Ben Norton - Church Visit #1

Church name: Iglesia Cristiana Community (Community Christian Church East Aurora)
Church address: 76 S. LaSalle St., Aurora, IL 60505
Date attended: 9/20/15
Church category: Significantly Lower Socioeconomic Demographic

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
The service had several substantial dissimilarities from what I have grown accustomed to at Resurrection. I arrived at the time the service was scheduled to begin, and was surprised to find that it had already begun—my entrance did not go unnoticed. I was surprised to find that only several dozen people were in attendance, and the pastor acknowledged my entrance with a “welcome to Iglesia Cristiana,” amidst the church news and updates. The building itself was small, hot, and uncomfortable in comparison to the open floorplan at Rez. As noted by someone else on the blog, the service was presented in both Spanish and English. In my experience, there were not many families in attendance—most of the congregation had come alone, and sat in the service as far away from one another as possible. At resurrection, the pastoral staff seems less welcoming, but the church body is significantly more hospitable. Despite all of the uncomfortableness, the structure of the service felt familiar. It was a little over an hour in length, and opened with several songs that I had heard before. This was trailed by communion and a message, and the service concluded with a benediction.

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

Without question, the most appealing aspect of the service was that it was bilingual, and that the community was over half Latino. This, coupled with the informality of the service, fostered a “come as you are,” vibe. This and the friendly pastoral staff made the church more inviting. The idea of a mixed ethnicity church offers a wider variety of perspectives on life, which is an essential part of a strong community. I was told by the founders of Mission Possible Clinic (Aurora, IL), where I work, that this was a low income church community. This was readily apparent, and I appreciate that greatly—a body of believers gathering to celebrate Christ alongside one another, despite circumstances. While the church building was uncomfortable, I genuinely feel that this added appeal for me. The whole experience felt more authentic and less hypocritical. People weren’t gathering to socialize in a ten million dollar building, they were there to worship.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
As often is a barrier to moving to a small church, people seemed to know each other, and had little interest in getting to know guests or other people. I felt very uncomfortable because people weren’t talking amongst one another, and everyone seemed to be there alone. I sensed a tension—almost hostility—between members of the church. While I love the multiethnic facet of the church, there almost seemed to be two separate churches with the bilingual service, and the obvious racial division down the aisles. I found the communion a little disorienting, as I am used to intinction, followed by quiet prayer. In this setting, the congregation took communion together, and there was no time to reflect, confess, or praise, which subtracted from the meaning of the action.

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context? 
In this setting, I was much more responsive to the message, which was on servitude and love. Growing up in several large churches, where the congregation is comprised of predominantly the upper-middle class, this message is often hard to listen to. At Iglesia Cristiana Community, the pastor was telling the underprivileged to humbly serve the community. In a place where the people have so much less (no $70,000 cars or Tom Ford suits on display), it was easier to hear the message: that we should give of our time and resources regardless of how much we have been given. This was as evident in the offering as in the message. The director of MP had notified me that many homeless people go to the church. It was not evident by the way that they gave.