KC Gouthro - Church Visit #2

Church name: Lawndale Christian Community Church

Church address: 3827 W. Ogden Avenue Chicago, IL 60623

Date attended: October 11, 2015

Church category: Significantly Lower Socioeconomic Demographic 

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

Even though it was not the kind of service I am used to, I really enjoyed the worship service at Lawndale Christian Community Church. Generally speaking, it was similar to my usual experience in the sense that it included worship, prayer, and a message. That being said, each of these aspects was presented differently than in my usual context. The music portion of the service was first done as a congregation, then just by the choir, then again as a congregation as the children were dismissed to Sunday school. This is much more frequent than the strict twenty minutes of worship included in the typical service at my home church. In addition to this, the scripture readings and call to worship were done by members of the congregation rather than by the pastor. There was also close to equal emphasis on community praise and prayer as there was on the message. This did make the service longer than the typical service at my home church, but left me feeling fully recharged rather than wishing for some more corporate worship time.

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

There were many parts of this service I found so appealing that I wish my church would implement them. First, as I mentioned above, I loved the equal amounts of time spent in praise and worship and time spent sharing the message. I also enjoyed the time the church took to have members come up to microphones, introduce themselves, and share a praise report or a prayer request. What I loved even more than this opportunity was how many church members participated in it with humble hearts and pure honesty. I understand that this does not occur weekly, but taking the time every once in a while to check in with the church community is very telling of the church’s values. In addition to these things, the attention showed to the children during the children’s message seemed to empower the children in a way that is lacking in my church. Last, but not least, I appreciated the manner in which Coach presented the message in a biblically focused and easily applicable way.

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

I was not as disoriented in this service as I was in the Catholic mass I attended, but the worship portion did have me slightly out of sync at times. The primary reason for this was my unfamiliarity with the songs that were chosen, but the free-structured set up also threw me for a bit of a loop. Rather than having a clear cut (x3) at the end of the refrain slide, the worship leader would just wave her hand in a circle to signal the band and the congregation to sing that section again.  Even though it caught me off guard in the beginning, by the end of the service I had a profound appreciation for this approach to worship. I believe this freeform structure can better serve the needs of the congregation in the moment than a worship portion planned down to the second.

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

The power of prayer was emphasized throughout the entire service in a way I have not seen before. (Unless the sermon topic that week was the power of prayer, which it was not in this case.) The power of prayer was acknowledges through the song choice, the time set aside for prayer requests and prayer for the members who shared, as well as in the sermon. Specifically, one of the worship songs sung by the choir included the lyrics “You can depend on God to get you through, you can depend on me to pray for you.” This was so beautiful to experience, as you could tell that those who were singing truly meant every word. This, as well as other aspects of the service, also brought the Christus Victor theory of atonement to mind. It was repeated many times that God is bigger than anything you are up against, specifically current circumstances and habits that negatively affect health. This emphasis on prayer and the victory of Christ was great to experience.

Emma Sargent -- Church Visit #2

Church Name: St. Peter’s Church

Church Address: 110 West Madison Street, Chicago, IL

Date Attended: 19 October 2015

Church Category: Significantly More Liturgical Church

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context? I attended an evening weekday mass at St. Peter’s Catholic Church. The service began in silence – my friend and I entered the sanctuary about seven minutes before the service began, and sat at the back. Other parishioners began filtering in, silently, as we sat. Then two priests entered the pulpit area and began to lead the congregation in a series of call-and-response prayers and readings. Some of the prayers were sung, and the congregation attempted to echo the priest’s melody line. My friend and I could not find an order of service in any of the books or bulletins in our pew, so we guessed what we could and mumbled most of our responses. My church regularly does responsive readings, but this was less clear than I was used to – or perhaps it was less clear precisely because I was less used to it. There were two scripture readings, which I was expecting. There was then a short homily, which followed the contours of sermons I am familiar with, but was much more based on Saints’ lives than on scripture. The service then moved to the Eucharist, including a confession of sin. After we watched the other parishioners go forward to receive communion, there was a short prayer of benediction and blessing, and then people left in silence. The general shape of the service felt familiar to me – prayers, scripture, sermon, Communion. However, everything was more formal and distant seeming – the liturgy of the prayers and the sacraments felt solemn and holy.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service? I was immediately drawn in by the beauty of the sanctuary – this church was on Madison Avenue in Chicago, about two blocks from Millennium Park. We were walking past skyscrapers and business buildings, and the only thing that set this building apart was a slightly nicer door and a sign. Once we stepped inside, it was an entirely different world: the sanctuary was all carved stone and gold. It seemed a place apart, to ponder the holy mystery of God. I loved the reverence with which the other parishioners would kneel before entering the pews. The sanctuary smelled like incense, a scent that drew me in and seemed to emphasize God’s holiness. At the same time, I was struck by the diversity of people in the pews. Most seemed to be businesspeople on their way home from work, but there were also a number of people who appeared to be homeless, carrying grocery bags of belongings. Some participated in the Eucharist; some napped through the half-hour service.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service? Practically, I had very little idea of when to speak, when to stand, when to sit, and when to kneel. It was very disorienting. While I appreciated the sense of formality and “separateness” that the rituals brought into the service, I think this made it more difficult to be a visitor. I not only felt like I was in the presence of something “other,” but also like I was separate from the other parishioners. They were very much “in” and I was very much “out.”

