And how, even though it wound up being an hour and a half long, with most of it standing, you don't really realize it. How nice it was that no one was talking under/over the priest or the choir. No musical instruments! The whole service was chanted! The priest had a lovely, strong voice which was pleasant to listen to, even not knowing what was being said. Everyone was dressed nicely! Not a single tank top or pair of blue jeans! 99% of the women wore skirts, and the ones who didn't were wearing slacks. The two women who received Communion covered their hair!

    Okay, screw it. I'm gonna go paste that all into the original post. No one's going to see it, but whatever. I want it to be there too.

    *rolls eyes* You live a weird life. ;)

    Those stairs were on the real Titanic too, fwiw. Gorgeous.

    You should see Titanic. As long as you don't mind knowing how it ends.

    P.S.: The boat sinks.

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  14. Hurray! I'm glad that you went, and that you had a pretty good time. Hopefully if you go back it gets even better now that you know more what to expect and have started to figure things out.

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  15. OK your explanation of the service makes me really want to go to one now.

    Wow people NOT talking during a service.. amazing :)

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  16. Sanil,

    Thanks! :)

    It'll be a bit before I have another 'free' day, and then I'll decide whether to go back to the Serbian church or drive to the next town.

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  17. LK,

    Oh good. :)

    Yeah, I know. I was sitting there, and just...silence.

    Respectful, worshipful silence. What a concept! :)

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