Church name: Lawndale Community Church
Church address: 3827 W. Ogden, Chicago, Illinois 60623
Date Attended: October 25, 2015
Church Category: 10 miles from Wheaton, different racial demographic, lower socio-economic status
Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
The service felt less formal than the services I frequently attend. I think it’s because the service was in a gym. Everyone was extremely welcoming and friendly. The worship and prayers felt less formal and scripted and more natural. It felt very genuine and authentic. The music was more contemporary. It was led by a few worship leaders and at times by a choir. There was a long period of time for the attendees to come forward and share prayer requests and praises. This was something that I had not experienced before. Additionally there was scripture read and a sermon preached on James. The pastor used a powerpoint to help the members follow along with his points and to provide visuals. Additionally, they had a Chicago police officer at the service share a bit and then was hosting a question and answer time after the service. This was something extremely unique that I had not experienced before! It seemed to be a reflection of the ways that the church was seeking to serve the community
What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?
One of the things I found most appealing about the service was the ways that the church clearly sought to serve the needs of the community it was situated in. One way I saw this was in the time for prayer requests and praise. The church had such sense of community. People were willing to come forward and be vulnerable and share personal stories publically with the church. The members showed great compassion and care for each other and sensitivity to their needs. As the members were sharing the pastor took notes and then prayed for each of the needs once everyone who wanted to had shared. There was no sense of rushing through it or worrying about the service going long. There was a genuine care for the people in the congregation and a desire to support them. Another way I saw the church seek to serve the needs of the community was through the various programs they offered. They talked about a violence prevention program and also offered the question and answer time with the police officer. The church clearly had thought about some of the struggles of the community and was seeking to meet the needs of and serve members of the community. This was extremely powerful to see!
What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
The way the church so clearly plunged into the needs of the community was a bit disorienting to me because they sought to be involved in issues that I think some churches would back away from. It was a new experience to worship with people who were mostly a different race and socioeconomic group than myself. It definitely challenged my traditional views of a church service. I thought it was so interesting that they had invited a police officer to the service. When he came up to share a little bit it he seems a little uncomfortable. I think because of recent events and the media’s portrayal of the conflict between African Americans and the police force I was surprised to see that a police officer had been invited to share with a predominately African American church. It really demonstrated that clearly the church is seeking to establish a more peaceful and healthy community and they are willing to engage with difficult issues in order to help the community thrive and challenged any stereotypes I might have about urban African-American neighborhoods.
What aspects of Scripture of theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?
Through my experience at Lawndale Community Church I really saw the power of prayer. I know that I’ve talked a lot about this but I was really impacted by the time for the congregation to share prayer requests and praises. Prayer was clearly an important aspect of this community as they sought to be supporting each other in prayer. I think often times at the church I attend prayer can feel very formal and scripted. I think it can often feel this way at Wheaton as well. My experience with prayer at Lawndale Community Church felt very authentic and natural. I think that as Christians we are called to have prayer be a significant part of our community and to be something that ties our communities together. This was extremely evident in the service at Lawndale Community Church.
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