Troy de Freitas - Church Visit #1

Church Name: Living Hope Church
Church Address: 6414 South Cottage Grove Ave, Chicago, IL
Date Attended: Feb 15th 2014
Church Category: Lower Socio-Economic Demographic


The worship service was set in a small building that once housed a pool hall. Newly renovated, the sanctuary had a very makeshift feel. The church was composed of a melting pot of half young University of Chicago students of all different backgrounds and a handful of adults and young people from the surrounding neighborhood. The service opened with a time of extended greeting where people actually introduced themselves by name and held conversation for about five minutes, until the pastor congregated everyone for a time of corporate confession and subsequent prayer. During corporate prayer, anyone could stand up and offer a prayer in front of the congregation. The church prayed for local issues pertaining to the neighborhood, where many of the prayers concerned recent violence in the area. Prayer was followed by music-led worship and then the sermon.
The church was similar to my own in that it was also PCA and held exactly the same doctrinal beliefs, but the expression of worship and especially corporate prayer was different.

I found the corporate prayer to be the most intriguing part of the service. Although the church shared the same doctrine and heritage as my own church, the congregation was more close-knit, praying for each other publicly, sharing requests, and then concluding the service with discipleship over a shared meal. Everyone seemed to know each other and engage with each other at the church, and people seemed to participate enthusiastically in the life of the people around them. Though there was a sermon at the end, it didn't seem to be the highlight as in many other PCA churches. People engaged more with the worship and prayer.

What was most disorienting was trying to find ways to connect with people when my background was so different from their own. Given that the congregation seemed so tightly connected, it was difficult for me as an outsider to feel at home and comfortable.

Participating in worship at Living Hope illuminated that two congregations that share similar theology can express their theology in different ways. Though Living Hope and Naperville Presbyterian both subscribe to the Westminster Catechism of Faith, the way that they worship and do christian life together differs greatly. Living Hope exhibited a preference for very intertwined communal life while Naperville Presbyterian's congregants prefer a more private form of Christianity.

Emily Beckman - Church Visit #1

Blog title: Emily Beckman - 1

Church name: St. Michael Catholic Church

Church address: 310 S. Wheaton Ave
Wheaton, IL 60187

Date attended: 2/9/14

Church category: More liturgical

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

As you walk into the sanctuary, there are bulletins available to pick up which outline the order of the service, including songs, the homily, and the Eucharist. Once seated, there are red books located in front of you which contain greater detail of the order of events in the service (which practicing Catholics have memorized), a section of songs, and the scripture passage for each day of the church calendar. The songs would all be considered hymns and are either memorized or located in the red books. There is some set recitation and verbal response. There are also specific times when the congregation stands, sits, and kneels. The Eucharist is taken every week and is surrounded by many rituals, with time for prayer following. Besides the fact that both my normal service and this service have a time for singing, prayer, reading scripture aloud, and a sermon, the structure is altogether different. My home church does not have a bulletin outlining the service because the exact order is not even planned out by the church leaders and is subject to change spontaneously ‘by the leading of the Spirit’ at any point. The congregation is also a lot closer to the speaker since the room is small and there is no stage, compared to the distance of the priest from the congregation.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

One thing I really valued was the presence of art and interesting architecture in the sanctuary. Stain glass windows lined the side walls as well as near the ceiling in the front, depicting the life of Jesus and stories from the Old Testament. A large life-like sculptural crucifix hung in the center of the front wall. The walls were painted light pastel colors. These pieces of art and design choices gave me a greater sense of awe and beauty in Christ, as well as keeping me constantly focused on Him. Any moment my mind began to wander, I would look up and see depictions everywhere that brought me back to the center of sermon, the scriptural reading, the song, whatever was going on in the service at that moment. As a very visual person, I was very drawn to and effected by these elements.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

The most disorienting part of the service was simply that there was so much learned structure that it’s hard to participate while trying to follow along in the book, while there were a few things that were slightly out of order. So, while trying to balance a book in one hand, flipping back and fourth and a bulletin in the other, I felt like I couldn’t concentrate on anything but trying to follow along. I have also been there before and even that prior experience didn’t really help me follow along better.

