What to expect at a Christadelphian Meeting

If you were to go to a Christadelphian Meeting for the first time, would you expect to find
Weird Rituals?
Drugs?
Brainwashing?
Orgies?
Suicide Pacts?
Sorry to disappoint, but what you're likely to notice first are...

HATS
This may seem a little irreverent, but the point is that we do not belong to the weird cultish fringe of
Christianity, although in some areas we are distinctively different from the mainstream.
That's not to say that we don't have some little foibles....
We have hats. Hats for the female memebers of the church. It doesn't really matter what sort of hat and you'll see a
great variety. It could be argued that hats are a Christadelphian foible, but there are Scriptural arguements like this.

1 Corinthians Ch.11
Verse 5: And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head--it is just
as though her head were shaved.
Verse 6: If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a
woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head.

Apart from the hats (which aren't a big deal really); a liking for calling each other "brother" and "sister" (Which is
Scriptural and sounds rather sweet, but can be a bit embarrassing sometimes) and a tendency to Greekify things
(we like to call our churches "ecclesias" so that no-one mistakes a group of people for a building with a spire)
we are actually very normal, unthreatening and indeed perhaps rather boring people.
So, What else can you expect if you come to a Christadelphian meeting?

Our Memorial Service is held every Sunday after Sunday school. Each Brother contributes if he is able. We do this by rotating through a schedule of Presiding and Exhorting.
The Presiding Brother leads the service, while the Exhorting brother does the “Preaching”.
A typical Sunday observance is as follows:  
  1. Welcome and opening remarks
  2. Singing of a Hymn 
 3. Reading of two portions of our daily reading planner by brethren who were recruited before the service.
  4. Ecclesial Announcements given by the Presider
  5. A free will offering or “collection” is taken.
  6. Opening Prayer given by a Brother recruited before the service starts
  7. Remarks in preparation for the Exhortation given by Presider
  8. Singing of Hymn in preparation of the Exhortation
  9. Exhortation given by Exhorting Brother as per schedule
 10. Remarks about the exhortation by the Presiding Brother
 11. Singing of a Hymn in preparation for the Emblems
 12. Reading of Scripture in preparation for the partaking of the Emblems
 13. Prayer for the Bread given by a brother chosen before the service starts
 14. Breaking of Bread
 15. Prayer for the wine given by a brother chosen before the service starts
 16. Passing of the Cup
 17. A moment of reflection concerning the gift offered to us through the sacrifice of Christ.
 18. Singing of a Hymn
 19. Closing in Prayer by a brother chosen before the service. 

     Our meetings are sober and reverent, and you won't find many of the popular Gospel songs or hand 
clapping or 'ecstatic' utterances. (Sorry, if you happen to like this style of worship.) We have no paid 
clergy, and all members will serve the church if they are willing and able to do so.
     The Hymns sung in a Christadelphian meeting place all come from the Christadelphian Hymnal. Some 
of the Hymns we sing have been around for over three hundred years. The current Christadelphian Hymn 
Book was first published in 1964. We always have extra Hymnals out for visitors and guests. 
     Christadelphians have an established daily Bible reading Guide. We read three portions of the Bible daily
as per the schedule, two portions from the Old Testament and One from the New. This allows us to 
complete one full reading of the Bible in a year’s time. On Sunday we like to do the readings together, 
having two brothers read a section aloud for the Ecclesia as a whole. 
     The Free-will Offering is a general collection taken for the needs of the Ecclesia. We have no tithing 
requirements and each member is encouraged to give as they are able. The monies collected are generally 
used not only for the continued support of the Ecclesia but also provide all children of the Ecclesia an 
opportunity to attend a Christadelphian Bible School each year, which is a fraternal gathering open to all 
Ecclesias worldwide. Most of us attend the Fraternal Gathering at Hanover College, in Hanover, Indiana 
at the end of July each year. There are also Bible schools in Texas, Colorado, and Detroit, Michigan held 
each year. We do not require or expect visitors to donate. As a matter of fact, if a person doesn’t look 
interested, the collection may not even make it their way. We do this as not to embarrass anyone. We 
don’t want anyone to feel like they have to donate to attend. 
     Exhortations are given each Sunday by a Brother in the Meeting according to a schedule approved by 
the brothers who Exhort. As we are commanded in the Bible (Hebrews Ch 10, Vv 23 -25) to exhort one 
another, Christadelphians make exhortation an essential part of our Sunday service. We feel it is beneficial 
to help one another with a gentle reminding of what is important. The Exhortations usually last about 
25 - 30 minutes. 
     The Bread and Wine are the most important part of the Memorial Service for us. While the Emblems 
themselves are merely symbols representing Christ’s body which was broken for us and His blood which 
was poured out for our sins, we take them very seriously. Only Baptized members of the Christadelphian 
faith are offered the Emblems because the Bible tells us to be of one mind and we believe that fellowship 
is important in paying homage to God through Christ and all that has been done for us. This does not mean
that others are not welcome to attend the service, just that, along with fellowship comes a responsibility to 
retain the Gospel Truths. We invite and welcome all attendants and feel that all who attend may come away
with encouragement in hope that eventually we all become of one mind

So what can you really expect from a visit to us?
A genuinely warm welcome
A real desire to share the Gospel with you
No pressure to join
No collections or pressure to part you from your money
Help in studying and appreciating the Bible
If this sounds the right kind of church for you,
(and you don't mind our little foibles!),
we would love to see you.
Let us know.
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