Church name: Church of the Resurrection
Church address: 935 W. Union Ave. Wheaton, IL 60187
Date attended: March 2, 2014
Church category: More liturgical   

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

I attended Church of the Resurrection, which is considered more liturgical than my regular church. Church of the Rez hands out programs for their services which are all you need to follow for the whole service. The programs include instructions for when to sit and stand and passages/prayers that will be read together. This is different from my regular church context because we don’t usually read things off programs; if it is a corporate activity, the words are on the screen. Also, Church of the Rez incorporates many liturgical readings, prayers, and passages throughout their service, and devotes more time to these while devoting less time to songs and the sermon. It was similar to my regular service in the sermon style and the way of taking communion, which was by walking up to the front and taking it.

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

It seems to me that Church of the Rez takes communion on a weekly basis. I found this very interesting and I think it’s a good idea because it is a reminder of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection each week. While once a week is more often than my church tradition of once a month, I think this practice is good because we as humans forget so easily all that the Lord has done for us. Even week to week we may forget his sacrifice for us. I think observing communion each week amongst other brothers and sisters would be a good way to remind ourselves of what God has done, and provide the space for us to confess our sins. My church does not generally have a time of confession each week. I think it’s appealing that Church of the Rez provides this space through holding communion each week.

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

I didn’t quite like that you had to rely on the programs the whole time. Even for their worship songs, the lyrics were printed in the programs. While this is convenient and definitely eliminates any chance of technical difficulties with slides, I felt like I was singing to the paper the whole time and disregarding everything around me. I think it’s important to be aware of your surroundings during worship services; this doesn’t necessarily mean paying attention to what someone else is doing, but simply noticing how the congregation is responding to God as a whole. I felt like physically holding the programs the whole time also restricted me a little from feeling free in worship. I was only concerned with what would happen next in the service instead of really taking in what was going on at the present time.

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

Though I found that the practice of reading off scripture passages and prayers restricted me a bit, I did think that having the set readings and Scriptures in the service was nice. The scripture reading called me to engage with the word as well, not passively observe it, and helped me to recognize that this word is for everyone. By reading it aloud with the others around me, I took its message more seriously and analyzed what it meant for myself and the others around me. Similarly, the set prayers called me to take part in what I was saying, and I found that they often put things more clearly than I could have done. These prayers allowed me to say to God what I desired, even if I could not form those thoughts in my own mind. Furthermore, I was reminded me that some of the prayers we said were from years ago, and I felt united with the many other brothers and sisters who have said them in the past.