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

The importance of the Eucharist was definitely a center theme that is not portrayed clearly at my home church. I realize there is simply a different theological significance of the Eucharist in the Catholic tradition, but nonetheless, the respect shone and the necessity communicated for regular sustenance from Christ was powerful. Communion at my church is held once a month and is a very intimate, family-like time since the church is small; so, witnessing the Eucharist in a larger context with great reverence of the majesty or grandeur of Christ as well as His physical closeness through the consumption of the elements gave me a new perspective.

Jeanne Niu - Church Visit #1

Church name: Wheaton Bible Spanish Service
Church address: 27W500 North Avenue, West Chicago, Illinois 60185
Date attended: February 16, 2014
Church category: Different ethnic or racial demographic

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

I attended the Wheaton Bible Spanish Speaking service this past Sunday. This is an entire worship service in Spanish, with mostly Hispanic members attending. At Wheaton I regularly attend Blanchard Alliance Church, a multi-ethnic congregation with services in English. I noticed that the Spanish speaking service was similar to my regular church experience in its style of the service. There was contemporary worship music with a contemporary style worship band on stage, Scripture reading as a congregation, a sermon, and children who worshiped with the congregation for the beginning and then attended a separate Sunday school class. It was different from my regular church service in that most attendees were of the same ethnic background. Even in my multi-ethnic church, I haven’t seen many Hispanic attendees, so going to a fully Spanish speaking service was a great opportunity for me to see the way Hispanics worship.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

One thing I found most interesting about the worship service was that at the end of the sermon, the worship band came out and (from what I could figure out just by observing) the pastor called people up to the front for confession and prayer while the band played music in the background. I was surprised to find this happening, as I haven’t seen it happen in a long time. It hit me there that non-American culture churches generally have very emotional services. I’ve seen this happen in the context of Asian-American worship services as well. Non-American culture services tend to relate each service back to extended prayer and confession of sins and asking for renewal while the keyboard plays melodies for a long time. I noticed that American-culture services may touch on this every once in a while, whereas other ethnic culture churches emphasize this almost weekly. The Spanish speaking service was emotional in that people were going up to kneel and pray as a whole congregation. This is very different from American-culture services, where people are usually invited to come up after the service individually if they have prayer requests, and one person will pray for them. I thought it was really interesting that this service emphasized communal confessions and prayer. 

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

Even though the style of the service felt very similar to mine and generally comfortable for me, it was difficult because I hardly know any Spanish. Even singing familiar worship songs in Spanish was difficult because I kept having to remind myself of the English words to the song so I actually knew what I was singing. Two of my friends were able to translate things here and there for me, which helped. I also thought that as a non-Hispanic, it might be hard to attend a Spanish speaking service regularly because I felt like I couldn’t relate to their struggles or lives as well as they could to each other, as most of them were of one ethnicity. I think it would be difficult to engage in that community as a member of a different ethnicity.

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

As I was singing worship songs with the rest of the congregation, I found that singing in a different language, although difficult, was a wonderful opportunity to experience the gospel in a new way. The service really allowed me to remember that Christ’s kingdom spans many different generations, cultures, and nations. It reminded me that His kingdom is for all people, even though we tend to forget this and think that His whole kingdom looks similar to our own Christian community. It was good for me to step outside of my normal church experience because I gained a picture of the vastness of Christ’s kingdom. Participating in singing in a different language really helped me to understand this. As I sang words in Spanish, I thought about the many other people across this country or world who meet together to sing in Spanish, and was reminded of all the people the Lord has created and sought after.

Abby Clark- Church Visit #1

Abby Clark- Church Visit #1

Name: Nueva Esperanza

Address: Wheaton, Illinois 

Date: 2/9/13

Category: Latino

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context? 

