Editing Church service

{{Short description|Period of formal public worship}}
{{Redirect|Sunday service|the song|Sunday Service|the musical group|Sunday Service Choir}}
[[File:Worship at St. Paul Lutheran Church.jpg|thumb|A Lutheran [[Divine Service (Lutheran)|Divine Service]] in the United States]]
[[File:St Maria Sehnde Gottesdienst.jpg|thumb|A Catholic [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] at St. Maria Church, [[Sehnde]], Germany, 2009]]
A '''church service''' (or a '''worship service''') is a formalized period of [[Christian]] communal [[Christian worship|worship]], often held in a [[Church (building)|church building]]. Most [[Christian denominations]] hold church services on the [[Lord's Day]] (offering Sunday morning and Sunday evening services); a number of traditions have mid-week services, while some traditions worship on a Saturday.{{efn-ua|The majority of Christian denominations teach that Sunday is the [[Lord's Day]] on which all the faithful must assemble to offer worship to God (cf. ''[[first-day Sabbatarianism]]''). A minority of Christian denominations that follow [[seventh-day Sabbatarianism]] organize worship on Saturdays.<ref name="Hughes2006">{{cite web |last1=Hughes |first1=James R. |title=The Sabbath: A Universal and Enduring Ordinance of God |url=https://versefortheday.com/the_sabbath-a_universal_and_enduring_ordinance_of_god/ |publisher=[[Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America|Reformed Presbyterian Church]] |access-date=6 October 2020 |language=English |date=2006}}</ref>}}<ref>{{cite book |title=The Korean Repository, Volume 3 |date=21 August 1896 |publisher=Trilingual Press |page=361 |language=English |quote=The Sunday morning service has been well attended, as have also the Sunday evening and Wednesday evening services.}}</ref> In some Christian denominations, church services are held daily, with these including those in which the seven [[canonical hour]]s are prayed, as well as the offering of the [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]], among other forms of worship.<ref name="SPFMC2021">{{cite web |title=Times of Worship |url=http://www.stpaulsfmc.org/worship.html |publisher=Saint Paul's Free Methodist Church |access-date=5 August 2021 |language=English}}</ref> In addition to this, many Christians [[Church attendance|attend services]] on holy days such as [[Christmas]], [[Ash Wednesday]], [[Good Friday]], [[Feast of the Ascension|Ascension Thursday]], among others depending on the Christian denomination.<ref name="Morgan2019">{{cite book |last1=Morgan |first1=Bonnie |title=Ordinary Saints: Women, Work, and Faith in Newfoundland |date=19 December 2019 |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press |isbn=978-0-2280-0028-0 |language=English |quote=Starting with Shroe Tuesday (locall known as Pancake Day), and proceeding through Ash Wednesday to Good Friday, families increased their church attendance and, especially, engaged in the embodies practices of fasting and/or "giving up something for Lent."}}</ref>

The church service is the gathering together of Christians to be taught the "Word of God" (the [[Christian Bible]]) and encouraged in their [[Faith in Christianity|faith]]. Technically, the ''church'' in "church service" refers to the [[Church (congregation)|gathering of the faithful]] rather than to the physical place in which it takes place. In most Christian traditions services are presided over by [[clergy]] wherever possible, but some traditions utilize [[lay preacher]]s. Styles of service vary greatly, from the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]], [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox]], [[Anglicanism|Anglican]], [[Reformed Christianity|Reformed]] ([[Continental Reformed]], [[Presbyterian]]), and [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] traditions of [[liturgy|liturgical]] worship to informal worship characterized by certain [[free church]] traditions, common among [[Methodist]]s and [[Baptist]]s, that often combine worship with teaching for the believers, which may also have an evangelistic component appealing to [[backsliding|backsliders]] and the non-Christians in the congregation (cf. [[altar call]]). [[Quakers]] and some other groups have no formal outline to their services, but allow the worship to develop as the participants present feel moved.

