Church Visit #1

Church name: St. Joseph Orthodox Christian Church

Church address: 412 Crescent St., Wheaton, IL

Date attended: February 16th, 2014

Church category: Liturgical

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

The worship service was about two hours long (9:30am-11:30am), and almost an hour and a half of the service was sung liturgy while those in the congregation stood. Those in the congregation had 75-page books which contained the service, including the music which was directed by a woman in the front. Although I come from a pentecostal background in which a two hour service would be normal, there was no liturgy, the congregation only stood during worship (20-30 minutes), and the sermon was about an hour and a half rather than a half hour at the Orthodox church. Rather than liturgy, a group of musicians would play contemporary music lead by a singer while the congregation joined in, dancing, shouting, raising their hands, praying out loud, and sometimes even crying or falling to the ground. There were no musicians in the Orthodox service. St. Joseph's has a priest and deacons who are clearly set apart by their ornate gold robes and their roles in bringing forth different elements and singing parts of the liturgy, while the pastor at my regular context might only be set apart by his seat in the front row and a microphone hooked to his ear. The priest and deacons were all male, while my own context has female pastors and elders. Furthermore, the communion was center to both the liturgy and the service at St. Joseph's, while my own church context would only celebrate communion once a month. Rather than the simple colors and plain walls of my own church context, the walls had many large, hand-painted icons adorned with gold leaf that represented the saints, Mary, Jesus, and key events from the life of Jesus including his birth, teaching, triumphal entry, crucifixion, and resurrection. St. Josephs incorporated incense and many rituals I did not really understand. 

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

To me, one of the most interesting parts of the service was the way in which it engaged all five senses of the body in very real and tangible ways to worship. Not unlike a service in my own tradition, there was a strong use of sound although it was very different than contemporary worship songs or even hymns. Singing rather than speaking made me think more about the words and the music would engage with the words such as dissonant notes while singing about pain or sorrow. There was a visual element that engaged my eyes. Even if I found myself disconnecting with any part of the service because it could seem repetitive or I did not understand the symbolism of the actions of the priest/deacons, I could look at the beautiful icons upon the walls and be reminded of the story of the Gospel and all that God has done for us through Jesus Christ. While I could not participate in the communion, this represented the taste of the body and blood of Jesus. Because almost the entire service I was standing rather than sitting, I felt very aware of my body and the way that I was participating rather than simply receiving a message or learning intellectually. When I have attended Catholic Mass in the past, I could never understand why the priest would use incense, but during this service I started to think about how smell is something that can bring up very strong emotions and memories. Furthermore, I contemplated the scriptures that talk about a "pleasing aroma" in reference to our worship and to God's presence. It is an indicator of existence to something you cannot necessarily see. 

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

Because so much of the Orthodox service was new to me, I quickly became tired of trying to understand and interpret everything that was happening. Because the liturgy was all in one musical key and the notes were not particularly variant, I found the music somewhat tiresome by the end. I wish I could have understood the significance of many of the things I was hearing and seeing. Although I appreciated the liturgy, I felt like the relatively short amount of time dedicated to the preaching of the Bible was rushed and significantly less important. Also, the incense gave me a strong headache. 

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

Although I do not know if I believe that a church service should be so centered around liturgy, I think I have a much clearer understanding of why the Orthodox church chooses to use liturgy for their services. It really takes you through the story of scripture and the Gospel and engages you in physical response to the words being spoken (sung). I also find that engaging in ritual in which each action has meaning and purpose is something that is much more important to me in the last few months, which was reflected beautifully in this service much more than my usual church context.