This was a service in a strictly Latin American context. Everything in the service was in Spanish.  The church population was around 120 people. There were many families and many small children. The church has a very laid back feel conducive to family life, which is similar to the church services I usually attend.  The service started with worship which was done by three female women singing, one man on the guitar, a girl on the piano and a little girl on the drums. After worship there was a scripture reading, then the sermon, and then the service was dismissed.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

I really enjoyed the charisma and passion of the pastor. He preached with such urgency and energy that was extremely captivating. It was clear that the congregation respected him and saw him as an authoritative figure. His sermon was relevant and it was easy to see that he was convicted about the message he was delivering.  I also really enjoyed the hospitality of the congregation. They were very welcoming and seemed excited to usher in visitors. I think this is a very important characteristic that every church needs to have.  Having a spirit of hospitality is a wonderful way to show Christ's love as a church. 

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

The sermon portion of the service was significantly longer than I am used to experiencing at my own church.  However, the pastor was very enthusiastic which helped keep the time engaging.  His sermon had various aspects and portions to it, which at times made it difficult to follow along or to see how everything connected.  He used various Scripture passages which enhanced the relevancy of the message, yet again it made it difficult to connect all of the concepts that he was presenting to the congregation.  

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

The minister focused on the the concept of us all acknowledging and growing in our vocations.  He stressed the importance of our vocations not necessarily having to be something holy nominally, but that we can make them holy through our actions.  

Brian O'Connor - Church Visit #1

Church Name: New Hope Bible Fellowship

Church Address: 1391 Rolling Oaks Dr. Carol Stream

Date Attended: 2/16/14

Church Category: Different Ethnic or Racial Demographic

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

My church visit was rather unique in the sense we met in a house. To further the sense or newness, there were only about 12 people there, half of whom were not Anglo-Americans. There was a Liberian family, a Chinese couple and their friend from law school who had only been following Jesus for two weeks.

The basic structure of the service was rather similar to my regular church context thought the order was a little different. We read scripture, sang a few worship songs, listened to a teaching that was based on a specific passage in Ephesians, had a giving time and closed out with prayer.

What sis you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service.

                Things got really different after the “service” ended. We moved into the living room, tea and pastries in hand and had a bible study. The bible study ended conveniently at dinner time. My church experience concluded with a community meal.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

                This church was extremely diverse. The age range ran from a nine-year-old girl to an 84 year-old man. The education levels span from lawyer to barely literate. There were Liberians, Chinese, East Coaters and natives of Chicago land. Every one of these people was welcomed into the conversation and every one of them had some valuable perspective to contribute.

As you can imagine, I felt rather out of place. This made me feel rather irrelevant. This was true until I realized that this was exactly the point. The diversity street runs both ways. Just as I had much to learn from these people by sheer virtue that they were different from me, they could say the same of me. At the end of the day, we had a rather holistic view of the God that we had all gathered to worship.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

                Our sanctuary was a living room. Everyone who was at the house church was there because they shared a rather deep personal connection to the pastor and her husband. This obviously fostered a rather familiar atmosphere. While this does come with a measure of advantage, it did lead to a rather laid back atmosphere.

                It was not uncommon for someone to interrupt the pastor while she was mid-point. There are definite advantages to fostering an atmosphere of feedback. However, feedback does not come without costs. It was evident that the pastor had intended to address many of the questions that people had later on in her sermon.

                At the end of the day, it is probably a very helpful practice for such a small church. To an outsider like me, it was rather uncomfortable. I am very unused to church being interrupted by people’s opinions.

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

                 Throughout the service, I was struck by God’s nearness in suffering. This was never directly addressed, but rather pointed at throughout my time at the house church. Even real suffering can be perceived as a blessing because it is both an opportunity for an individual to allow God to work in them and an opportunity for God to work in their circumstance.

                The pastor’s husband shared a testimony of his recent practice of breath prayer. Every time he was faced with a new situation or circumstance, weather good or bad, he would stop just long enough to remember to pray, say “Thank you Lord.”, and tackle what was in front of him. He is not only rejoicing in the areas that he is blessed in, but every aspect of life.

                If God is near even is suffering, it only makes sense that we rejoice with Him in that. 