==History==
{{see also|Early Christianity}}
[[File:Early-Christians-Worship-in-the-Catacombs-of-Saint-Calixtus.jpg|thumb|Depiction of early Christian worship in the [[Catacomb of Callixtus]]]]
The worship service is a practice of Christian life that has its origins in [[Jewish worship]].<ref>BBC, [http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/ritesrituals/worship.shtml Christian worship], bbc.co.uk, UK, June 23, 2009</ref> [[Jesus Christ]] and [[Paul of Tarsus]] taught a new form of worship of God.<ref>Harry Klassens, "The Reformed Tradition in the Netherlands". In [[Geoffrey Wainwright]] & Karen B. Westerfield Tucker (eds.), ''[[The Oxford History of Christian Worship]]'', New York: [[Oxford University Press]], 2006, p. 465</ref> As recorded in the [[gospel]]s, [[Jesus]] met together with his disciples to share teachings, discuss topics,<ref>Amy-Jill Levine, Dale C. Allison Jr., John Dominic Crossan, ''The Historical Jesus in Context'', Princeton University Press, USA, 2009, p. 2</ref> pray, and sing hymns.<ref>Mark 14.26, Matthew 26.30; see John J. Pilch, "A Cultural Handbook to the Bible", Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, USA, 2012, p. 263</ref> The holding of church services pertains to the observance of the [[Lord's Day]] in Christianity.<ref name="CURC2010"/>

The [[Bible]] has a precedent for a pattern of morning and evening worship that has given rise to Sunday morning and Sunday evening services of worship held in the churches of many Christian denominations today, a "structure to help families sanctify the Lord's Day."<ref name="CURC2010"/> In {{Bibleverse|Numbers|28:1–10|KJV}} and {{Bibleverse|Exodus|29:38–39|KJV}}, "God commanded the daily offerings in the tabernacle to be made once in the morning and then again at twilight".<ref name="CURC2010"/> In [[Psalm 92]], which is a prayer concerning the observance of the Sabbath, the author writes that "It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night" (cf.  Psalm 134:1).<ref>{{Bibleverse|Psalm|134:1}}</ref><ref name="CURC2010"/> Church father [[Eusebius of Caesarea]] thus declared: "For it is surely no small sign of God's power that throughout the whole world in the churches of God at the morning rising of the sun and at the evening hours, hymns, praises, and truly divine delights are offered to God. God's delights are indeed the hymns sent up everywhere on earth in his Church at the times of morning and evening."<ref name="CURC2010">{{cite web |title=Why an Evening Worship Service? |url=http://www.christurc.org/blog/2010/12/08/why-an-evening-worship-service |publisher=Christ United Reformed Church |access-date=6 October 2020 |language=en |date=8 December 2010}}</ref>

The first miracle of the [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles]], the healing of the crippled man on the [[Temple in Jerusalem|temple]] steps, occurred because [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[John the Apostle|John]] went to the Temple to pray (Acts 3:1). Since the Apostles were [[Jewish Christians|originally Jews]], the concept of [[fixed prayer times]], as well as services therefore which differed from weekday to [[Biblical Sabbath|Sabbath]] to holy day, were familiar to them. [[Pliny the Younger]] (63 – {{c.|113}}), who was not a Christian himself, mentions not only [[fixed prayer times]] by believers, but also specific services—other than the [[Eucharist]]—assigned to those times: "They met on a stated day before it was light, and addressed a form of prayer to Christ, as to a divinity{{nbsp}}[...] after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble, to eat in common a harmless meal."<ref>Pliny the Younger, ''Epistulae'', Book X, [http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?pageno=117&fk_files=2025 Letter xcvii].</ref>

The real evolution of the Christian service in the [[Christianity in the 1st century|first century]] is shrouded in mystery. By the [[Christianity in the 2nd century|second]] and [[Christianity in the 3rd century|third centuries]], such [[Church Fathers]] as [[Clement of Alexandria]], [[Origen]], and [[Tertullian]] wrote of formalised, regular services: the practice of [[Matins|Morning]] and [[Vespers|Evening]] Prayer, and prayers at the third hour of the day ([[terce]]), the sixth hour of the day ([[sext]]), and the ninth hour of the day ([[none (liturgy)|none]]). The concept of major hours of prayer corresponding to the first and last hour of the day likely correspond to Jewish practices; that Sunday services (corresponding to the [[Sabbath in Christianity]]) are more complex and longer (involving twice as many services if one counts the [[Eucharist]] and the afternoon service) also likely have root in Jewish practices. Similarly, the liturgical year from [[Christmas]] via [[Easter]] to [[Pentecost]] covers roughly five months, the other seven having no major services linked to the work of Christ. Though worship services had their origins in Jewish services, it is unlikely that Jewish services were copied or deliberately substituted (see [[Supersessionism]]).

