Church name: Hanmee Church
Church address: 1149 West Bloomingdale Road, Itasca, IL 60143
Date attended: March 1
Church category: Different ethnic demographic
Describe the worship service. How was it
similar to or different from your regular context?
The service was very similar to churches I have
attended in the past, except that it was composed mainly of Koreans. The service, however, was conducted in
English. My roommate and I visited with
a friend who attends there regularly.
The service began with singing. I
recognized most of the songs, which were contemporary worship songs. After the singing, there was an offertory
prayer and Scripture reading. During
this time, a new elder was welcomed into the church and prayed over. Next, the pastor gave the sermon. The sermon was about Church membership. More specifically, the pastor talked about
the responsibilities of church pastors and leaders. The sermon was a lot longer than I was
expecting, and probably lasted for about an hour. Finally, there was an ending benediction and
one last song, then everyone was dismissed.
What did you find most
interesting or appealing about the worship service?
Even though the service began
at 11:00, I went at 10:00 because my friend was teaching Sunday school. When I arrived at the church, I was actually
asked to help lead Sunday school for five year olds. We were given a little instruction on what
the craft and lesson of the day was going to be, and then we went to our
assigned age groups and I got to help lead Sunday school for about an
hour. I was very surprised that they
allowed me to help lead Sunday school when I had never even visited the church,
but I also really enjoyed the experience and the children were adorable. I also really liked the song choices in the
worship service, which were familiar and some of my favorites. After the service was over at about 12:45,
everyone went downstairs and ate Korean food together for lunch. I ate with at a table with several Asian
Wheaton students who attend that church.
The lunch was seaweed, mollusks, rice, and kimchi. Even
though I have eaten a lot of Asian food and generally like it, this meal was
different from anything I have tried, and I was not incredibly fond of it.
What did you find more
disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
There were not many parts of
the service that were disorienting or challenging. I suppose it could have been disorienting to
be one of the only non-Asians in the congregation, but I grew up around a lot
of Asians and have attended several Asian churches, so I did not feel
uncomfortable or out of place. One thing
that was a little awkward in my opinion was that during the offertory prayer
and Scripture reading portion of the service, they stopped and announced that
they had visitors. They then asked my roommate and I to stand up, and everyone
clapped for us. It was a nice gesture,
but it was also a little uncomfortable.
I was also not a huge fan of the sermon itself. Perhaps I just came at a bad week, but the
sermon was focused on responsibilities of pastors and leaders and did not seem
very applicable to the congregation.
Furthermore, it was a little longer than I am used to, and sometimes
hard to follow.
What aspects of Scripture or
theology did the service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as
clearly in your regular context?
The congregation was
welcoming and kind. I found it very
interesting that we taught the children about lent in Sunday school. The lesson was specifically on where the idea
of Lent comes from and why it is celebrated.
Since I did not grow up celebrating Lent and really did not encounter
the idea of Lent until coming to Wheaton, I actually did not know some of the
stuff we were teaching the five year olds.
For the most part, however, the theology of the service was the same as
in my regular context. I did appreciate
the generosity of the church serving everyone lunch for free, and of everyone
sharing in fellowship and the breaking of bread after the service.
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