Hannah Hacker - Church visit #3

Church name: Resurrection Catholic Parish

Church address: 30W350 Army Trail Road, Wayne, IL 60184

Date attended: November 1st, 2015

Church category: More Liturgical

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

            The service followed traditional Catholic liturgy. During the first part of the service, a small ensemble of a pianist and a few choristers located at one side of the sanctuary led the congregation in several hymns and two people read portions of scripture. Then a priest delivered a short sermon while walking all around the center space of the sanctuary. Afterward, the congregation recited the Nicene Creed and went through the Eucharist ceremony. At home, I attend a non-denominational church that does not use liturgy. At school, I attend the Anglican Church of the Resurrection, which is similar to this Catholic because it also emphasizes Eucharist along with the sermon message and because it uses similar interactive elements in worship. However, it has draws from a greater diversity of music for worship.

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

            Because of the use of liturgy, this church service seemed uniquely connected to churches around the world and Christian communities of the past, which is a very different feeling from more contemporary or forward-focused services in non-liturgical contexts. Additionally, the ceremoniousness of every aspect of the service, from the signing of the cross, to bowing before the crucifix, to kissing the Bible, created an atmosphere of holiness and reverence for God and conveyed the gravity of our worship. I personally liked the way the physical structure of the sanctuary, which was almost round and had all the seats facing a central open space, allowed the congregation to feel more united, even with the musicians and the priests. Rather than creating an audience/leader dynamic in most church contexts, this service made it seem more like we were all, congregants and clergy alike, coming together to worship God. And I have to admit that although the sermon was very short and seemed like something was missing, it was easier to focus because it was so brief.

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

             I am not familiar with the Catholic liturgy, so I constantly felt like I was a step behind everyone else. There were no cues about when to sit, when to stand, the right response to the priests’ statements, or when to sign the cross. But what was most challenging for me was the content of the sermon/homily. Since it was All Saints Day, the priest posed the question, who goes to heaven? Immediately, the typical evangelical answer came to mind: anyone who believes in Jesus. So I was shocked when he said that the answer was anyone who obeys God. Which in a sense is true, for faith in Jesus and accepting the grace of salvation should be followed by obedience. But the blatant omission of any reference to salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ during an entire homily on how to get to heaven seemed to miss Biblical truth. Attending this sermon highlighted the difference between Catholic and Protestant theology.

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

             Even though the homily essentially pointed to human efforts as the source of eternal life, it did help me to see ways in which I may emphasize the importance of free grace to the exclusion of the importance righteous living. This service reminded me that God does really care about how Christians live and while we are not saved by good works, we are saved for good works. My assurance of salvation on the basis of Jesus’ death and resurrection is not an excuse for apathetic living; rather, it is the basis for both being sanctified and loving others. One aspect of the worship also struck me. Before reading from a gospel, the congregation sang a very joyful “allelulia” while the priest paraded the book around the sanctuary. This emphasis on the joy of the gospel and its precious nature is not as evident in a context where the Bible is taken for granted and everyone reads along on their phones or from a projection at the fro