===Contemporary church services===
[[File:Dream City Church worship2.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|right|A [[Pentecostal]] worship service at [[Dream City Church]], affiliated with the [[Assemblies of God USA]], in 2007, in [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], United States]]
[[File: Auto de Páscoa - IgrejaDaCidade (crop).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Worship service at [[City Church (Brazil)|City Church]], affiliated to the [[Brazilian Baptist Convention]], in [[São José dos Campos]], [[Brazil]], 2017]]
[[Contemporary worship]] services have their origins in the [[Jesus Movement]] of the 1960s.<ref>Don Cusic, ''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music: Pop, Rock, and Worship: Pop, Rock, and Worship'', ABC-CLIO, USA, 2009, p. 79</ref> In the 1980s and 1990s, [[contemporary Christian music]], comprising a variety of musical styles, such as [[Christian rock]] and [[Christian hip-hop]] was adopted by evangelical churches.<ref name="Suzel Ana Reily 2016, p. 443">Suzel Ana Reily, Jonathan M. Dueck, ''The Oxford Handbook of Music and World Christianities'', Oxford University Press, USA, 2016, p. 443</ref><ref name="Mathew Guest 2007, p. 42">Mathew Guest, ''Evangelical Identity and Contemporary Culture: A Congregational Study in Innovation'', Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2007, p. 42</ref><ref name="Don Cusic 2009, p. 85-86">Don Cusic, ''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music: Pop, Rock, and Worship: Pop, Rock, and Worship'', ABC-CLIO, USA, 2009, p. 85–86</ref> Over the years, the [[organ (music)|organ]]s have been replaced by [[piano]]s, [[electric guitar]]s and [[drum]]s.<ref>Monique M. Ingalls, ''Singing the Congregation: How Contemporary Worship Music Forms Evangelical Community'', Oxford University Press, USA, 2018, p. 7</ref><ref>William H. Brackney, ''Historical Dictionary of the Baptists'', Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 403</ref> These contemporary worship services feature a [[sermon]] based on the [[Bible]]. Worship service in [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] churches is seen as an act of God's worship.<ref>Gerald R. McDermott, ''The Oxford Handbook of Evangelical Theology'', Oxford University Press, UK, 2013, p. 311</ref><ref>Roger E. Olson, ''The Westminster Handbook to Evangelical Theology'', Westminster John Knox Press, UK, 2004, p. 284</ref> It is usually run by a Christian [[pastor]]. It usually contains two main parts, the [[praise]] and the [[sermon]], with periodically the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper]].<ref>Bruce E. Shields, David Alan Butzu, ''Generations of Praise: The History of Worship'', College Press, USA, 2006, p. 307–308</ref>
<ref>Robert Dusek, ''Facing the Music'', Xulon Press, USA, 2008, p. 65</ref><ref>Gaspard Dhellemmes, 
[https://www.lejdd.fr/JDD-Paris/Spectaculaire-poussee-des-evangeliques-en-Ile-de-France-736370 Spectaculaire poussée des évangéliques en Île-de-France], lejdd.fr, France, June 7, 2015</ref><ref>Michael Lee, [https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2017/march/diffusion-and-influence-of-contemporary-worship.html The Diffusion and Influence of Contemporary Worship], christianitytoday.com, USA, March 18, 2017</ref> During worship there is usually a [[nursery school|nursery]] for babies.<ref name="Greg Dickinson 2015, p. 144">Greg Dickinson, ''Suburban Dreams: Imagining and Building the Good Life'', University of Alabama Press, USA, 2015, p. 144</ref> Prior to the worship service, adults, children and young people receive an adapted education, [[Sunday school]], in a separate room.<ref name="Jeanne Halgren Kilde 2005, p. 159, 170">Jeanne Halgren Kilde, ''When Church Became Theatre: The Transformation of Evangelical Architecture and Worship in Nineteenth-century America'', Oxford University Press, USA, 2005, p. 159, 170, 188</ref> With the 1960s' [[charismatic movement]], a new conception of [[praise]] in worship, such as clapping and raising hands as a sign of worship, took place in many evangelical denominations.