Lena Maxey - Church Visit #2

Church name: Lawndale Community Church

Church address: Lawndale, Chicago (you know)

Date attended: 4/12

Church category: Different socio/economic level

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

The overall format of the service was similar to what I am familiar with, it started off with singing, then the pastor gave announcements, then the pastor preached, and we ended with singing again. I guess it had a few less elements than my regular context. I think it was a similar mixture of ethnicities as my church but with a different group of people; my church is mostly Korean and Korean Americans with some Chinese, Southeast Asians, a couple of other ethnicities and a good number of white people. Lawndale was mostly African Americans, with a few people of different ethnicities, and then a good number of white people; it was more diverse than I had expected it to be. 

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

I appreciated that it was somewhat diverse, there was definitely a majority but there were people of a few different ethnicities present in the congregation. I found it very interesting that the pastor added a blatant point about how women can preach into his sermon even though it was not a talk about gender roles or anything on that topic.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
There actually really was not much of anything that was disorienting about this worship service. It was not drastically different from my current worship service, the only challenging part was that it was with people I did not know. Being in a new place  and new church is always a bit uncomfortable because the greeting time is awkward with strangers. This means that it was really not very challenging since there was not much else other than the usual meeting strangers. 

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?
One thing that was emphasized that is definitely not in my usual contexts was the role that women have as preachers. The pastor was talking about Jesus' resurrection and then about Mary Magdalene's meeting Jesus and then going out and sharing out what he said. The pastor said that the first one to preach about Jesus' resurrection was a woman and that women can be preachers. I am not sure if the church has a stance on this or if it is more from the individual, but it was very interesting that he emphasized this so much and mentioned it even though it was not central to the sermon. This is an aspect of theology I rarely hear about and if I do it is the opposite point being made.  

Mariana Maxey- church visit 3

 Mariana Maxey- church visit 3

Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church

421 North Second Street, Bartlett, IL

May 2

different denomination, farther than 10 mi

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

The worship service was led by one white male. He wore black robes and spoke and sang very formally. Hymns were interspersed with readings and prayer. The nicene creed was said, and felt more meaningful because I had memorized it. Hearing so many people saying it all together was special. The sermon he preached was quite short, and followed by more readings, prayer, and words spoken in one voice. I was happy that children could be heard through the sanctuary rather than being removed from the congregation. This seemed like a warm way to encourage parents with babies. 

 

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

I loved how the songs were interspersed between the readings, prayer and sermon. this helped to make the service feel like a cohesive ongoing worship time. Having readings which were meant to be read all together gave me a sense of being involved and enveloped in the service. I also loved that the priest turned his back to the congregation and prayed facing towards the Bible on a stand. This made the action feel like it was on behalf of the congregation rather than a performance for the sake of the congregation. 

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

I didn’t like how the service was led almost entirely by one white man, because this doesn’t feel like how the body of christ should express our worship. I also felt skeptical of the man because he had a narrow mindset and even referred Africa as a country. He also commended the ESL program for having the student watch the english speaking sermons as a way to learn English. This felt alienating towards other cultures. I also felt defensive against him because he referred to Rahab as a harlot, a much more loaded word than prostitute.

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 loved the way that the congregation has traditional responses to what the priest says and prayers. I want ritual to be part of the way that I worship God, and having the solemn hymns and the organ playing reminds me of the Psalms about singing songs as praise to God. I would like to have responses in my mind that are as natural as muscle memory. This idea of worship with our breath would be highlighted by developing call and response habits in a communal setting. 

Lena Maxey Church visit #3

Church name: St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church of Chicago

Church address: 15 West 455 79th Street, Burr Ridge, IL 60527

Date attended: 5/2 

Church category: Different ethnicity

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

This worship service was quite different from what I am used to and mostly because it was not only a different ethnic group, it also is of a higher liturgical tradition. Most of the men and boys up front wore white robes with a gold and red cloth wrapped around their shoulder. The entire service was chanting and reading of scripture, carrying crosses and icons and marching around the sanctuary, a sermon, and then more chanting and there was also communion. Repetition was a large part of the service.  

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

I really like the incorporation of all ages in the service although it was only with males, there was not a single woman or girl on stage or a part of the service. There were old men, young men, boys, and tiny children all dressed in robes and participating in the march and carrying icons, some teenagers read scripture passages, and there was even one cute little boy in a little robe who was wandering around the stage and then carried by a man on stage and was squirming because he was so bored. 

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

Honestly, the length was difficult for me. It was 3.5 hours long and I am not able to stay focused that long or continue appreciating the beauty of it when I am sleepy and don't fully understand what is being said. I am very impressed with all of their stamina, especially the little boys who were on stage for a lot of the service. At that point everything that was meaningful stops having meaning for me because I am just bored and wanting it to be over. It is clear that I have not been trained to have long services. 

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

After talking about it with a friend and processing, I came to understand the importance of all six senses in their worship service and how the worship was embodied. There was the sense of hearing in the chanting and listening to the sermon as well as the ringing bells on the swinging incense. There was sight with the icons on the walls, the robes, the crosses and bibles being carried around. The sense of smell in the incense that was swung throughout the whole sanctuary. The sense of taste and touch through communion and kissing the Bible. All my senses are not usually incorporated but it really helps me understand embodied worship and that it is important that I am embodied. Maybe even the length of the service teaches me as I have to learn to fight my bodies urges to sleep or distract myself from the worship at hand.