Christ the Good Shepherd

 

Welcome to Saint Demetrios!

If you are interested in learning more about the Orthodox Christian Faith, we invite you first and foremost to join us for any of our services! The Liturgical Life (prayer and worship) of the Orthodox Church is both the beating heart of our communities and the primary means by which we are formed in the image and likeness of God. Please, when you visit, fill out the Visitor Card in the Narthex (entry) of the Church so we can add you to our mail and email distribution lists.

When you attend, we encourage you to introduce yourself to our parish priest after the service, and stay if possible to meet the members of our community. If you visit on a Sunday, please stay for coffee hour, and you are always welcome to join the weekly Q&A class for inquirers and catechumens which we host during coffee hour.

Sunday Services

8:45 am - Orthros (Psalms/Hymns)
10:00 am - Divine Liturgy (Eucharist)

 

Thursday Services

6:00 pm - Paraklesis (Supplication service to one of the saints)
7:00 pm - Adult Education

*Service schedule subject to change, especially during special seasons of the church year like Great Lent, or the Nativity Fast. Check the parish calendar for the next upcoming service.

 

Steps to becoming an Orthodox Christian
at Saint Demetrios

     1.  Attend the Divine Liturgy each Sunday, as well as (if possible) the Orthros prior to the Liturgy, and as many other weekday services that you are able to attend. This is by far the most important thing to be doing, because the Christian Faith is not about what we think  but about the life that we live in communion with God. If that is not deeply rooted in the worship of the Church, then we are trying to make bricks without straw.
 
     2. Join the church's mailing list (email). This is the fastest way to connect to the larger community at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church. Once signed up, you will get the weekly email about our Q&A Catechesis class, in addition to our online Sunday bulletin and other news from the church. You can contact the Church Office to ask our secretary (Gabby) to assist you with this (989-793-8822 or stdemetriosmi@gmail.com), or you can join the mailing list yourself at this link:
Join our Email Distribution List
 
     3.  Participate in the weekly Q&A Catechesis class.  Visitors, Inquirers, Catechumens, and Faithful of the parish are all welcome to attend these classes. You can ask any question that you want, or you can simply observe.  Sometimes Father will cover a particular topic (or invite a guest speaker to do so), but this class is primarily question-driven. We invite everyone to ask at least one question each week, so that we learn from each other and also get a chance to know each other a little bit as we grow together into the Orthodox Faith. If you're unable to attend, you can also send questions to Fr. Timothy at frtimothycook@gmail.com.
 
     4.  Begin to study some basic resources. This is a good thing to do, but should always be secondary to a life of prayer and encountering God in the Liturgy and through the life of the community. For a start, Fr. Timothy has prepared a list of some podcasts related to the Creed and other introductory material, some of which are listed on this page in the facing column. These, along with the weekly services, are a good basis for the questions you ask in Catechesis and are distributed in the weekly catechesis email. Some additional introductory materials, including both summary articles and a free e-book (Know the Faith) are available at https://www.orthodox-intro.org. Their article about "The Internet and the Church" is especially valuable - we do NOT recommend that you advance your study of the Orthodox Faith through YouTube videos, Reddit, or other such online spaces. The temptation in those spaces is for presenters and viewers to court controversy rather than attending soberly and carefully to the pastoral needs of real people in the real world. 
 
     5.  Make a Commitment. When you are ready to move forward, and are confident in your decision, you will let the Priest know that you wish to become an Orthodox Christian, and he will discuss your decision with you to confirm that you are ready to move forward, and will then guide you on the steps toward becoming a Catechumen. These are threefold: 
a) you should select a patron saint at this time; 
b) you should select a sponsor (godparent); 
c) you should fill out a Stewardship (membership) card/form. 
This will ensure that the church office has your phone number and mailing address, as well as your email, so that you can be included in all the communications of the parish family, such as annual mailings, church directories, emergency phone call announcements, etc. This also provides you with an opportunity to reflect on how you wish to offer your support to the parish community. You can find a membership card (or online form) here: Online Stewardship Form
 
     6.  Become a Catechumen. Once these things are done, on one of three dates each year (1st Sunday of August, 1st Sunday after November 15th, and Meatfare Sunday, the second Sunday before Great Lent) we will make you a catechumen. There is a prayer by which the Church receives you on this path towards baptism or chrismation, and seals you in the name of the Lord as you prepare to enter the Church. After this, you and the Priest will begin to meet on a regular basis either individually or in smaller groups, depending on timing and other factors. During this period, if not before, he will suggest Scripture reading, books, podcasts, and other materials for you to study (usually from the list on the facing page). At this time you will also complete the paperwork preparatory to Baptism or Chrismation, and we will determine when you will enter the Church (Lazarus Saturday, Transfiguration in August, or Theophany in January).

 

Resources for Encountering the Orthodox Faith

The Church in general has a number of resources for further study. A selection of these which are (mostly) available upon request includes the following: