Choir
The choir has the important task of developing a refined and unified tone: beautiful and understandable to the listener. Our choir is currently focused on learning to sing with better technique and adding to our repertoire much of the beautiful canon of Orthodox church music, thus helping to complete the beauty that is already a part of this parish. The choir also sings more of the special melodies appointed for certain feasts, as well as some compositions from living Orthodox composers. Our goal is to make all of the sensory aspects of our worship beautiful and done with excellence, to the glory of God and to the benefit of the faithful.
Prosphora Baking
Since the Last Supper, before every Divine Liturgy, one or more of the faithful prepare and bring bread to church to be used as the Body of Christ in the Eucharist. Bread is the stuff of physical life. Jesus is the Bread of Life, of which if any person eats, they shall never hunger. Our bread offering represents the offering of our very lives to God in love. A small sacrifice but one of great worth. Similarly, the value of our gift of a loaf of bread is greater than the worth of the ingredients and the effort to bake it. It represents everything from our appreciation of His gift of the whole world, sunshine, earth, rain, wheat, the farmers and millers. It symbolizes all of us, our families and those we ask to be remembered together being offered in love, as a bloodless sacrifice to God, to be laid on his altar. When we offer worship sacrifices to the Lord, He is looking at our hearts. (Learn more at Phosphoro.com)
Beautification
Flower arrangement is a regular part of our liturgical life at St John, and in any Orthodox parish. As a particularly apt expression of creation’s life, vitality, and beauty, flowers populate the temple and the Festal icons in order to proclaim our community’s joy in receiving the presence of the Lord. It is for this same reason that flowers are often presented to the Bishop as he enters the temple and manifests in his person Christ’s High Priesthood and pastoral care for the flock. Though it can be easy to take for granted, this ministry of flower arrangement is central to the festive nature of our liturgical cycle, entailing a considerable amount of time, financial investment, skill, and aesthetic insight, especially for great Feasts like Pascha and Nativity when the whole temple is decorated in flowers and other arrangements. There are also opportunities to serve on the Building Committee, and with Gardening & Landscaping.
Sacred Arts
We are developing a Sacred Arts section of the website that will cover topics including liturgics, music and chanting, iconography, and architecture. If you have questions about any of these topics please use the form at this link:
