Shalom Parker Church Visit #2

Shalom Parker - Church Visit #2

Church name: Bethel AME Church 

Church address: 4440 West Michigan Ave. 

Date attended: 9/28/14

Church category: Different Socioeconomic BackGround

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

The Church that I attend while at Wheaton is also a AME church so the layout of the service was pretty similar. The worship and liturgy was extremely similar in content although it wasn't executed in the same way due to a lack of resources, whether that means instruments or people to play them. It was a very small congregation, probably at most 50 people. The majority of the members where over 70 and they where all dressed in business casual or nicer, while the couple of people the younger generation where almost all very casual. It was very clear from the moment that I walked in that building it was clear that the church was struggling, the building was in disrepair, the bulletin was printed on printer paper, and there was only 3 people singing in the choir. I really enjoyed the service, multiple members came up and greeted me and invited me back. 

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

I really liked how relevant the sermon was to the demographic of the church. Within the first two sentences the preacher began talking about institutional racism. He talked about current events in the black community as well, in the context of forgiveness and making mistakes. I also really appreciated how the church has stayed true to its AME roots despite a low attendance. It wasn't attempting to be cool or hip, but rather it is being what it is and sticking with the people that have been members for decades. I also really appreciated the fact that although the church it self was struggling and a good amount of the elderly congregation seemed to have health issues, they still attempted to reach out to the greater community. They were having a blanket drive for the needy, and had an offering for other outreaches. There was still a lot of life and joy in the church even though it was a small, elderly, and under-resourced congregation. 

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

It was extremely hard to watch how the church was struggling in attendance and resources. I noticed a lot of talk about the past. During one of the prayers they talked about how the church was founded during slavery in the 1980's. He also mentioned how the church used to be so full that they had to add chairs in the aisle. I wish I could have seen the church in its hay-day. I think its extremely admirable that they have stuck through these hard times so far. The building is pretty big and has beautiful stain glass windows, but the seats were duct taped and the walls crumbling, it is clear that in order to stay here much longer they are going to need money for remodeling. There was also a long list of shut in and hospitalized members to pray for, which made me wonder what is going to happen in a couple years when the majority of the congregation wont be able to come to church anymore. 

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 theology that really was evident in the service was very relevant to the situation that the church was in. It focused a lot on praising and thanking God for what they had in the past as well as what they have now. Often things were said like "We have clothes to wear, food to eat, and a place to worship". Being a part of this service their thankfulness stuck out to me a lot more than it would be an a more middle class setting. It would be extremely easy to constantly be asking and praying for more, but I didn't notice anything like that happening. The sermon as a whole focused on forgiveness and the fact that we can't do anything that God can't forgive, but that doesn't mean that we can just continue doing what ever we feel like doing. The preacher also talked about how we are all sinners and listed off a bunch of examples of what that looks like. I think that it was interesting how practical the sermon was, while when I have heard sermons about forgiveness in a middle class/white setting it often tends to be more theoretical.