Brandon Garcia - Church Visit #1

Church name: Naperville Presbyterian Church

Church address: 943 Sanctuary Lane, Naperville, IL 60540

Date attended: February 8, 2015

Church category: Presbyterian

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

The service I attended focused on ministry/service opportunities, particurly with the Young Life ministry so it lacked a more regular sermon. My home church has these kinds of events but the main distinction I noticed is that the worship directors and the assistant pastor played a much more active role in the service than would my home church under comparable circumstances (special service). The congregation was also much smaller than I'm used to which is a very welcome change and the overall environment felt very inviting whereas in a larger setting it's easy to feel overwhelmed and rather insignificant. The worship style was overall very similar but had a bit more of an 'indie' vibe to it in terms of the instruments used and the singing style. The recitation of liturgy was by far the largest departure from my Baptist background. 

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

The two things I find most appealing about this church was the smaller more communal feel and, surprisingly, the presence of liturgy.

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

Definitely the recitation of liturgy.

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 used to think negatively of such ritualistic activity as the recitation of liturgy because I grew up thinking of such things as a "going through the motions" ritualistic type of activity and for some reason thought that it was better to be avoided to promote individual growth over the appearance of congregational piety. Experiencing liturgy in the churches I've visited here at Wheaton, including this Church, made me realize that litergy serves an important purpose. By reciting litergy in unison as a congregation, it serves to reaffirm, even if only symbolically, that we as a church are all on the same page, similarly to how we recite the Apostle's Creed in class. By giving our own voice to sound theology, as well as hearing the voices of others affirming the same things, the theology being voiced becomes more "real" in the mind and helps set the proper forcus for the administering of the sermon.