Sarah Spencer - Church Visit #3

Church name: Living Water Alliance Church

Church address: 27W344 Galusha Ave. Warrenville, IL 60555

Date attended: March 22, 2015

Church category: Other Ethnicity 

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

I attended a worship service at 1:30pm with Kylie. There was worship, prayer, and a message. Unlike, at my church, Living Water Alliance Church did not practice the eucharist this Sunday. The church congregation was primarily Asian, which is unlike my congregation. It was held in a church in Warrenville, IL, with pews. 

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

I really like the prayer at the beginning that encompassed many specific people of the church, such as strength for the college students, who returned from spring break, and other specific people that were struggling with illness in the church. The worship lead by a man playing the guitar and another accompanying him with a piano was also good. 

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

The one voice prayer was something that was different than in the normal church services I have attended, although Wheaton and to some extent my church have helped me experience a little. It was still challenging because from my church upbringing I am used to praying silently or only one person at a time. Also I struggled with the time of the service, normally I attend church in the morning. It was difficult feeling sleepy in the service due to the time in the late afternoon. 

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 was very good. It was about Jesus calling Levi. The pastor made this relatable to the audience through examples of St. Patrick, who brought the gospel to the Irish in the 5th century. Jesus was a friend of sinners, namely Levi the in the passage of discussed. Jesus saw Matthew, who was then called Levi. The pastor talked about his own tendency to see people at H-mart, an asian grocery store, because of the similarity to himself, but his lack of seeing people at Costco. He preached that we must see people because in seeing people we are able to engage with them and share our faith. Although this analogy was in an Asian american context and I rarely buy Asian food at H-Mart, the principle of actively trying to see those who are different from me still applies.