Laura Becker - church visit #1

Church name: Church of the Beloved

Church address: 1443 W Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60607

Date attended: January 15, 2014

Church Category: different ethnicity

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
The service at Beloved was not hugely different from my regular worship service at Onnuri Church.  It meets in a building shared by other churches and has a small space to work with, like my church.  The worship used similar types of songs but had a full band as opposed to my church, at which the worship team is comprised of one guy with his guitar.  This church took a collection, which my church does not.  (There is a place to give in the back of the room but it is not mentioned as part of the service, probably because everyone in the English service is in college or high school or middle school and do not have money.)  The message was a lot longer than I am used to because my pastor usually only preaches for fifteen or twenty minutes.  Pastor Dave preached for closer to an hour.  Similar to my church, worshippers fellowship before the service starts and again afterwards.  Because it was the second anniversary of the church, there was a lot of food and a big cake after the service.  

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

I thought the most interesting thing about Beloved is that it is very international and has come up as a church plant that started with no members and no money.  It now has hundreds of members representing about fifteen different countries.  My church only has Korean members so it was different for me to be in a place where being Korean was not assumed.  I appreciated the thought that Pastor Dave put into his sermon about fear, and his personal stories about his father's life and death.  I also noticed that the church is very relationship-oriented, and most of the members talked about their small groups.  It was clear that they care a lot about knowing the people that they worship with.

  

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

I found it somewhat disorienting that all the church members seemed to be young (under thirty-five) and probably from a higher socioeconomic status.  The church has a stated commitment to the city but they may find it difficult to connect with underprivileged communities because most of the members are white or Asian American and more wealthy (with a lot of them being connected to Wheaton College).  I was worried that the church is just another service taking place in the city, but is not really doing anything about social justice.

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?
The worship service illuminated for me the idea of the multicultural church, something I do not experience at my regular church.  I realized that the people who attend Beloved are committed to the idea of a diverse church, and I am not even sure I am behind this idea 100% because it seems like every multicultural church ends up worshipping in a "white evangelical style."  I would guess that most of the worshippers at Beloved are second- or third-generation and the worship service would be disorienting for a Korean immigrant.  However, the worship service showed me that people of diverse backgrounds (at least racially) can come together to form a united church.  Beloved is probably more sensitive to the needs of different ethnic groups than my church is, because my church is primarily concerned with Korean immigrant families.

McRoberts- Church Visit 1

Blog title: McRoberts- Church Visit 1

Church name: Willow Creek

Church address: 67 Algonquin Rd, South Barrington, Illinois 60010

Date attended: Februrary 8th

Church category: Significantly less liturgical

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

Willow Creek was incredibly different than the churches I attend at Wheaton and at home. Firstly, it was a mega-church. Both the churches I attend have either 400-0600 in attendance. Willow Creek houses at least 5,000 on any given Sunday. In fact, the congregation is so large that the church is divided into campuses. The actual worship was a production. While my church has a small choir, Willow Creek has a contemporary Christian concert. There is music, lights, video screens, and beautiful singers. The actual seating of the sanctuary divides the multi-thousand stadium seating into smaller sections to create a unified and personal church feel. The message was pretty typical of the churches I attend. Interestingly enough, I did not feel secluded or lost because of the immensity of the congregation. The pastor almost seemed trained in public speaking.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

I found the “group mentality” most appealing. There was something truly beautiful about a body of Christ followers that large. Although I go to Wheaton College, a fairly large group of Christians, Willow Creek possessed a huge passion that I really have not witnessed on such a large scale. My prediction was that I would really dislike the large congregation and the non-traditional atmosphere but I was pleasantly surprised. Although there were at least 3,000 in attendance, we still had to greet our neighbors and shake their hand. I really appreciated the intricate work that was done to create a unified and welcoming atmosphere. Perhaps if I attended longer, I would feel disappointed to my inability to know the majority of the church body. During this visit, however, I felt very cared for and significant to the members of the church that surrounded me. I truly applaud the administration and councils of the church for bringing the positives of a small church into the mega-church’s walls.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

I was not impressed by the music. There seemed to be a distance between the singers and the congregation. The singers were dressed up in contemporary country/western clothes and really were dancing with the beat. Although the music was very impressive in itself, it did not seem to fit the reason behind the music. The lights were turned off and so you could better see the musicians but this seemed to separate those performing and those worshipping. There almost seemed to be some confusion as to whether or not the congregation should join the band or merely watch the production. I was distracted by the big screens behind the band that were projecting a music video. The songs were well known Christian pop songs but there were no hymns or traditional worship. Some of the elder members seemed a little confused on how to handle the overly contemporary production. Overall, it seemed to distracting to the true purpose of the music.

