A sea of black and white filled the sanctuary. Men in dark suits and women in floor-length skirts and light scarves stood for hours, their attention focused on the proceedings at the front of the church.
Members and visitors worship at St. Mary's Ethiopian Orthodox Church at a service in March 2016.
Loud chanting and singing penetrated every corner as worshippers sent praises and prayers heavenward. Church leaders in elaborate robes walked the aisles, swinging the incense burner and holding richly embroidered umbrellas aloft. Latecomers entered through the main doors, then immediately bent down to take off their shoes.
Members and visitors of St. Mary鈥檚 Ethiopian Orthodox church gather this way every Sunday, following the centuries-old traditions ingrained in Ethiopia鈥檚 history, culture and religious life.
Many of the estimated 30,000聽Ethiopians in the Denver area immigrated for a variety of reasons, among them safety and opportunity for a better life or a more complete education. Their move may have forced them to leave behind homes, families and jobs, but not their faith.
For many, church is not merely a building they visit on Sunday mornings, but a way of life.
Girum Alemayehu, a board member at St. Mary鈥檚, moved to the U.S. from Ethiopia for better educational opportunities when he was 26. He arrived in Colorado in 1994, and has been a member of the congregation ever since. Alemayehu鈥檚 longtime residence both in Ethiopia and Colorado, along with his active involvement in the church, give him an in-depth understanding of the religious sentiment that permeates the Ethiopian community.
鈥淗istorically our leaders were religious and they gave emphasis to our religion,鈥 he said. 鈥淥ur family, our ancestors, everybody, the first thing they learn is to go to the church. My first teacher was a priest and he taught me how to write my letters.鈥
Those habits didn鈥檛 fade with a cross-continental move. The church brings individuals in the Aurora community together the same way it did in Ethiopia, Alemayehu said.
鈥淢ost of the things we do in a church exemplifies what we do as a society,鈥 he said. 鈥淎nything we do revolves around our church. Our social gatherings, our celebrations, our mourning, our happiness, our weddings.鈥
The integration of religion and society is certainly true for Zewdu Getachew, an aerospace engineer who has lived in the Denver area for more than a decade.
Getachew鈥檚 fascination with flying brought him to the U.S. He鈥檇 always dreamed of pursuing a career in space, an opportunity that was not available in his hometown of Addis Ababa.
Getachew鈥檚 move to Colorado fulfilled his career goals, but left him feeling cut off from his roots, he said. Although he didn鈥檛 have a particularly religious background, he started attending St. Mary鈥檚 to build cultural connections.
鈥淓ventually I started to learn more about the church,鈥 he said. 鈥淎nd the more I understood it, the more I was drawn in to the church life, the life of Christianity, and the more I wanted to learn.鈥
In addition to spiritual enlightenment, the church offers concrete benefits as well, Getachew said. Those experiencing losses come for emotional support. Those in need of a job or networking opportunities come to find those resources.
The importance of church in the Ethiopian culture is not a recent development. The Ethiopian Orthodox church has roots going back to the fourth century. Ethiopia has the third highest Christian population in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than 63 percent of the country identifying as Christian, according to a聽.
Neither time nor distance, however, has changed the way their community worships, Alemayehu said.
鈥淥ur religion, we believe, is one of the oldest religions, and nobody wants anything to be changed from that. We try to keep it the same way.鈥
Woldey Assefa, another church board member, also emphasized the importance of tradition.
鈥淓verything is linked to the Bible,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he way the priest turns to the west, the way the deacon holds the cross, everything is related to a particular verse or particular event in the Bible.鈥
鈥淲e do not take things lightly because we do things in the presence of God,鈥 Assefa said.
Assefa has been a member at St. Mary鈥檚 for almost 17 years. As important as tradition is to their church, Assefa admits to the challenges that face them as they try to keep ancient traditions alive in a modern world.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going through a generation change,鈥 he said. 鈥淣ew generations who are raised and born in this country, they have different thinking. But the clergy that is on the top, they are of the old thinking. There are some struggles in that. How do we bring these two together?鈥
There are, however, still many younger Ethiopians who plan on keeping their ancestors鈥 traditions alive. Heleena Alemayehu, a 19-year-old who was born and raised in Colorado, is dedicated to her church as well as its traditions
She comes to services on a regular basis and is in the choir, along with her sister, she said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always been a part of our life growing up,鈥 she said. 鈥淢y senior year of high school I would come to church when I would feel down or sad, even if there was no service. I would come to pray and that really helped me get through the year and come out stronger.鈥
Getachew also sees promise in the next generation.
鈥淚鈥檓 really happy to see kids that were very young when I joined the church now know the Ethiopian language, Amharic,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey know all the traditional dances. They also know their religion, they serve in the church and they鈥檙e really attached to the culture.鈥
He added, 鈥淚f I was a parent it would make me proud, and as an Ethiopian it makes me proud as well.鈥