<ref>Robert H. Krapohl, Charles H. Lippy, ''The Evangelicals: A Historical, Thematic, and Biographical Guide'', Greenwood Publishing Group, USA, 1999, p. 171</ref> In the 1980s and 1990s, [[contemporary Christian music]], including a wide variety of musical styles, such as [[Christian Rock]] and [[Christian Hip hop]], appeared in the [[praise]].<ref name="Suzel Ana Reily 2016, p. 443"/><ref name="Mathew Guest 2007, p. 42"/><ref name="Don Cusic 2009, p. 85-86"/> Some churches have services with traditional [[Christian music]], others with [[contemporary Christian music]], and some offer both in separate services. <ref> Monique M. Ingalls, ''Singing the Congregation: How Contemporary Worship Music Forms Evangelical Community'', Oxford University Press, UK, 2018, p. 7</ref> In the 2000s and 2010s, digital technologies were integrated into worship services, such as the [[video projector]]s for broadcasting [[praise]] lyrics or video, on big screens.<ref>Christina L. Baade, James Andrew Deaville, ''Music and the Broadcast Experience: Performance, Production, and Audience'', Oxford University Press, USA, 2016, p. 300</ref><ref>AARON RANDLE, [https://www.kansascity.com/living/religion/article188544194.html Bucking a trend, these churches figured out how to bring millennials back to worship], kansascity.com, USA, December 10, 2017</ref> The use of social media such as [[YouTube]] and [[Facebook]] to retransmit live or delayed worship services, by Internet, has also spread.<ref>Mark Ward Sr., ''The Electronic Church in the Digital Age: Cultural Impacts of Evangelical Mass'', ABC-CLIO, USA, 2015, p. 78</ref> The [[Offering (Christianity)|offering]] via Internet has become a common practice in several churches.<ref name="christianpost.com">Michael Gryboski, [https://www.christianpost.com/news/millennial-majority-churches-detail-challenges-success-stories-in-growth-and-finances-224528/ Millennial-Majority Churches Detail Challenges, Success Stories in Growth and Finances], christianpost.com, USA, June 18, 2018</ref><ref name="businessghana.com">Ghana News Agency, [https://www.businessghana.com/site/news/general/141054/Asoriba-launches-church-management-software Asoriba launches church management software], businessghana.com, Ghana, February 3, 2017</ref> In some churches, a special moment is reserved for [[faith healing]] with [[laying on of hands]] during worship services.<ref>Cecil M. Robeck, Jr, Amos Yong, ''The Cambridge Companion to Pentecostalism'', Cambridge University Press, UK, 2014, p. 138</ref> Faith healing or divine healing is considered a legacy of [[Jesus]] acquired by his death and resurrection.<ref>Randall Herbert Balmer, ''Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism: Revised and expanded edition'', Baylor University Press, USA, 2004, p. 212</ref> The taking up of [[tithe]]s and [[Offering (Christianity)|offerings]] (gifts made beyond the tithe) is a normative part of the worship services.<ref>{{cite web |title=Are 'Offerings' Above and Beyond My Tithe? |url=https://www.stplc.org/our-life-together/2018/3/7/ask-pastor-dave-is-kyrie-eleison-greek-or-latin-sestr#:~:text=Historically%2C%20at%20least%20in%20our,or%20to%20other%20Christian%20ministries. |publisher=Saint Peter Lutheran Church |access-date=4 December 2022 |language=English |quote=Historically, at least in our country, tithing is the practice of giving 10% of one's income to one's church. Offerings are gifts given above and beyond the tithe, either to the church or to other Christian ministries.}}</ref> The main Christian feasts celebrated by the Evangelicals are [[Christmas]], [[Pentecost]], and [[Easter]] for all believers, among others depending on [[Christian denomination]]s (cf. [[evangelical feasts]]).<ref>William H. Brackney, ''Historical Dictionary of the Baptists'', Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 402</ref>
<ref>Daniel E. Albrecht, ''Rites in the Spirit: A Ritual Approach to Pentecostal/Charismatic Spirituality'', Sheffield Academic Press, UK, 1999, p. 124</ref><ref>Walter A. Elwell, ''Evangelical Dictionary of Theology'', Baker Academic, USA, 2001, p. 236–239</ref>

