Get Involved

Our highest purpose in life is to love God and people. This mission naturally leads to the joyful service of others, both inside and outside the church. 

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One central place we can answer this calling is in the local parish. All that we have, including our time and talents, come from God, and we are designed to use them in helping one another. For that reason, we provide a number of Volunteer Opportunities. We believe there’s a place for you to join us as we work together, serve God and His Church.

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Worship

Worship is at the heart of everything we do as Orthodox Christians and here at St. Sophia. From the services on Sundays and weekdays to the major Feast Days of the Church Year, we are a worshiping community who come together to offer our praise and prayers to God and to grow in His image and likeness. We encourage you to join us often to enter more deeply into the worship of God. We also encourage those with and an interest and ability to serve as a choir member, chanter, acolyte, reader, myrrhbearer, or usher. Please note, some of these roles will require a special blessing from the hierarch and/or priest.

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Ecclesiastical Hymns / Music

Orthodox hymnology and byzantine music are critical elements of Orthodox worship.  We invite and encourage more people to become involved in the life of our parish through hymnology. Through participation in our choir and chanting, parishioners have the opportunity to grow in their faith, develop specialized skills, work together in a group setting, and help lead the parish in prayerful and beautiful worship. 

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Education 

St. Sophia is committed to providing Orthodox Christian Education and Spiritual Formation for all ages. We begin with the nurturing of the youngest members of our parish family in our Sunday School program from early childhood, middle years, and high school through an engaging and instructive curriculum on Sunday Mornings. We also offer adults opportunities for spiritual growth and learning through teachings and reflections on line and in person.  

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Buildings & Grounds

Saint Sophia’s is blessed with a great historic location near the gathering place of the very first Christian congregation in New London. We are also blessed with a beautiful sanctuary and ample buildings with plenty of useful space. The Building and Grounds Ministry Team is a subcommittee of the Parish Council tasked with the responsibility of identifying and prioritizing Long-Range and Capital Projects that facilitate the continued use of the grounds and buildings, in a manner that helps support the mission and ministry of Saint Sophia now, and  well into coming generations.

Communications

The Communications Ministry Team at St. Sophia’s ensures that news and information related to all of the different aspects of parish life are communicated effectively both internally, within the St. Sophia parish, and externally, to the broader community of New London County. We are a new Ministry that is currently looking for volunteers in all aspects of marketing, social media, photography, and videography.

Family & Youth

Christian Formation for our children and youth is one of the most important ways we live into our mission as a parish. St. Sophia’s seeks to provide a variety of developmentally appropriate ways for our children, youth and their families to grow in faith and in life. This is accomplished in a number of different programs including children and youth in Sunday morning education, youth ministry activities, as well as outreach and service work in the broader community and the world.

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Fellowship

St. Sophia’s is a welcoming parish committed to living and spreading the love of Jesus Christ. Our fellowship ministries are infused with Christ-centered philoxenia (hospitality) and we welcome all – parishioners, newcomers, and seekers – into fellowship and community, and into a sense of belonging. 

Phone Chain Ministry

The mission of the Phone Chain Ministry Team is to make periodic calls to parishioners to say hello and to see how they are doing. We want to celebrate life’s joys and bear one another’s burdens and sorrows in fulfillment of God’s command to love one another as God loves us. We seek to connect and provide a network of care in times of need.

Stewardship

At St. Sophia’s we believe our time is not really ours, our talents are a gift from God, and our possessions are only a loan. Truly, we believe, as we say in the Divine Liturgy states, “every good and perfect gift is from above” and that God has given us a calling to make Christ’s love known in the world. This work requires a significant amount of resources, volunteer time, and money. The mission of the Stewardship Ministry Team is to model, teach, and facilitate good Christian Stewardship in, by, and among the stewards of Saint Sophia.

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Events

During the course of a typical year, there are a number of joyful parish events for which volunteers are critical. Our annual Greek Festival is usually our largest event. The mission of the Greek Festival Ministry team is to celebrate our culture and Faith with the greater New London community, while building camaraderie among our parishioners, and raising funds for our parish.