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

The pastor was truly a talented speaker. I had expected to feel lost in the sea of people during the sermon. Despite my predictions, he had truly drawn all into his message. He spoke about belief and its vital importance to Christianity. He really emphasized the importance between beliefs and preferences. This was incredibly refreshing. I feel many churches try to convert everyone to their own preferences and “beliefs”. I thought the message spoke really well to its megachurch audience. Because it is an incredibly seeker friendly church, they really do need to emphasize the truths to Christianity. So often it is the preferences that give Christians their bad name. My father grew up in a church that “believed” (but really preferred) that movies, alchohol, blue jeans, and makeup were inherently wrong.  It was incredibly enlightening to me to hear that what matters most at the core is what Christians know is truth.

Church name: New City Fellowship

Church Address: 2412 East 4^th Street, Chattanooga, TN 37404

Date Attended: February 16, 2014

Church Category: Different ethnic or racial demographic

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar or different from your regular context?

I attended New City Fellowship in Chattanooga, Tennessee, this last week. I was on a roadtrip to Chattanooga and was invited to come to New City by a girl I met in the dorms of Covenant College there. The worship service at New City  was very different from any that I have attended; it is a PCA church, and I have attended a few like it in this respect, but the worship was Gospel worship (not as familiar to me) and the church’s main goal (as they stated it) was racial reconciliation. Montana, where I grew up, is a pretty racially homogenous state, and racial reconciliation is not something that my church in Montana ever talked about. My church in Wheaton, All Souls Anglican Church, is predominately white as well, so it was different to attend a very purposely multicultural church. New City has two locations in/near Chattanooga – one is made up of mostly African American and white congregants (this is the location I attended), and the other is primarily Hispanic and white congregants. New City’s mission statement, below and a picture of a cross being held by three hands, each of different races, is on the front of their bulletin: “To establish a cross-cultural worshipping community, centered in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that produces disciple believers who become God’s instruments of grace, justice, and mercy.”

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

As an English major, I must say I loved the poetry reading during the service – the poetry of Langston Hughes (especially fun because I just studied his poetry in a class last semester) was read very wonderfully and well as a part of the church’s celebration of Black History Month. Many churches seem to shy away from aspects of culture such as poetry, as they think it won’t be appealing to all or accessible to all (or at least this is the case with many Montana churches), but I found it to be enriching and beautiful. I also loved the worship – it was energetic, beautiful, simple in a very special way, and theologically rich. The fusion between the church’s PCA roots and Gospel worship was lively and fitting, which I was surprised by, because I had never experienced much of either tradition, much less the two paired together. The congregation members were very friendly and welcoming (this seemed to be the case with most Southern people I met though…loved it), and the church made a specific effort to welcome visitors by having us stand up right before greeting time. I loved the liturgical aspects of the service  - we all read the Lord’s prayer, a prayer of confession, and the Scripture for the day together.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

I am not very familiar with Gospel worship, so I must say I was a little disoriented during the worship times. This did not diminish my enjoyment of the worship at all – it still brought me lots of joy, and I was very thankful to see a church body taking on a tone of worship like New City did. The disorienting part (I am embarrassed to say) is that I am not used to worshipping dynamically and physically (my old Baptist church doesn’t really move, and my Anglican church sings hymns with an organ), and more practically I didn’t know when it was appropriate to sing with the Gospel choir and when to just listen. So I did a little of both, which I am guessing is appropriate. I don’t know that this is a bad thing at all, because it seems to me that listening to worship music is very valuable as well as participating in it directly. The sermon length was very challenging for my attention span, as I have grown used to the short sermon and drawn out ceremony of an Anglican service (and I hear this sermon was particularly long). The sermons at All Souls are also indirect and non-linear, but in a very concise and effective way (not sure exactly how that works, but that is the impression I always come away with), so it was difficult for me to hear what I felt like were the same points about righteousness stated over and over again but from different angles and in a progression that took about an hour. I also have grown to love the Anglican tradition and celebration of participation in Communion, so it felt strange to me to have everyone taking Communion at their own pace and without much ceremony as it was handed out.

