Katie Cialkowski- Church Visit # 3

Church Name: New Life Covenant Community Church

Church Address: 725 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60607:

Date Attended: March 15, 2015

Church Category: Different Racial Demographic

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

As I walked up the street, the first service was dismissing and a stream of people were leaving the building, while a stream of people were moving in the opposite direction in to the church. And I noticed immediately that there were not any other white faces in the crowd. The service was held in the UIC forum, and by the end of the first worship song, the center was full. By my estimate, there were over a thousand people in attendance. As we walked in, we received a sealed cup of grape juice with a wafer sealed on top for communion. And while we only sang two songs, worship lasted about twenty minutes, and I found it very powerful. It had much more of a gospel influence that the worship at the church I consistently attend. There were about two dozen people on stage singing, with one main worship leader, but there were also a group of dancers on stage dancing throughout the singing. I thought it was a beautiful way of paralleling two different forms of worship. The sermon was much more charismatic and the congregation was much more responsive than any church service I have ever been to. The pastor’s microphone was cranked up quite loud and he was a very emphatic speaker and the congregation frequently rose to their feet clapping and shouting praise and encouragement. The pastor also encouraged us to turn to each other and repeat prompted words of encouragement. While it followed the same basic structure as many worship services I have attended, it was one of the most dissimilar worship experiences I have ever had.

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

I loved the worship at the beginning of the service. The worship done by the dancers and worship leaders was not a performance, but a very clear demonstration of love for the Lord and a desire to worship Him sincerely through the talents He had given them. And the repetitive but powerful lyrics really gave me a chance to dwell on the words and invite the Holy Spirit to allow the words I was singing to work on my heart, allow me to confess sin, and declare dependence on the Lord. It was also incredible to worship with such a large body who was also very invested in worshiping whole-heartedly, and allowed me to feel as if I too could abandon inhibitions and truly allow myself to worship the Lord. I really enjoyed how friendly everyone was, despite the fact that I was clearly a visitor, and how welcome I felt and the comradery I felt with the other individuals in the congregation. 

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

It was quite daunting to be one of the only white faces in the room- I felt as if I stood out like a sore thumb, and it was pretty clear I was a visitor. It was also a very different style of sermon than I was used to, with a message that was heavily influenced by black theology. Not in the sense that they were oppressed by a white system, but that there was a general notion that most of the people in the audience had faced severe obstacles they had to overcome- whether it be abuse in their past, illness, obstacles at work or in their family, or general hardship. And I realized fairly quickly that this sermon was not intended for someone with my cultural, socioeconomic, or racial background. This was not a message directed for a white girl from the suburbs, whose parents were putting her through Wheaton and who had never really experienced discrimination or some form of abuse. I feel like in the church contexts I have grown up in, when the pastor talks about hardship or sin, it typically either remains more vague, or it is implied that it is some personal struggle or inward sin. But as I was sitting in that service, I didn't feel like I could relate to many of the struggles the pastor was giving the congregation hope against. 

And I struggled with how charismatic and emotive the church service was. While the sermon was encouraging and pointed to the power of God, my general impression of the service was that the power of God will help us overcome. And while the pastor did encourage the church members to be content in all circumstances, trusting in God’s plan and time, he also called them to believe that God has more for them. I struggle with not trying to be too critical of a pastor, but for me, I sometimes felt as if the sermon was more a motivating rally rooted in biblical teaching, than a sermon designed for personal growth. But I think that may be because it was a very new and different experience for me, and it wasn't necessarily a message directed to me.

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 realized how much Scripture is able to speak to people from different contexts and mean different things to people of different cultures and backgrounds, however that does not delegitimize the integrity and truth of Scripture. I also remembered the reading we did at the beginning of the semester, that there is no gospel that has not been influenced by culture. It was a very different experience to hear a culturally different gospel so close to what I consider home, but it was an important reminder to me that God is not limited by my cultural background and that He is able to work powerfully in all people’s lives, regardless of their background, ethnicity, or culture.