Shalom Parker- Church Visit #1

Shalom Parker - Church Visit #1

Church name: New Life Community Church

Church address: 601 S 61st Ave
Date attended: 9/7/14

Church category: Different Ethnicity

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

The church that I attended had two services going on at the same time, one in English and one in Spanish. It was similar to the AME church that I attend because the service went pretty long because we spent so much time singing. The congregation was also pretty vocal during the worship and the sermon which is also similar. We felt very welcomed during all parts of the service, from the moment we walked in until we left we had people coming up and greeting us. The service was called a celebration on the website and that fit the feel of it very well. The music was very upbeat, people were dancing, the kids came out and sang a song and the parents made signs to cheer them on, and the pastor was very energetic. I really enjoyed the experience and would go back in a heartbeat. 

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

I loved how people knew each other in the service. It felt like a family reunion, when people would walk in they would greet and hug a whole line of people. The pastor also had personal relationships with people in the congregation too. During the service they had a time for people to come down to the alter for prayer, and then they had other members come up and pray for those people. The pastor called people out by name to come and pray, which felt different than a lot of churches I have been that size. I also loved the worship because rather than everyone staying in their seats, a large group of the congregation moved up to the front and stood together during the singing. It felt like the black churches I have gone to in that the music was a long and important part of the service and people were dancing and moving during it. 

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

I have been to a spanish speaking service before and expected to see more similarities than I did. I was really bothered by what I perceived to be a loss of culture that came with a loss of language. The music was mostly contemporary Christian music that was just sang faster. I love Latino culture and in the other church I went to the songs were unique, they had dance, and the preacher delivered his sermon in a very unique way. I hate the idea that a mostly Latino church becomes whitewashed if they speak English instead of Spanish. I think that this is also a generational phenomenon, because the congregation of this service was twenties and thirties while would assume the other service would be the generation above them. I believe that white worship contexts are valuable, but it saddens me to see the link between trying to assimilate in order to avoid discrimination and what this church is like. I would really like to go to the all Spanish speaking service sometime in order to see exactly how it would compare.

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 text for the sermon was Joshua 6:1-10. His main point were focusing that we have a problem, a promise, and a partner. I think that the theology of the sermon was similar to the other minority contexts that I have been in, focusing on overcoming obstacles and the promises that God has for us. They did a good job of not making it a prosperity  gospel  by talking about how these blessing might not come while we are alive but rather in heaven. It was also focusing on the fact that we can't expect God to do everything for us but instead we need to be active listeners and do what he tells us to. I was really struck by the joy that was present through out the whole service, not only by the leadership but also the congregation.