Yes, absolutely! We are a diverse com­mu­nity where everyone is welcome. We regularly welcome newcomers, inquirers and visitors, many of whom are searching, wanting to discover ancient and unchanged Christianity, or just simply walking by the church building and coming in.

When you enter the church, please feel free to sit anywhere that you like. You can follow the Liturgy on the screens or with any of the Liturgy books provided. You may follow the text, or if you prefer, close your eyes and enter into the worship of the church at your own pace.

Father Shenouda is happy to sit with you in person or over the phone to answer your questions. Most important is how we can support you in your faith journey as part of our church community. 

Fol­low­ing the Divine Liturgy on Sundays, you are invited to join us for an "agape meal" – or meal of love –  which is a good time to grab some coffee, get to know our parish mem­bers and meet our priest. After the service, please stay and say hello, We would love to meet you. 

We ask everyone to dress modestly and respectfully, as we stand before the living God. Please avoid wearing shorts, mini-skirts, tank tops, or low-cut or strapless dresses (unless covered by a sweater, etc.). Men are asked not to wear hats inside the church, and women are encouraged to cover their heads with a scarf during prayers.

The traditional posture of worship and prayer is to stand before God. We have pews in the church for when people need to sit down based on their own personal and health needs. There are parts of the liturgy (such as the sermon) when everyone is invited to sit.

To receive Holy Communion in a Coptic Orthodox Church, one must be a baptised member in good standing of any of the the Oriental Orthodox Churches (Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Ethiopian, Indian or Eritrean Orthodox Churches). This is not a way to exclude people, but Holy Communion is the sacrament of the church that sustains baptism, so it is reserved for those that have been baptised into the Oriental Orthodox Church. If you are not a baptised member of these churches you are welcome to join us in receiving the Eulogia (blessed bread) from the priest at the end of the Divine Liturgy. Please feel free to ask the priest about any questions related to receiving Communion.  

Feel free to attend as little or as much of the service as you would like- go at your own pace. Vespers services held in the evenings are typically 30min long. Divine liturgies are usually 2-2.5 hours in length. For someone who hasn’t attended an Orthodox church before this may seem like a very long service, but once you begin participating regularly in the worship of the Church you will see the timeless and heavenly nature of the worship of the church. If you are preparing for baptism your priest will speak to you about how to prepare and attend these services more intentionally. 

A large proportion of our Liturgies involve congregational chanting. We do not use musical instruments apart from softly using the cymbals and triangle to keep musical time. A choir of chanters lead the congregation in harmonious chanting. Most of the hymns will be chanted in English. Our chants are reverent and prayerful and intended to bring us into deeper worship and prayer. 

Of course! We do not segregate services by age, we invite people of all ages to worship with us. Our Lord Jesus Christ said “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). We understand that children can become restless and loud, please do not let that be an obstacle. Children are full members of the church and their presence in the church is vital.