Tanner, Sydney – Church Visit #2
Church name: DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church
Church address: 4300 Yackley Avenue, Lisle, IL 60532
Date attended: March 23, 2014
Church category: Different racial majority from Willow Creek Community Church, where I attend
Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
The worship service was very different from my regular context. The music was quite different. Instead of a worship band, the service began with hymn singing led by a gospel choir composed of young people (high school and college-aged). The choir also performed special music. They performed the song "Fix You" by Coldplay, one of my all-time favorite songs. It was so beautiful and powerfully performed. The announcements were led by one woman who introduced various committee leaders to come share updates or announcements regarding their specific ministries. Everyone "amened", "hallelujahed", and clapped for the ministry leaders who made announcements. This was followed by a time of introducing the visitors. They had us stand, say our names, and what brought us to their church. This church had a much greater awareness for visitors and sense of welcoming than my home church. The choir continued to lead us in worship during a time of offering and leading into the pastor's sermon. I am used to my very traditional pastor Bill Hybels who writes his sermons on little pieces of paper and reads them off in a very organized manner. Today, Rev. James Miller was all around the church, proclaiming scripture with inflection and passion, and the way he spoke was almost song-like. It was very powerful but radically different from what I am used to. We then ended the service with the Doxology, holding hands with our brothers and sisters across the aisles.
What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?
Today I was one of very few white people in a primarily black church for the very first time, and I have never felt more welcomed in a church in my entire life. The whole service is focused around community, from the singing to the announcements to prayer and the sermon. During the introduction of the visitors, we were applauded after introducing ourselves, the congregation all smiles. Afterwards they had us sit while they stood, singing a blessing over us. I could not contain my joy and sense that this church was bringing heaven to earth, engaging in true unity of the body. Here I was, myself and two other white girls, and they were welcoming us and loving us. Afterwards was a time of greeting. Countless people came across the service to shake our hands and bless us. I also loved the style of singing. I loved the choir and the fact that they sang everything from classic hymns to Coldplay to gospel music, closing us in the Doxology. Lastly I greatly enjoyed seeing women up front in the church as leaders. The executive pastor is the senior pastor's wife, and many of the ushers were also women. This church truly represented the unity of the body of Christ to me today.
What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
There was very little I did not enjoy about this morning's service. However, during the pastor's sermon, he began mentioning historical figures in black history and how God used them, which quickly turned to President Obama and became political. He was talking about how President Obama is creating funds for children of color and began mentioning black celebrities such as Lebron James and Kerry Washington. He was mentioning how high their salaries are and how they should be giving money to this campaign of Obama's in support of black children. Though I did not disagree with anything he said exactly, it was a bit out of context and seemed a bit inappropriate in a church setting, regardless of the fact that the church is primarily African-American.
What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?
This church definitely painted a clear picture of Galatians 3:28 for me, that we truly are all one in Christ Jesus. I expected to feel very uncomfortable as one of the only white people in the congregation, but I didn't. I felt loved, accepted, and cared for. My two girl friends and I spoke to a few people after the service who came up to us intentionally, one of them a former Wheaton College student. This was very encouraging and something that does not happen much in my home church. My home church is very individualized and oftentimes does not feel very unified at all. This sense of inclusion and invitation was only amplified by the pastor's call to church membership at the end of his sermon. He invited anyone who wanted me be welcomed as a member of the DuPage AME church body to come up. I thought this was really interesting as the contexts I grew up in and now attend present church membership as a process including a special class or course.
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