Hey, we're on vacation so my answers will be less wordy since I only have my phone. Might be a good thing!

Google the article called something like 12 Things Before Visiting an Orthodox Church by Frederica Mathewes Green. Lots of good info.

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Warmly, Darla Juliana
"Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle" (Philo of Alexandria)

http://www.frederica.com/12-things/

Here's Darla's recommended article.

one caveat from me: #4 is not true for Greek congregations - we often DO have kneelers, and rarely prostrate, except sometimes during Lenten seasons.

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http://stuffedveggies.blogspot.com/

Very interesting read. Thanks for sharing. It is very strange to read the details of a service. The icon things does seem really odd. My mind is trying to grasp it. Lots of other great information there as well.

Edited to say that odd isn't even the correct description. I feel like it's wrong when I read it. I'm having a hard time understanding the fine line between icon and idol. I've read the description of venerating many times. It's just something I'm wrestling with.

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“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
― Mother Teresa

You might just do like I did - go and observe for a while. The Holy Spirit will lead you.

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http://stuffedveggies.blogspot.com/

Jenileigh, we have been to two services. The first one was a Saturday vespers (evening prayer). Overall, it was very calming. We did feel lost because we didnt know the order of the service, though we followed what everyone else was doing (sitting, standing) the pamplets in the pews were no help. What I didnt like was that the folks saying the prayers, reading scriptures were sort of sing-songing them very fast thus making them unintelligible...if I had something to follow it would not have been so bad. We were greeted before and after, a lady welcomed us to join them Sunday morning. We have two churches an hour away for us.

The second time we traveled 2 1/2 hours because it was a 'teaching' service. The priest explained things as he went along and we were given a service book THAT WAS A BIG HELP. I have since purchased my own, and a prayer book. The small prayer book also has the divine liturgy in it so its all you really need. Here is an online service book http://aggreen.net/liturgics/services.html It was Father's Day and they were also recognizing recent graduates from their church program, school and college. There was such a sense of family, not just by blood, but family by faith. Dh was very moved. That is why we are delving deeper.

It has been a long, slow process. As we have studied and gotten closer to God we have oddly enough stepped back from churches (of which we have found have gotten farther away from God and all semblance of ekklesia). Going back to these old paths, so to say, we believe we are on the right track now.

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"...with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26

Briva- Thank-you so much for sharing your experience so far. Please continue to update me with how things develop. And I appreciate everyone's prayers!

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“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
― Mother Teresa