Anna Claire Gall - Church Visit #1

Anna Claire Gall – Church Visit #1

Church name: St. Michael Catholic Church

Church address: 310 South Wheaton Ave, Wheaton IL, 60187

Date attended: 2/8/2015

Church category: Catholic

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

I attended the 7:30 Mass on Sunday morning, so my presence lowered the average age in the room by close to thirty years. A large fountain of water greeted me as I entered the sanctuary. People dipped their fingers to make the Sign of the Cross. The service itself began with a reading from the Bible, followed by some worship songs and a recitation of the Nicene Creed. My usual church is charismatic non-denominational, so the largest difference in my experience was the strict liturgy. The genuflection, and kneeling during the service were radically different from my usual experience. Secondly, people were much quieter in the sanctuary. They did not chat as they entered, and people did not greet each other and carry on conversations. The sermon itself was very similar to what I usually hear, the only difference being that instead of quoting Francis Chan, the priest quoted Augustine.

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

There is something strangely refreshing about being where people are so respectful of the place of worship. The interior architecture of the church was beautiful, with its high ceilings, stained glass windows, and the large crucifix hanging above the much decorated altar. People entered the worship space with humble quietude. I enjoyed the simplicity of the songs: only a single organ and a single voice. The music was intended to show praise and reverence to the Lord. Not for a moment did I think I had mistakenly walked into a Local Natives concert instead of into a church. I appreciated that people acted like they were somewhere special and set apart for the worship of God. While the sermon was engaging, I found the most appealing portion of my visit to be the physical: quiet worship surrounded by beautiful architecture that reflected the inner contemplation and awe that I felt.

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

Never before have I been in a situation where it was possible to miss a step in church. To obviously do something wrong, to be the fish out of water, and, worst of all, to possibly offend someone in their own house of worship. In this case, I found out after I chose my seat towards the back that worshipers should genuflect before entering the pew. I had been careful to observe and follow up to that point—and I made absolutely sure to genuflect on my exit—but this mistake hovered on my mind for the rest of the service, so ultimately I felt out of place from the start. Once the Mass started, I could follow along fairly well by observing those around me, but I found that I was always a half step behind everyone else, since I relied on others to determine what to do next.

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

As I mentioned above, I experienced a predominant sense of respect for the space in which people worshiped God. While every denomination has its faults, those that follow a charismatic tradition in my experience lack respect for God in the sense that they bring snacks to church, they allow children to run around the sanctuary during worship, they only speak to God as “Jehovah Jireh,” Lord Our Provider. I clearly perceived the need for humility and respect in this context when approaching God. Since charismatic churches focus so much on the Scriptural concept of the body as the Temple of the Lord, so little time is spent on the church itself that worshipers see no need to be respectful upon entering just a building. While I agree that this is true to an extent, I was humbled by the respect people attempted to show when approaching the presence of God.