Ian Donahoe - Church Visit 1

Church name: Faith Community of Saint Sabina
Church address: 1210 W 78th Place
Date attended: 9/7/2014
Church category: Different ethnic or racial demographic

Describe the worship service you attended.  How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
As a Catholic charismatic church, there was a ton of dancing, singing in a call and response format, and a lot of audience participation during the sermon.  The service began with a group of five or so men and women dancing wildly around the altar, as the rest of the congregation sang simple call and response phrases.  This was followed by a series of readings, and the sermon revolved around the story of the 12 spies who did not enter the promised land as they lacked faith that God would give the Israelites the land that was promised to them.  The priest then took a tangental approach towards changing the perspective of oneself (to rise above what society is telling you that you're worth), along with a diatribe on the NRA.  Offering and communion was taken, and the service closed with a word from Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) encouraging parishioners to vote for raising the minimum wage in Illinois.  All told, the service clocked in at just under 2.5 hours.  This is extremely different from my normal context, though I understood some of high church approaches from my Anglican background.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?
I found the political nature of the service to be really interesting.  I've never known a church to take such a vested interest in politics, and it seems that this church is incredibly involved with the community and campaigning for reconciliation and equality.  The amount of joy present in the congregation, especially at the beginning of the service, was really quite humbling.  In my church background, it was frowned upon to speak out of turn, or express raw emotion.  The main priest encouraged the congregation to "scream out to the Lord, so that we can rival the angels in their adoration."  Also, the stamina of the congregation was outstanding.  I was trying desperately to remain involved mentally and physically, but I was losing steam after the second hour.  I would love to be able to express my love for Christ in this way, but I guess you could say that my "charismatic muscles" are somewhat weak...

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?
First off, the sermon itself kinda bugged me.  There was a little bit of scripture at the beginning of the sermon, but then it suddenly dissolved into a politically loaded attack against the greater political and socioeconomic machine.  I got a sense of great anger coming from the main priest, and it was somewhat uncomfortable, as I was one of approximately five white individuals in the sanctuary of approximately 500, and have come from a background of great privilege.  The main priest himself was white, but was incredibly passionate and knew how the work the crowd.  Also, the charismatic approach to worship was incredibly powerful, but I lost engagement in it fairly quickly, as I'd never kept up such an intense worship of God for such a long period.  I also found it rather uncomfortable at the end of the service as parishioners filled out minimum wage support cards, and these were handed to the ushers as we left.  The overall feel of the church was a mixture of great joy for what the Lord has already done, but still great anger and hurt for what he has not yet completed.  St. Sabina is incredibly active and almost militant in their approach to social justice (such as picketing gun stores or organizing peace marches).

What aspects of Scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?
This isn't a strict theological or scriptural application, but I was struck by the overwhelming intensity of worship.  These parishioners were fully in love with Jesus, and they were confident in their expression of that, whether it be through singing, dancing, or simply screaming out their love for the Father.  As I stated previously, my context is an overwhelming white and "proper" environment.  We sing songs on key and follow the leader, never expressing above and beyond.  We also arrived around a half hour early, and I was impressed by the level of community in the congregation.  Even as outsiders, we were welcomed with hugs and handshakes from at least five or so individuals.  For a first time visitor, my church would never show that level of Christ-like hospitality, and I felt truly welcomed and recognized in St. Sabina.