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context? “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul will be healed.” At some point in the responsive prayers leading up to the blessing of the elements, the congregation spoke this prayer together. I recognized it from the account of the centurion in the gospels, but I had never thought of those words as a prayer before. I think the Catholic service reminded me of the holiness and beauty both of God himself and of the practice of worship. The silent sanctuary, the chanting of prayers, and the carved stone surrounding us gave the time an aspect of timelessness and transcendence. I was reminded of how very small I was, and how great God was. 

Leah Blobaum - Church visit #2

Church name: Bethel Presbyterian Church
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.  

Ryan Chae - Church Visit #3

Church name: Dewey Community Church

Church address: 16 3^rd Street, Dewey, IL 61840

Date attended: 10/18/15

Church category: Lower socioeconomic demographic

1. The service began with a prelude and some announcements followed by a time of worship and scripture reading. The offering and sermon were after this. In terms of the order and style of service, it was very similar to my church worship service in Wheaton. The difference in the service was that the congregation was made up of mostly farmers and other working class occupations in comparison with the largely upper class congregation of my church back in Wheaton. The sermon was on Hebrews 10:19-25 and encouraging the congregation to push on towards further maturity in Christ. The sermon was just as in depth as the sermons normally given to the higher socioeconomic congregation, which I think was mostly due to the strong tradition of Christian faith in Central Illinois. The church congregation ranges from about 100-150 people each Sunday.

2. What I found interesting about the worship service was the simplicity of the sanctuary and the kindness of the people. There were no flashing lights or projected backdrops to the worship music, and the sanctuary had a very comforting feeling about it. The church building is quite aged but the congregation has maintained it and even added a new addition through the labor of its own members and intensive fundraising throughout the community (They didn’t take out any loans on the new building). Secondly, the people in the congregation were very friendly and came up to me after the service to welcome me and introduce themselves. Dewey Church is in rural Central Illinois, approximately 20 minutes outside of Champaign-Urbana. The farming community has a culture of friendliness regardless of your acquaintance to another. This combined with a Christian community makes for a very loving and warm reception for visitors to their church.

3. One of the most challenging parts of the service was getting used to the worship style of the congregation. I have a friend from Sandwich, Illinois that describes a similar experience at church where the congregation is pretty much frozen in place during worship. While some would complain that many Wheaton students and churches are like this as well, this church congregation would simply sing in place with little emotion or expression. However, they were belting out the lyrics and for a small church congregation, they were singing very well. I know that it can be easy to judge others’ worship styles through the lens of your own worship style and I definitely found myself combating that while I visited the church. However, I could tell that while they did not worship through expression, they were certainly worshiping and it was enlightening to see how another culture engaged themselves in worship to the same God that I worship.

4. This worship service illuminated for me the power of the church. One of the points of the sermon was that interaction with fellow Christians will move us toward greater maturity in Christ. Throughout the service, this church served as a reminder for me what the church was capable of when it acts together. The church was very involved in the community. It is the only church in the town of roughly 300 people and as such offers many opportunities for the community to come together both in fun and spiritually. The church built their new addition not only to expand the building of a growing church, but also to be a gathering place for the community. Like many churches, they were hosting a Halloween party but unlike many other churches, one has to remember that there are barely any treat or treating options available for kids in rural Illinois. Besides raising all $600,000 for their new addition without loans, they were also involved in supporting missionaries and supporting local charities.