Andrew Trump-Visit #2

Church Name: Chinese Christian Union Church

Church Address: 2261 S. Wenthworth Ave. Chicago, IL 60616

Date Attended:3/22/15

Church Category: Different Ethnic or Racial Demographic (10+miles)

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

The worship service I attended at Chinese Christian Union Church in Chinatown was actually quite similar to many of the services that I normally go to with the obvious exception of the language difference. The entire service was in Cantonese, but I was able to follow the progression of the service because it was similar to what I was used to. It was a very interesting experience to be standing up for the songs but not being able to sing because you do not know the language. The service was about an hour and a half. It started with three worship songs, followed by announcements, a sermon, an offering, and closing remarks/song. I went with Dr. Winnie Fung, who is a member of the church, and she translated just the sermon for my friend James and I. The sermon was on the Luke 10 parable of the Good Samaritan, which is a parable I have heard taught on many occasions. I am not able to come to a conclusion because of my limited knowledge, but I think part of the reason why the worship service seemed so similar is that many of the leaders of the church have western training. For example, the guest speaker today was a Wheaton graduate and is currently working at Trinity.

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

I found the most interesting aspects about the worship service to be the discussions I had with James and Dr. Fung about the message and the cultural context before and after the service. Dr. Fung explained that on most Sundays the sermons are not as intellectual as they were today, which surprised me because it I did not notice it being that intellectual/theological until she mentioned it. She said that when they have guest speakers like in this instance, many of the members of the congregation go to back-to-back services because they cannot grasp everything the first time around. I found this very appealing because it shows just how dedicated the members are to really understanding what is being said. I really appreciate this because it seems to me that at many of the churches that I have gone to, people simply do not care that much. Dedication to the Christian faith like this inspires me not be complacent in my faith with what I am used to hearing.

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

When there were announcements and singing, I found it pretty easy to let my mind drift because I had no clue what was going on. It was a challenge to stay focused when I wasn’t able to understand what was going on. One thing that was sort of disorienting was they had a section of the service for guests to introduce themselves. Dr. Fung wasn’t sitting with us at the time and we were given a microphone. James and I introduced ourselves in English and it seemed like most people had no clue what we were saying. That part of the service just took me a little off guard. It was also just a little disorienting to be the only two white people in a congregation of about 100, but that wasn’t a big deal.

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 sermon seemed to reflect the type of theological background/training of western Christianity because of the guest speaker, but it also had aspects that seemed more relevant to the culture of the audience. In particular, before the service Dr. Fung explained to us that Chinese people often will not help each other out in public in fear of getting scammed. For example, an old lady may ask for help crossing a street, but fall on purpose and file a lawsuit against you. Dr. Fung explained that this is problematic because it creates a culture that does not help one another out of fear. Ironically, the sermon was about the parable of the Good Samaritan. I now realize that helping a stranger out, like the Samaritan did, is a lot bigger of a deal for a Chinese person and can be a very difficult thing to reconcile. The sermon took the approach to the parable, paralleling the man who was stripped, beaten, and left for dead to be Jesus. The emphasis was on accepting Jesus to inherit the Kingdom, and not really on helping strangers out which is how I have heard it taught in most churches. I found this fascinating and eye-opening.