===Quaker meeting for worship===
{{main|Meeting for worship|Quakers#Worship}}
[[Quakers]] (the Religious Society of Friends), like other [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|Nonconformist]] Protestant denominations, distinguish between a [[church (congregation)|church]], which is a body of people who believe in Christ, and a '[[meeting house]]' or '[[chapel]]', which is a building where the church meets.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wakeling|first1=Christopher|title=Nonconformist Places of Worship: Introductions to Heritage Assets|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/iha-nonconformist-places-of-worship/|publisher=[[Historic England]]|access-date=28 March 2017|date=August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328195437/https://content.historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/iha-nonconformist-places-of-worship/heag139-nonconformist-places-of-worshipi-iha.pdf/|archive-date=28 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=Anthony|title=Welsh Chapels|access-date=28 March 2017|date=1996|publisher=National Museum Wales|isbn=9780750911627|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k6zjuTAnuzcC|language=en}}</ref> Quakers have both unprogrammed and programmed meetings for worship. Unprogrammed worship is based on waiting in silence and inward listening to the Spirit, from which any participant may share a message. In unprogrammed meetings for worship, someone speaks when that person feels that God/Spirit/the universe has given them a message for others. Programmed worship includes many elements similar to Protestant services, such as a sermon and hymns. Many programmed meetings also include a time during the service for silent, expectant waiting and messages from the participants.