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

I loved that New City very directly made racial reconciliation part of the Gospel mandate rather than a separate issue to talk about as Christians. Particularly in light of the mostly white congregations I have attended church with, it is rich and challenging for me to see racial reconciliation proclaimed as the main goal of a church rather than (more passively) assumed as a byproduct of God’s people gathering for fellowship. The head pastor, Kevin Smith, emphasized in his sermon that racial reconciliation is difficult to talk about for all involved, and this is exactly why New City chooses to proclaim reconciliation so directly, and with grace for all the frustrations that surround communication involved with topics of race. It seemed to go without question that the sermon about righteousness would include the topic of race, and the way in which New City is celebrating Black History Month is especially beautiful – as I said, Harlem Renaissance poetry was a part of the service, and the church is hosting all sorts of feasting and lectures and discussions during the month.

Cathedral of Hope - Church Visit #1

Justin Lovett – Church Visit 1

Church Name: Cathedral of Hope

Church address: 5910 Cedar Springs Rd, Dallas, TX 75235

Date Attended: Feb 16, 2014

Church Category: significantly more or less liturgical

I was in Dallas this weekend so I decided to attend a church that I would most likely never find in Wheaton. I went with a friend from Dallas. The church is apart of the United Church of Christ, called Cathedral of Hope, the worlds largest inclusive “liberal Christian church with a primary outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.”

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

I attend Church of Res regularly, and as many of you know, they have a liturgical service that exceeds that of most other churches. Cathedral of Hope on the other hand practices a mix between structure and free worship. It was not a service based of spontaneity, or the moving of the holy spirit, in fact the service had a lot of structure. According to a friend of mine who has been there about 4 times, they do sing two songs regularly. They sing the song, “this little light of mine,” and “Let freedom span both east and West,” but they were much more free in their doctrine and preaching. I will talk more about this later.

The people that attended were some what diverse. There were about 65 percent men, and 35 percent women. There was an even amount of Latinos, Whites, and Asians, but it did look like the dominant group was white men. Other than my friend and I, I only saw two other heterosexual couples, out of 800.  Most of the congregation were between the ages of 30-50 years old. They were all very nicely dressed and participated in the worship.

During worship people raised their hands during some of the songs, most everyone sang, the pastor read a short passage from Matthew 5:21-26 and then gave a 10 – 15 message which also incorporated an author’s writing about Buddhism. Most of the messages and songs were focused on the Grace of God, the freedom that grace gives, and the love of Christ. They took offering near the middle of the service, and then had open communion at the end of the service.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

            Their open communion was the most interesting to me. They said, “we have open communion, and we will not turn you away from partaking in the feast of grace no matter who you are.” I think most of the congregation has experienced a lot of rejection in their lives, from their families, friends, and churches. Cathedral of Hope’s open communion is a symbol of acceptance through the grace of Jesus.

            I found most appealing the welcoming atmosphere. To be frank, at someone points it was a little bit too much, but none the less, the congregation was actually more welcoming than the church I am regularly attending.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

           

            I have never felt as uncomfortable as I did during that service than I have in any other service. Some of the things the pastor said, I did not agree with at all. It seems like a very Universalist view of Christianity. He mainly focused on the love of God and his grace. Furthermore, He often used ambiguous language like Creator, or Maker when referencing God, and they called themselves followers of the way, and not Jesus. At one point, he started talking about scripture that is hard to understand, he was referencing Matthew 5:30, when Jesus says, “if your right hand causes you to sin, cut if off,” the pastor said, “it is ok to disagree with scripture, it is ok to disagree with Jesus, some times old is not better.” Perhaps he could have said what he was thinking in a better way, because that sounded very illogical for a pastor of a Christian church to say that.

