Andy Suk- Church Visit #1

Andy Suk- Church Visit #1

Church name: Church of the Resurrection

Church address: 935 West Union Ave, Wheaton, IL 60187

Date attended: 2/8/15

Church category: Anglican, Liturgical

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

Normally, I go to a church that is significantly less liturgical than Church of the Resurrection. It was pretty weird taking part of all of recitations of the different creeds; however, as the service continued, I realized the beauty of the writings we were reciting. Also when the priest passed the fountain of water, he would always do the sign of the cross, which I previously thought only Catholics participated in that particular gesture. Other than these particular differences, the church service had everything that my “normal” service would have: Worship, a sermon by a pastor, and free coffee after service.

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

Definitely the most interesting thing about the service was the liturgy recitation. The biggest thing I realized about this practice was how communal it was; I personally felt like as I was reading the creeds, I was connecting with every single person in the congregation. I felt a special sense of unity that I don’t necessarily feel at my home church. Also, I can see how this practice can be very helpful for those times where we just don’t know what to say to God. It definitely set the mood for worship that we often need in order to start praising our Lord.

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

The most disorienting or challenging thing that I faced was the fact there were priests at this church. Coming from a Southern Baptist tradition, I was thrown off by all the very “Catholic”- like practices. I remember visiting a Catholic Church a long time ago and the Anglican priests definitely reminded me of my experience. I didn’t necessarily dislike the fact there were priests but I definitely was confused at first when a Protestant church had priests.  

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 really enjoyed it when we said the Lord’s Prayer. Sure, I was happy because it was finally the first and only saying that I knew by heart and didn’t have to read from the program; however, it reminded me of how simple prayer is and how often we complicate it to the point where we run out of things to pray about. When saying the Lord’s Prayer, I realized that this particular Anglican Church was very unified spiritually, something that I don’t always feel in different churches. I walked out of the service more enlightened about different religious practices other than the “normal” non-liturgical I am often used to.