==Common features==
[[File:Christchurch Cathedral Choir Lagos.JPG|thumb|Church choir singing at a service, [[Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos]], Nigeria]]
Vocal music is traditionally sung by a [[choir]] or the [[congregational singing|congregation]] (or a mixture of the two), usually accompanied by an [[organ (music)|organ]].<ref>William J. Collinge, ''Historical Dictionary of Catholicism'', Scarecrow Press, USA, 2012, p. 280</ref><ref>J. Gordon Melton, ''Encyclopedia of Protestantism'', Infobase Publishing, USA, 2005, p. 345</ref>  Sometimes other instruments such as piano, classical instruments, or modern band instruments may be part of the service, especially in churches influenced by the [[contemporary worship]] movement. Some churches are equipped with state-of-the-art [[multi-media]] equipment to add to the worship experience. The congregation may sing along in [[hymnal]]s or words to hymns and worship songs may be displayed on a screen. More liturgical denominations may have the words to specific prayers written in a [[missal]]ette or [[prayer book]], which the congregation follows. Though most of the services are still conducted in church buildings designed specifically for that purpose, some services take place in "store front" or temporary settings.<ref name="Helmuth Berking 2018, p. 78">Helmuth Berking, Silke Steets, Jochen Schwenk, ''Religious Pluralism and the City: Inquiries into Postsecular Urbanism'', Bloomsbury Publishing, UK, 2018, p. 78</ref><ref name="George Thomas Kurian 2016">George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, ''Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5'', Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 1359</ref>

For those unable to attend a service in a church building a burgeoning [[televangelism]] and radio ministry provides broadcasts of services.<ref>George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, ''Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5'', Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 2275–2276</ref> A number of websites have been set up as "cyber-churches" to provide a virtual worship space free to anyone on the internet. Church services are often planned and led by a single [[Minister (Christianity)|minister]] (pastor) or a small group of [[elder (Christianity)|elders]] or may follow a format laid out by the dictates of the denomination. 