            It was strange seeing so many homosexual couples in one place. I think that the reason so many were there, is because many find it hard to find people who love them for who they are, like me, they want friends, and at this church most everyone is accepting them for where they are at. One guy who was becoming a member shared his testimony of why he decided to join, and it was because the pastor and one other member helped him move back to Dallas from Chicago. Not only were they the first people to be his friend, but they were eager to do so by serving him.

What aspects of scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

           

            The service I went to illuminated the aspect of Gods love. It was very focused on how the love of God can conquer all things, and that Jesus came preaching a message of love for everyone.

            In the church I attend the ministers will often go through scripture systematically, and perhaps use a personal story to illustrate the message. Church of the Cathedral preached in a topical style, which allowed the pastor to find more scriptural examples that explained his message.

            The last aspect that this church illuminated to me I found in their book that they give visitors. They bring to light that Jesus says nothing at all about homosexuality, but he says a lot more about judgment, pride, and hypocrisy. Why do so many Christians choose to focus so strongly on the sexual sin of others when Jesus did not see the need to focus on it? Instead we should be looking at the sin that is committed in the heart, like they said, Jesus had a lot more to say about judgment, pride, and hypocrisy.

Timothy Chung – Church Visit #1

Church name: St. Michael Catholic Church

Church address: 310 S West St, Wheaton, IL 60187

Date attended: January 19, 2014

Church Category: Significantly more liturgical

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

            The mass at Saint Michael’s was significantly different from my regular Chinese non-denominational worship service. Being used to a plainly decorated sanctuary, the sanctuary of Saint Michael’s with stained glass, a pool of holy water, and a large crucifix caught my attention. At my home church, worshippers simply take a seat in sanctuary chairs before worship, but at Saint Michael’s, worshippers crossed themselves and kneeled facing the crucifix before entering a pew. A woman accompanied by an organ lead the congregation in hymns instead of a praise team. The priest conducted the worship service and sacraments via chanting and the congregation was very involved in the service compared to my home church. The Eucharist was given in a precise manner and worshippers were able to choose to partake in one or both of the elements. The collection of tithes was practiced in a similar fashion to my regular church context.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

            The most appealing aspect of mass at Saint Michael’s was the orderliness of the service and the unity among the worshippers necessary to achieve it. From the procession of the priest, deacon, and alter servers to their recession, every detail of the mass was carefully coordinated and executed. While a bulletin outlined the order of events in the mass, I was amazed by how the worshippers participated in the service by responding liturgically to the priest at specific times not mentioned in the bulletin. The laity contributed to the efficiency and established structure of the mass. The participation of the laity and orderliness throughout mass created a greater sense of the authority of the Catholic Church and Scripture by clearly establishing a hierarchy of roles. The priest represented the authority of the Catholic Church to the laity while the laity received from the priest teaching and the Eucharist.

  

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

            While the liturgy of the Catholic Church is beautiful and integral to mass, it was also very disorienting. It was very difficult to feel a part of the congregation because, being unfamiliar with the order of mass and the cues of the priest, I was unable to follow the Missal. As an evangelical, the difficulty of following the mass bothered me. In my opinion, a church worship service should be sensitive to visitors of the church who might be seeking to know the Lord as their personal savior. During mass at Saint Michael’s, I was worried that nonbelievers may be turned away by the high liturgy and I also felt more distant from my brothers and sisters of the Catholic Church. However, I can now understand how mass unites all Catholics through its distinct traditions, theology, and practices that are observed worldwide by the Catholic Church.

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

            The theology that the church is necessarily diverse and united was illuminated for me during my visit to Saint Michael’s. I was struck by how Roman Catholics officially believe in the same doctrines, hear the same readings on a given Sunday, and participate in the same structure of mass around the world. In this way, attending Saint Michael’s gave me a glimpse of the incredible unity that the Body of Christ is capable of. The unity of the Catholic Church allows it to be more effective in sending missionaries around the world, in sustaining its local private schools and parishes, and in participating in humanitarian efforts on a much larger scale compared to protestant denominations. I believe that the Catholic Church provides an excellent example of unity that evangelicals should strive for in order to more efficiently and effectively spread the Gospel while caring for the needs of the oppressed.