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Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints
Algonkian Ward
Circle Drive and East Maple Ave., Sterling, VA

by Lynne Borneman

Also on Sunday November 24, 2002 I visited the 1:00 PM service of the Algonkian Ward of The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I entered a building that looked like a Christian Church, except there was not cross or crucifix. The room had pews, high ceilings, and a raised section in front that had a railing around it and a lectern on it. Everyone was dressed in his or her Sunday best; all the men wore dark suits. I am commenting on the dress because this group was more formally dressed than any other service I had attended. I started to think because of the dress and the church like appearance that this was going to be a service close to a mainstream Christian service. 

The service started out as I expected. The man presiding welcomed all, the organ played, and everyone sang a hymn. Opening prayers were offered. After this the service took a turn from what I would have expected. A man walked to the lectern with Ward business items. There was one item that needed discussion. After the discussion he called for a consensus from the members of the Ward. They voted by raising their hand. I realized at this point that this group of worshipers was not a hierarchical system.

This church shared the Lord's Supper. I was surprised and fascinated because of the way this was done, it was not like any other Communion I had seen. A group of teenaged boys, very quietly and very formally, came to the front of the church. Each boy collected a small basket full of bread, regular bread. They walked around the church and passed out bread for all to share. After the bread they came around the church with trays that contained little cups of water. This was only symbolic of the Last Supper because there was no formal prayers or rituals to suggest a belief in the bread's transformation into the Body of Christ.

Throughout the remainder of the service there was singing. The hymns that were sung were all familiar to me because I have song them at my church service. There were two speakers. Each took a turn speaking about Thanksgiving. They made many references to Holy Scripture. I got the impression that the members of the Ward took turns speaking on Sunday. At the end of the service another prayer was offered.

I found this service to be somewhere in the middle of my experiences. It was formal as far as appearances, but the service was closer to a meeting then a formal church service. I left feeling I had gone to a mini-Catholic mass or a prayer meeting. The service was familiar to me in some ways, like the hymns, but lack the ritual I am used to.

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