Some churches are "[[laity|lay]] led" with members of the congregation taking turns guiding the service or simply following format that has evolved over time between the active members. More commonly, an [[ordained]] minister will preach a [[sermon]] (which may cover a specific topic, or as part of a book of the Bible which is being covered over a period of time). Depending on the church, a public invitation follows whereby people are encouraged to become Christians, present themselves as candidates for baptism or to join the congregation (if members elsewhere), or for other purposes. Many congregations begin their church services with the ringing of a [[church bell|bell]] (or a [[ring of bells|number of bells]]); a current trend is to have an introductory video which serves as a "countdown" to the beginning of the service. The service usually involves the singing of [[Hymn#Christian hymnody|hymns]], reading of [[Bible|scripture]] verses and possibly a [[psalm]]. If the church follows a [[lectionary]], the sermon will often be about the scripture [[lection]]s assigned to that day. [[Eucharist]]ic churches have usually [[Holy Communion]] either every Sunday or several Sundays a month. Less liturgical congregations tend to place a greater emphasis on the sermon. Many churches will take up a collection of money ([[offertory]]) during the service. The rationale for this is taken from {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|16:1-2|KJV}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|9:9–11|KJV}}, and {{bibleverse|1|Timothy|5:16–18|KJV}}. But some churches eschew this practice in favor of voluntary anonymous donations for which a box or plate may be set up by the entrance, or return-address envelopes may be provided that worshippers may take with them. Offering through the Internet has become a common practice in many evangelical churches.<ref name="christianpost.com"/><ref name="businessghana.com"/> On occasion, some churches will also arrange a second collection, typically occurring after Communion, for a specific good cause or purpose.<ref>Zech, C., [https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/349/article/problem-second-collection The Problem of the Second Collection], [[America (magazine)|America Magazine]], published 5 November 2001, accessed 29 May 2021</ref>

Some churches offer [[Sunday school]] classes.<ref>George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, ''Encyclopedia of Christian Education, Volume 3'', Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2015, p. 229</ref><ref name="Jeanne Halgren Kilde 2005, p. 159, 170"/><ref name="Greg Dickinson 2015, p. 144"/> These will often be for younger children, and may take place during the whole of the service (while the adults are in church), or the children may be present for the beginning of the service and at a prearranged point leave the service to go to Sunday school. Some churches have adult Sunday school either before or after the main worship service.

Following the service, there will often be an opportunity for fellowship in the [[Fellowship hall|church hall]] or other convenient place. This provides the members of the congregation a chance to socialize with each other and to greet visitors or new members. Coffee or other refreshments may be served.<ref>United Parish in Brookline, [https://www.unitedparishbrookline.org/newcomers/what-to-expect/ After worship we offer coffee, tea and some kind of snacks in the Chapel], unitedparishbrookline.org MA, USA, Dec 3, 2023</ref>

===Types of church service===
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2024}}
[[File:Interior of St. John's Church in Helsinki.jpg|thumb|During a Christmas service at [[St. John's Church, Helsinki|St. John's Church]] in [[Helsinki|Helsinki, Finland]]]]
Church services take many forms, and set liturgies may have different names. Services typically include:

*Regular Sunday services. These are a part of most traditions. [[Holy Communion]] may be celebrated at some or all of these; often it is included either once a month or once a quarter. A few denominations have their main weekly services on Saturday rather than Sunday. Larger churches often tend to have several services each Sunday; often two or three in the morning and one or two in the late afternoon or evening, as well as on Saturdays. Some churches have begun to provide religious services conducted through internet technology, for the benefit of those who cannot attend for health or other reasons, or who may want to preview the church before attending in person.
*Midweek services. Again, Holy Communion can be part of these, either on every occasion or on a regular basis.
*Holiday services. Treated like a regular Sunday service, but made more specific for the day.
*[[Wedding]]s. These are normally separate services, rather than being incorporated into a regular service, but may be either.
*[[Funeral]]s. These are always separate services. 
*[[Baptism]]s. These may be incorporated into a regular service, or separate.
*[[Confirmation]]. This is normally incorporated into a regular Sunday service, which will also include communion. It was traditionally the [[first Communion]] of the confirmee, but more recently, children are invited to communion in some denominations, whether confirmed or not.
*[[Ordination]] of clergy. New bishops, elders, priests and deacons are usually ordained or installed generally in a solemn but celebratory ceremony on Saturday or Sunday, generally open to the public, either by their own superior or by another approved senior minister with ordination powers. The service is held either at the area headquarters church or cathedral or at another church agreed upon by those to be ordained and the ordaining ministers. Ordination of bishops or elders may require consecration by more than one individual and have a more limited audience.   
*[[First Communion]]. Children may celebrate Communion for the first time.
*Opening of new churches or church buildings.
*Dedication of new [[missionary|missionaries]] or those about to be sent on new missions.

