Church address: 399 N Quentin Rd Palatine, IL 60067
Date attended: 18 October 2015
Church category: Different ethnic demographic
Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
I attended the English Ministries service at Bethel, which is a largely Korean church. The english-speaking service went on at the same time but separately from the main Korean-speaking service. In some ways, I was similar with this setting because my home church has a main english-speaking service with other ministry branches for different languages, but it was different in that I was not attending the larger service. It was also a different denomination than my home church. The music worship was short, but very heartfelt and genuine. Another difference for me was that I was one of the only white people in the room. I am certainly comfortable with diversity in church settings, but I have not attended a lot of churches where I am the minority. The sermon was something similar to what I might hear at home or from other churches I attend near Wheaton.
What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?
When I walked into the church, I was immediately greeted and directed to where the English Ministry was meeting. The church members were very friendly and welcoming. I never felt unwelcome while I was there. Additionally, as I mentioned before, the music worship was a bit short, but I found myself able to connect well with the sincerity of the worship. I also greatly enjoyed the sermon. The pastor taught through a specific passage in Hosea 2, and he based his message on the content of that section of scripture. It was refreshing to have a sermon taught on a passage of Scripture and dissecting the theme of it, rather than compiling verses that can be used to back up the speaker's own agenda. In addition to the layout of the sermon, I enjoyed the message talked about our "betrothal" to God.
What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
One disorienting thing for me at this church service was that there were so few people there. There were probably a maximum of twenty people in the room aside from the pastor and two worship leaders. It was a much smaller service than I'm used to. I was additionally caught off guard by the fact that the Eucharist and offering were not included in the service. Almost every other church I have attended includes those, and particularly the lack of Eucharist in the service was something I found disorienting. Despite the fact that we did not have communion in the service, I cannot make assumptions about how they include it in their church community. With no mention of or time to give in the offering, I do not know their opinion on that subject. I did not observe anywhere someone could give an offering.
What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?
From everything I observed, the church really seems like it makes a strong emphasis on community. All newcomers are warmly welcomed, and there were a lot of available activities to participate in within the church. The church service itself was focused on the theme of God's simultaneous acknowledgment of our brokenness and His promise of our redemption. This hopeful message also struck me as something that likely united the church in a community of Christ-followers. It was a great experience; and I was reminded that even with peoples of all different cultural origins, ethnicities, and nationalities, Christ is the unifying culture for all in the church.
No comments:
Post a Comment