ELS question.

[cultor christi]

Howdy! My wife and I will be attending Mass (?) this Sunday at an ELS parish for the first time, and were wondering what to expect. We both come from Traditional Catholic/Extremely Liturgical High-Church Protestant backgrounds. What is the service like? From what I can find online, they seem to be quite liturgical. Thanks in advance for any responses!

 

[omajoy]

Welcome!

Have you ever been to a Lutheran service of any kind? ELS is much like WELS and you will for sure have liturgy in the service. If there is Communion you would not be able to partake until you have taken classes and have an understanding of what happens in the Lord's Supper.

I hope you enjoy the service and are blessed by it.

 

[cultor christi]

We have been to an ELCA wedding, and Mass at an LCMS parish (my Uncle was an LCMS pastor). So, is it kind of like an RCIA/Catechism class that we would have to attend? How long do they generally last? I would hate to be without Sacrament for too long...

 

[DaRev]

The WELS/ELS are not known for being "high church". Their liturgy is formal yet simple.

 

[cultor christi]

I guess I just based that assumption on the Prayer Book they use. They included Matins,prime,vespers, compline, chant tones, seems a high-church type of prayerbook. The pictures of the Chancel of this Church were oriented like a "Traditional high-church" but, oh well, we shall see. We were going to visit an LCMS church the following Sunday.