== Places of worship ==
{{Further|Church (building)}}
Places of worship are usually called "churches" or "[[chapel]]s".<ref>D. A. Carson, ''Worship: Adoration and Action: Adoration and Action'', Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2002, p. 161</ref><ref>Jeanne Halgren Kilde, ''Sacred Power, Sacred Space: An Introduction to Christian Architecture and Worship'', Oxford University Press, USA, 2008, p. 193</ref><ref>Harold W. Turner, ''From Temple to Meeting House: The Phenomenology and Theology of Places of Worship'', Walter de Gruyter, Germany, 1979, p. 258</ref> Some services take place in theaters, schools or multipurpose rooms, rented for Sunday only.<ref name="Caillou">Annabelle Caillou, [https://www.ledevoir.com/societe/541071/vivre-grace-aux-dons-et-au-benevolat Vivre grâce aux dons et au bénévolat], ledevoir.com, Canada, November 10, 2018</ref><ref name="Helmuth Berking 2018, p. 78"/><ref name="George Thomas Kurian 2016"/>

==Attire==
[[File:Причастница в академическом во имя апостола и евангелиста Иоанна Богослова.jpg|thumb|upright|Russian worshippers during the [[Divine Liturgy]] in Moscow. Women are wearing [[Christian head covering|headcoverings]], while men worship with their heads uncovered.<ref name="Yegorov2019"/>]] 
Christians have historically tended to wear [[Modesty|modest]] clothes at church services (cf. 1 Timothy 2:9–10).<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Timothy|2:9–10}}</ref><ref name="Wilke2010">{{cite book |last1=Wilke |first1=Richard B. |title=Disciple III Remember Who You Are: Study Manual: The Prophets – The Letters of Paul |date=1 September 2010 |publisher=Abingdon Press |isbn=978-1-4267-2788-7 |language=en}}</ref> Men have traditionally removed their caps while praying and worshipping, while women have traditionally worn a [[Christian head covering|headcovering]] while praying and worshipping (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:1–11).<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Corinthians|11:1–11}}</ref><ref name="Gordon2015">{{cite web |last1=Gordon |first1=Greg |title=Are Head Coverings Really for Today? |url=https://evangelicalfocus.com/yourblog/929/Are-Head-Coverings-Really-for-Today- |publisher=Evangelical Focus |access-date=2 May 2022 |language=English |date=31 August 2015 |quote=Hippolytus an early Church Father wrote, "Let all the women have their heads covered." Others who taught this practice in the Church were, John Calvin [father of the Reformed tradition], Martin Luther [father of the Lutheran tradition], Early Church Fathers, John Wesley [father of the Methodist tradition], Matthew Henry [Presbyterian theologian] to name just a few. We must remind ourselves that until the twentieth century, virtually all Christian women wore head coverings.}}</ref><ref name="Anderson2019"/><ref name="Yegorov2019"/> These practices continue to be normative in certain churches, congregations, and denominations, as well as in particular parts of the world, such as in [[Eastern Europe]] and in the [[Indian subcontinent]], while in the West, attention to these observances has waned generally (apart from those denominations that continue to require them, such as [[Conservative Anabaptist]] churches).<ref name="Anderson2019">{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Cory|last2=Anderson |first2=Jennifer|title=Fitted to Holiness: How Modesty is Achieved and Compromised among the Plain People |date=2019 |publisher=Acorn Publishing |location=[[Millersburg, Ohio|Millersburg]]|page=129}}</ref><ref name="Greg2015">{{cite web |last1=Gordon |first1=Greg |title=Are Head Coverings Really for Today? |url=https://evangelicalfocus.com/yourblog/929/Are-Head-Coverings-Really-for-Today- |publisher=Evangelical Focus |access-date=2 May 2022 |language=English |date=31 August 2015 |quote=One of the most questioned practices in the New Testament in the modern day Western Church is the practice of Head Coverings for women. Yet to get perspective we need to look over the panoply of God's Church for 2000 years and see that this is not something new but old—and has been practiced diligently over the ages. It is hard to imagine but since the 1960s the Church almost entirely practiced this tradition. The influence of secular reasoning, feminism and liberal theology have led to the questioning and, ultimately, the casting aside of this practice in the Church at large in the evangelical world.}}</ref><ref name="Yegorov2019">{{cite web |last1=Yegorov |first1=Oleg |title=Why do women cover their heads in Orthodox churches? |url=https://www.rbth.com/lifestyle/331402-women-russican-church-head-cover |publisher=[[Russia Beyond]]|date=11 December 2019 |quote=In the Orthodox tradition, this is a big no-no. Of course, no one would kick a bareheaded woman out of an Orthodox church, should she walk in, but she is very likely to face some disapproving and judging looks, especially from the local babushkas (you'll always find a few babushkas inside an Orthodox church in Russia). The reason is simple: in an Orthodox church, a woman should wear a headscarf.}}</ref> In many [[nondenominational Christian]] churches, it may be customary, depending on the locality, for people to be dressed casually.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gorny |first1=Nicki |title=Sunday style: Churches go for a more relaxed dress code |url=https://www.toledoblade.com/news/religion/2022/01/30/sunday-style-churches-go-for-a-more-relaxed-dress-code/stories/20220130042 |publisher=[[The Blade (Toledo, Ohio)|The Blade]] |access-date=4 December 2022 |date=30 January 2022 |quote=At Five Lakes Church in Sylvania, where a non-denominational and multi-generational congregation sports everything from that suit and tie to summertime shorts and flip-flops, Pastor Micah Sutton offered a similar take. He hopes the casual-to-formal range signals to visitors that they're welcome in the congregation, and that they belong there, regardless of how they style themselves.}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Cafe church]]
*[[Canonical hours]]
**[[Compline]]
*[[Carol service]]
*[[Christian liturgy]]
*[[Christian worship]]
*[[Church attendance]]
*[[Church membership]]
*[[Daily Office (Anglican)]]
*[[Divine Liturgy]]
*[[Divine Service (Lutheran)]]
*[[Easter Vigil]]
*[[Mass (liturgy)]]
*[[Worship services of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

==External links==

*{{cite web | url = https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/what-was-a-church-service-like-in-the-second-century/| title = What Was a Church Service Like in the Second Century? | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220810044131/https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/what-was-a-church-service-like-in-the-second-century/|date=29 August 2010|author=Justin Taylor|publisher=TGC | archive-date = 10 August 2022 | url-status = live | access-date = 3 May 2022 }}
*{{cite web | url = http://www.liturgies.net | title = Liturgy Archive | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040410124949/http://www.liturgies.net/ | archive-date = April 10, 2004 | url-status = live | access-date = July 3, 2019 }}
*{{cite web | url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09306a.htm | title = Liturgy, in the "Catholic Encyclopedia" | language = en | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20000816192606/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09306a.htm | archive-date = August 16, 2000 | url-status = live}}
*{{cite web |url = http://www.saintsconstantineandelena.org/Liturgy/liturgy1.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110119105305/http://www.saintsconstantineandelena.org/Liturgy/liturgy1.htm |url-status = dead |archive-date = 2011-01-19 | title = Orthodox Tradition and the Liturgy}}
*[http://www.christiansinindia.in/what-does-christian-church-look-like/ Church Service: Nowadays Practice vs. First Century's Practice]

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