Krista Schuh- Church Visit #2

Krista Schuh- Church Visit #2

Church name: St. Hyacinth Basilica

Church address: 3636 West Wolfram St, Chicago IL

Date attended: 9/19/15

Church Category: Liturgical

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

Upon seeing the church building from a distance, I immediately expected the service to look different than what I’m accustomed to. The immaculate building, paired with my preconceived notions of Catholicism, led me to think it would be more uncomfortable and much different than my normal setting. Since I now attend a PCA, much of the service was actually fairly similar. There was more sitting then standing then kneeling, but there was purpose behind the motions, and guidance from those around. There was pre-selected worship from a hymnal, scripture readings, the tithe and then offerings, and a short message on service. Though the service was similarly highly structured, as at the PCA I attend, it was definitely more somber and less conversational.

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

The beauty and reverence of the physical building and the service itself really struck me. Though this is a common sentiment when visiting more liturgically based churches, it doesn’t make it any less true. I think sometimes it is easy for me to casually approach God. Though we can boldly approach the throne of grace because of Jesus, I sometimes still too nonchalantly approach the omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent God. So, the structure of the service, the carefully chosen words and music, as well as the beauty of the building, were very appealing. This is very trivial, but I also liked how man singing had a thick Polish accent, as the church and surrounding neighborhood is predominantly Polish.

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

The most disorienting thing about the worship service was probably the intense structure, and the fairly strong feeling that I was on the outside looking in. Some of that may have been easily remedied with a slightly better understanding of the service flow, and maybe a seat location closer to the center, yet I couldn’t help but to realize that some would probably never feel welcomed in that building. On the inside dome of the basilica was a mural of what I assume to be the “great cloud of witnesses”. They had people represented from all time periods and professions, standing at what appears to be the gates of heaven, or something of the sort. All of the people depicted were white. Though I look at these images and can identify racially with the Christian brothers and sisters shown, it challenged me and left me feeling unsatisfied with how we imagine Christians to look.

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

I think the discipline and unity of the church structure was something that impacted how I view my walk of faith. It is easy to think of it as just that, a solo walk with God, but the sense of unity within the church, and even the beautiful murals painted around the basilica, helped me to better see that I am but a small part of something much larger. My misconceptions about Catholics were broken down some as well, as the priest spoke on service in the kingdom. None of what he said led back to earning merit, but he instead offered a freeing message in sticking with the teachings of Jesus.