UK Perspective Required: Attending

[sjdean]

Alright,

Say, I have some free time on a Sunday, and let's say I want to go to one of the LDS Churches.

What do I do?

What do I wear? What time is it? Where do I go?

Such an imposing fear.

Bearing in mind Im in the UK, Im not sure if things are different over here.

Cheers

Simon

[Moksha]

Might be best to look up Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the phone book, give them a call and ask for the times, dates, etc....

Clothing usually includes wearing a tie for guys and dresses for women.

As far as an imposing fear, just relax. England is far enough away from Provo, Utah that there are bound to be smiling faces and kind people to greet you and show you around.

[skippy740]

Meetinghouse Locator

Use the above to find the meetinghouse nearest you.

Then find the ward (congregation) that is for your area. Then attend at the time listed.

(Of course, if you attend a different congregation at a different time & place, it'll be okay!)

[sjdean]

I know the one I want to attend (well I know of a couple actually), but for me there would be a huge fear. Im not good with new situations. Where do I park, do I ask for anyone, which door do I go into?

Is that right then in terms of dress code then? Shirt and tie?

I think I might do as you suggest Moksha and phone them first. I understand there are missionaries at each meeting, so I might be able to get them to meet me outside beforehand.

Cheers

Simon

[skippy740]

Here's what you do:

You go into the door that's open. Then you find the double-doors inside the building to enter the chapel.

You can wear whatever you want. But to be most comfortable, you should dress wear a shirt, tie, slacks, etc.

You don't NEED to ask for anyone, but you can ask for a program. Then take a seat anywhere you want in the pews (long benches).

There will be 2 pews in the front on the right or left that will have several young boys there that pass the sacrament. Don't sit there. Just avoid the first 2-3 rows from the front and you'll be fine.

Take a look around. Find others that you might know. They might come up to you, or you can be bold and go talk to them.

Arrive about 15 minutes early and you can listen to the prelude music before hand, flip through the hymn book, etc.

Sing with the congregation the hymn numbers as they sing. (If you don't want to, it's okay.)

Partaking of the Sacrament - this is an area that you have to ask yourself if you want to or not. The Sacrament is the renewing of our baptismal covenants. As a member of the Church it is a cleansing ordinance. As a non-member, you may partake of the sacrament to remember Christ. It is up to you to partake or not. No one will think anything of it if you do or don't.

People will say "Amen" after prayers, but not while anyone else is speaking. The Church is very much a learning environment, not a place to get "carried away" as other churches may practice.

After the meeting (when everyone else gets up), I would encourage you to introduce yourself to the person who conducted the meeting (the person who announces the flow of "who's going to do what/when"). They should be able to direct you to the next class for you during the "block". (The "block" is the 3 hour time frame of church meetings and classes.)

Don't worry about any church "lingo" you might hear. You know you're a member of the church when you go to a PEC meeting to discuss an objective of the CES system and later need to talk to someone about a PPI and encourage them to CTR. If they talk about a "Stake" center, think of it like a "stake" of a tent of Zion, not a "steakhouse" to order a prime rib. If you want some help in interpreting the "LDS" lingo, just find the congregation's missionaries and they'll be happy to "decode" anything that was mentioned.

I hope this helps!

[Palerider]

I was told once you wear your Sunday best to Church. If you have a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt and thats your sunday best...then thats what you wear.

[Moksha]

I think I might do as you suggest Moksha and phone them first. I understand there are missionaries at each meeting, so I might be able to get them to meet me outside beforehand.

Cheers

Simon

I'm sure if you call, they will be happy to meet you. Yeah, new situations can be scary but sometimes you just have to feel the fear and do it anyway. Fortunately this is one that can also be pleasant. :)

[WillowTheWhisp]

It might not be that they have Sacrament meeting first. We don't in our Ward. That could be a little confusing because people would be heading into their Priesthood/Relief Society classes first in that case and the question of where to go would be relevant.

If you arrive a little early and stand there looking lost I know that in our Ward someone would come up to you, shake hands and ask if you are a visitor. (Even visiting members from other areas would be unsure of where to go in the building.) Then if you replied that you are not a member but just wanted to attend then I know the very person who would guide you to the relevant room and introduce you to someone else in the class. They would then ensure that you knew where to go next after that class ended.

Yesterday we had visitors who actually used to be members of our Ward (in fact he used to be our Bishop) but we've changed round who is in what room and even they had to ask where to go for the first lessons.

Most people are really friendly and pleased to meet new members/visitors/investigators. If you see someone with a name tag on they will be especially helpful because they will be missionaries and geared up to helping new people feel welcome.

I've visited Wards in different parts of the country when on holiday and always felt very welcome, some Wards can be a bit overwhelming if they are big ones though. We've ended up being invited to beach barbeques and garden parties and even one time when I was on holiday with my late mother she had an accident and ended up in hospital there she got visits from Relief Society and a pot plant and she wasn't even a member.

I hope you enjoy your first visit. Do tell us about it.

[Aphrodite]

You are right Willow, we dont tend to have sacrament meeting first here. If this were me, sjdean, I might also ring ahead and ask the missionaries to meet me. If not, most wards have the missionaries and a member of the churches clergy 'on the door' to greet people. You can then do what Willow says, 'Im new here, can you tell me where to go first?' By the time you have arrived and made your prescence known Im pretty sure there will be many people willing to help you. What ward will you be attending, just out of curiosity??

[WillowTheWhisp]

What ward will you be attending, just out of curiosity??

I asked that in a PM too just in case he's anywhere near me or people I know.

[sjdean]

To keep it deliberately vague, Im going to say Solihull.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Solihull is the centre of the universe! lol, well it's where all the manuals come from anyway

[pushka]

sjdean..I recently returned to the LDS church after 26 years. I started off by ordering a copy of the BOM to be delivered to me by the Missionaries, via the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints website . They may take a few weeks to reach you if you do it that way tho, so it would probably be best to ring the Chapel on Tuesday evenings, between say 7pm and 9pm, as that is the night they usually have Youth activities going on..or anytime from around 9am till 10am on Sunday morning as there is normally a Ward Missionary meeting at that time, and other members are beginning to arrive at church for the 1st service anyway, so you're more likely to catch somebody to ask if they or the Missionaries will meet you outside the meeting house before the services begin.

Good Luck, I hope you enjoy your 1st meeting :)

[sjdean]

Thanks. I'll keep you all informed. I won't be going just yet. But hopefully in a few weeks. Im quite determined to give them all a shot. Including Church of England and Quakers. Just need to build myself upto it, without letting it slide.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Hey that sounds just like me. I went everywhere I could find. At one stage I was attending two churches every Sunday!

[lds9999]

Thanks. I'll keep you all informed. I won't be going just yet. But hopefully in a few weeks. Im quite determined to give them all a shot. Including Church of England and Quakers. Just need to build myself upto it, without letting it slide.

May the Lord bless you in your search for truth. My only suggestion would be not to hesitate to ask the missionaries any questions that you have about the service--they're happy to answer any questions!